Any GCSE maths teachers about?

[boschy]

I would welcome some advice please.

DD1 (just gone into Y12) has sat Higher maths I think 5 times, never scoring higher than a D - not sure how close to the borderline, but not enough for remarking.

So she is now resitting in 6th form, and wants to do Foundation rather than Higher. She has done one single Foundation paper, in class, never having seen a Foundation paper before, and got a C.

School want her to resit Higher because they say she is getting closer every time. She absolutely does not want to do this, she wants to sit Foundation in November, pass the bloody thing and never have to do maths again, thus freeing her time to concentrate on 4 A levels.

I support her in this, but am I wrong? should she be trying for Higher? I've yet to talk to the maths dept, because her teacher has not been there for the 5 lessons she's had this term (not pleased about that I might add).

Any advice would help! thanks

[Moominmammacat]

Not a teacher but at this stage I would just be grateful for any sort of maths GCSE and leave the poor girl to get on with her A levels.

[enjolraslove]

I am a maths teacher. Get her to do a few more practise foundation papers. If she is securing 80% on each one then I would say go for foundation for nov. she can always switch to higher for June if it doesn't work.
Definitely worth a shot and if she shows the school those kind of scores on the papers they would be crazy not to try it. You can enter her as a private candidate if they won't.

[secretscwirrels]

Again not a teacher but I agree with Moomin. She needs a C for almost everything but she doesn't need to sweat over getting a B. Could also sit higher paper and still get a D or C.

[boschy]

enjolras thank you that makes sense. I will suggest that strategy to school. they have already said I 'can' pay for her to Foundation in Nov, but will still be putting her in for Higher, so I want to be sure that they are actually teaching her for Foundation iyswim?

[boschy]

oh yes, just get the bloody C and be done with it is our opinion! but another D in higher wont help will it?

[WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo]

Definitely she should sit the foundation. She only needs the C grade and her confidence is being shot now.
I quit teaching 4 years ago but taught GCSE maths and A level. I bet she's bored rigid with it, I know I was!

[WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo]

Definitely she should sit the foundation. She only needs the C grade and her confidence is being shot now.
I quit teaching 4 years ago but taught GCSE maths and A level. I bet she's bored rigid with it, I know I was!

[boschy]

calculators - got it in one. no confidence, and bored rigid.

[noblegiraffe]

Why the bloody hell are they putting her in for Higher if she has shown she can't produce the goods on it? As she is aiming for a C and not a B, there is no good reason at all to enter her for Higher over Foundation. I can't understand why the school would be so bloody minded on this. We always enter our less confident candidates for Foundation, as being faced with a Higher paper that they can't answer most of isn't very good for them.

I don't understand when they say you can pay for Foundation in November but they'll still enter her for Higher because both papers are sat at the same time - you can't do both.

[canitgetanyworse]

Both papers are at the same time so you cant do both.

[boschy]

Not sure about that then, but she did say they had said I could pay for Foundation, the implication being that school would pay for a Higher resit (maybe they meant in June?).

Thank you for everyone's input, I am gathering ammo for a discussion on Monday!

[titchy]

Get her entered as an external candidate somewhere else and tell them to bog off!

[boschy]

we seem to have a result... she is doing Foundation in November with one board (and I dont have to pay), and working towards Higher next June with another board. hope to god that if she gets her C in November she can drop maths!

thanks again everyone.