How to Excel in H2 Math: Tips from 20+ Years of Teaching

📚 Why Some Students Excel in H2 Math — and Others Don’t

Every year, a small percentage of students walk into the A-Level H2 Math exam with quiet confidence. They don’t necessarily do more practice papers or spend longer hours revising, but their results speak for themselves.

What are they doing differently?

After over two decades of working with students across all levels — from those barely passing to those aiming for distinction — some clear patterns emerge. Success in H2 Math isn’t about luck or raw intelligence. It’s usually about a consistent set of habits, strategies, and mindset shifts that build up over time.

🎯 This article breaks down key insights from over 20 years of H2 Math teaching experience — including what top students do differently and how others can adopt the same approach.

🧠 1. Conceptual Understanding Always Comes Before Speed

One of the most common mistakes students make is trying to memorise formulas or shortcut methods before understanding the underlying concepts. While this might work for basic problems, it almost always fails in application-based questions — which form a large part of the H2 Math paper.

The most effective students take time to ask themselves:

🔹 What does this formula actually mean?
🔹 Why does this method work?
🔹 Can I derive or explain this concept from first principles?

By focusing on depth before speed, they avoid the need to re-learn concepts later and find it easier to apply knowledge to unfamiliar problems.

🔁 2. They Practise in Layers, Not All at Once

Rather than jumping straight into full exam papers, experienced learners break their practice into layers:

1️⃣ Topic-specific questions
2️⃣ Mixed-topic sets
3️⃣ Timed full-length papers

This approach prevents overwhelm and ensures that weak areas are tackled systematically. It also builds confidence progressively — starting with mastery of individual skills before putting everything together.

📌 Tip: Use question banks or past-year prelim papers to isolate topics and focus on one type of question at a time before moving on.

🔍 3. They Don’t Just Do Questions — They Review Them

One of the clearest signs of an effective math student is how they treat their mistakes. Rather than flipping to the solution and moving on, they:

✅ Analyse where they went wrong — conceptually or procedurally
✅ Write out the correct solution in full
✅ Try a similar question within the same day to reinforce the fix

This reflection process may take longer upfront but dramatically reduces repeated mistakes, which are often the cause of lost marks in exams.

🗂️ 4. They Keep an Error Log or Mistake Journal

An error log is a simple yet powerful tool. It’s where students record:

• The topic and question they got wrong
• The nature of the mistake (conceptual, algebraic, misread, etc.)
• The correct approach
• A similar follow-up question for reinforcement

Over time, this becomes a personalised revision tool that highlights recurring gaps and helps with targeted review.

Many top scorers review their error log more than their notes — especially in the final weeks before A-Levels.

📊 5. They Know the Weightage and Focus Areas

Experienced students often revise based on exam weightage and question frequency, not just the order topics were taught in school.

Topics that commonly carry more marks (like Calculus, Integration Techniques, and Vectors in 3D) receive proportionately more attention.

Less common or lower-weighted topics (like Recurrence Relations or Mathematical Induction) are not neglected — but they are revised more efficiently.

This approach ensures smarter time use and better returns on revision effort.

📘 6. They Use Resources Strategically

Top students don’t necessarily use more resources — but they use them better. They might:

• Rely on one concise summary guide per topic
• Use school tutorials as their primary practice source
• Supplement with selected prelim questions from other JCs
• Watch concept-focused videos only when needed (not as a way to procrastinate)

This prevents resource overwhelm and keeps revision focused.

🧑‍🏫 7. They Ask for Help Early — and Specifically

Instead of waiting until Prelims or relying solely on classmates, effective learners seek out help when concepts don’t make sense.

More importantly, they ask specific questions, such as:

• “Why does this substitution work here but not in the earlier example?”
• “Can you explain why the derivative sign tells us about concavity?”

This level of questioning leads to deeper understanding and builds habits of analytical thinking — essential in H2 Math.

📅 8. They Start Exam Prep Earlier Than You Think

While some students only begin timed paper practice 1–2 months before A-Levels, those who score highly usually start months earlier. This doesn’t mean full papers every week — but rather integrating timed mini-sets into regular revision.

Even 20-30 minutes of timed practice, two to three times a week, can significantly reduce panic and build exam endurance.

🎓 Final Thoughts

Success in H2 Math is not the result of cramming or last-minute memorisation. It comes from habits formed over time — built on understanding, strategy, and reflection.

The good news? These habits are learnable.

If you’re currently revising for A-Levels, consider adopting just a few of the insights above into your current study plan. Whether you’re trying to go from a C to an A or simply aiming to avoid a U grade, these methods can help make your revision more efficient and impactful.