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Education

5-yr-old scrapes GCSE maths

89 replies

Ponders · 25/08/2011 10:03

\link{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8721603/Six-year-old-girl-passes-maths-GCSE.html(she was 5 when she took it)}

'she takes extra lessons on Saturdays and is not allowed to watch television after school from Monday to Thursday so that she concentrates on her studies.
Her father Charles Thorpe, 44, from Chadwell Heath, east London, said: ''We thought we might as well just give it a go. You see young people in the newspapers who have taken exams and you think, why not?
''I wouldn't say maths is her favourite subject, but when she says she wants to be a doctor I tell her that she must be very good at science and maths.
'' We want her to be outstanding and exceptional in every way .'' '

no pressure then Hmm

twat

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cornsilx · 25/08/2011 10:04

what a nasty thread title

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TheOriginalFAB · 25/08/2011 10:05

My dd has chosen to take a piano exam and I have bought what she needs and will support her but I would not force her. Same with school exams.

My children were outstanding and exceptional from the day they were born. I love them, not what they achieve.

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cornsilx · 25/08/2011 10:06

agree that dad is very likely a twat and that taking a GCSE at 6 is pointless, but to pass it at age 5 even with an E is still a massive achievement

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Ponders · 25/08/2011 10:07

I'm not criticising the child, cornsilx - it's just that usually the kids who take exams so early are gifted in maths or whatever & this one had to do it because her father thinks she has to be exceptional.

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Ponders · 25/08/2011 10:07

yes, you're right, I'm sorry about that

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belgo · 25/08/2011 10:07

Is an E a pass?

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Ponders · 25/08/2011 10:08

I mean she can't watch TV all week & has to have extra lessons on Saturdays, in Y1??? it's so sad Sad

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cornsilx · 25/08/2011 10:08

I agree that this is not normal for a child of 5 in any way...

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Ponders · 25/08/2011 10:09

well, it is and it isn't, belgo. A*-C is what counts for 16-yr-olds

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cornsilx · 25/08/2011 10:09

wonder if she has friends to play after school? Probably not.

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belgo · 25/08/2011 10:10

I'm sure she is very bright, but I don't understand why he has gone to the newspapers when she only got an E grade.

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cornsilx · 25/08/2011 10:12

surely being able to sit through the exam at all is an achievement for most 5 year olds. Wonder if she had any breaks etc.

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Ponders · 25/08/2011 10:12

'The mental health support officer does not believe that his daughter is too young to cope with exams.'

mental health support officer???

I don't think the Telegraph was too impressed with him either, reading between the lines

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belgo · 25/08/2011 10:13

cornslix, it sounds like she is used to sitting and having to study.

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StringOrNothing · 25/08/2011 10:13

Actually I think that the fact that she scraped it is very relevant to the thread. I strongly believe that you should only take GCSEs/A levels early if you're guaranteed to get a solid A grade - otherwise you clearly aren't totally on top of the material and should wait until the normal time when you can do yourself justice.
I'm sure my 8 yr old could get an E grade at GCSE maths if I wanted to cram her through the syllabus, but I'm not going to do that, because there's no benefit to it and I'm not a twat.

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mumeeee · 25/08/2011 10:13

It' quite an achievement to pass a GCSE at 5 even if it was an E. But this child is being pushed and doesn't seem to be allowed to just be a child. Fair enough if she was asking to do exams but she isn't. All my children are exceptional to me and DH because they are our children. They might frustrate us sometimes but we still love then and encourage them in what they want to do.

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belgo · 25/08/2011 10:15

StringOrNothing I agree that many young children would get an E if they were forced to study every evening and had extra lessons on a Saturday.

I wonder if she will rebel by the time she is 15?

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lovecheese · 25/08/2011 10:15

Dad is a Mental Health Support worker!! Ha ha ha, perhaps he is using his child as a case study. Poor child.

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LawrieMarlow · 25/08/2011 10:16

I really can't see the point of a 5 year old doing GCSE maths. Getting a grade E isn't something amazing (can see it is for a 5 year old) but I would hope she will sit it again in the future and get a higher grade. Which makes me wonder why she has sat it now.

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LawrieMarlow · 25/08/2011 10:17

I totally agree with StringorNothing. If you are going to be able to get a very high grade then don't take the exam until you can get that grade.

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musttidyupmusttidyup · 25/08/2011 10:21

What stringornothing said.

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JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 25/08/2011 10:22

I also think the grade is relevant. If she was a genius she's have passed comfortably - it would have come naturally to her.

Many, many children could acheive an E at a very young age if they were hothoused into doing so.

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Bonsoir · 25/08/2011 10:23

In a month where there have been even more stories than usual of black underachievement, I think this story is worth highlighting!

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belgo · 25/08/2011 10:24

'In a month where there have been even more stories than usual of black underachievement'

I don't understand, have I missed something?

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JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 25/08/2011 10:30

A 5 yo who wants to be a doctor would ordinarily be setting up dolls hospitals and wrapping bits of loo roll around her teddies' arms. A bit like this.

Maybe she still does - but I wonder if she's allowed to play lest it gets in the way of her studies?

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