French Baccalaureate, Terminale, Montreal

Maths Complementaires in Terminale, in Montreal

Q: What is the Maths Complementaires option?

Maths Complementaires is a Terminale option for students who dropped the Mathematics speciality at the end of Premiere but still need mathematics for their intended studies. It is assessed through continuous assessment and approaches the material through applied themes rather than abstract proof.

Q: What is on the Maths Complementaires syllabus?

The syllabus is thematic: functions and the study of models (differentiation, convexity, logarithm and exponential), models of change (sequences, simple differential equations), and a probabilistic and statistical strand (continuous distributions, the normal law, sampling and estimation).

Q: Who should take Maths Complementaires?

Students heading into fields where mathematics is useful without being central: medicine and health sciences, economics and social science, biology, psychology, various university courses and business schools. It is often an advantage and sometimes an expectation in the Parcoursup application for those courses.

Q: What is the difference between Maths Complementaires and Maths Expertes?

Maths Expertes is added on top of the Mathematics speciality for very scientific profiles heading to prepa or engineering school. Maths Complementaires replaces the speciality for students who drop it but want to keep a good level of applied mathematics. Both are assessed through continuous assessment.

Tutor for the Maths Complementaires option in Montreal, designed for students who dropped the Mathematics speciality but still need mathematics for what comes next: medicine, economics, the sciences. I help them keep a solid level and make the option count on their application. Sessions in English or in French.

Maths Complementaires Applied mathematics Medicine, economics, sciences ★ 5.0 · 11 Google reviews

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Why dropping maths entirely is usually a mistake

At the end of Premiere your child must drop one of their three specialities. If mathematics is the one that goes, they are not obliged to take anything in its place, and plenty of students do exactly that. This option exists so they do not have to.

It matters most for one group: students heading into medicine, health sciences, psychology, biology or economics. Those degrees run on statistics, and a student who did no mathematics in Terminale meets first-year biostatistics with an eighteen month gap behind them. Maths Complementaires closes that gap while it is still cheap to close.

What the Maths Complementaires option is

Maths Complementaires is a three hour per week option, offered in Terminale to students who took the Mathematics speciality in Premiere but dropped it at the end of that year. It lets them keep doing mathematics without the workload or the level of abstraction of the speciality.

The option has no final examination: it is assessed through continuous assessment, and those marks count toward the Baccalaureat. It appears in the Parcoursup application, where it is valued and occasionally expected for courses that use mathematics without making it the centre.

Its approach is deliberately applied: students learn to model concrete situations rather than to prove in the abstract.

The Maths Complementaires syllabus

Functions and the study of models

Differentiation, convexity, continuity, logarithm and exponential functions. Students study models defined by functions in order to describe real phenomena.

Models of change

Numerical sequences and simple differential equations, used to model change over time: growth, decay, damped phenomena.

Probability and statistics

Continuous distributions, the normal law, sampling and estimation. These are the essential tools for medicine, biology, economics and the social sciences.

In French

Free corrected exercises for Maths Complementaires

One exercise set per theme of the syllabus, in the format of a class test: 10 questions marked out of 100, a first part on the fundamentals and a second at examination level, with a full worked solution for every question. The questions are set in context the way the option sets them, in health, economics and finance. Each theme also has a revision sheet. Free, no sign-up, written in French.

Corrected exercise sets → Revision sheets → English exercises →

Who should take Maths Complementaires?

The option suits students aiming at medicine and health studies, economics and social science, biology, psychology, some business schools and a wide range of university courses. In several of those fields, health above all, a solid level of applied mathematics is a real advantage rather than a nice extra.

It also suits students who like mathematics but prefer a concrete, applied approach to the abstraction of the speciality or of Maths Expertes. If your child is hesitating between the two options, I can help weigh them against their intended studies.

How I work on Maths Complementaires

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Giving the models meaning

We connect each idea to a concrete situation, so the student understands why and how it is used, not only how to compute with it.

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Shoring up the Premiere foundations

Where necessary we repair what was left shaky in the speciality, so the option's themes can be met calmly.

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Preparing what comes next

We work with the demands of the intended degree in view, particularly the statistics that matter in health and the social sciences.

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Support between sessions, included

The student can message me with a question or a problem they are stuck on, at no extra charge.

I hold a French Baccalaureat with the Mathematics speciality, a B.Sc. from McGill and an M.Sc. from Concordia, and have taught this option in Montreal for more than 10 years. More about the tutor.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Maths Complementaires option?

A Terminale option for students who dropped the Mathematics speciality but still need mathematics. It is assessed through continuous assessment and approaches the material through applied themes.

What is on the syllabus?

A thematic syllabus: functions and models (differentiation, convexity, log and exponential), models of change (sequences, simple differential equations) and a probability and statistics strand (continuous distributions, the normal law, estimation).

Who should take it?

Students heading into medicine and health, economics, biology, psychology, some business schools and various university courses. It is often an advantage and sometimes an expectation in their application.

How does it differ from Maths Expertes?

Maths Expertes is added on top of the speciality for very scientific profiles heading to prepa or engineering school. Maths Complementaires replaces the speciality for students who drop it but want to keep a good level of applied mathematics.