David Crawshaw

A-Level Maths Teacher, Birmingham (AQA Examiner)

David Crawshaw has taught A-Level Mathematics in Birmingham for eighteen years, delivering all three components — Pure, Statistics and Mechanics — across the AQA 7357, OCR H240 and Edexcel 9MA0 specifications. Holding a BSc in Mathematics (First Class) from the University of Nottingham, he has served as an AQA Senior Examiner for A-Level Mathematics since 2014, a role that has given him direct insight into the patterns of error that separate A* scripts from A scripts at the grade boundary. David's A* teaching methodology focuses on the three areas where top-grade marks are most commonly dropped: algebraic proof (where students demonstrate method but fail to satisfy the rigour the mark scheme demands), the large data set questions in Statistics (where unfamiliar contexts cause anxiety that leads to process errors on otherwise routine calculations), and Mechanics integration problems (where sign errors and incorrect free-body diagram assumptions account for a disproportionate share of lost marks at the A/A* boundary). He has mapped every A-Level Mathematics past paper from 2018 to present across all three major boards, and uses that analysis to predict high-probability question types for each cohort. He writes for EduBoost about A-Level Mathematics revision strategy, specification comparison between AQA, OCR and Edexcel, how to approach the non-calculator Pure paper under time pressure, and the five most common reasons high-ability Year 13 students miss the A* they are capable of achieving. His conviction: the A* grade is rarely won in the final few weeks — it is built or lost in the October-to-February period when most students are still working at moderate intensity.