To have not known kids have to attain grade 4 in maths?

I got a D in maths. I look at a page of sums and they just swim in front of me. I got A* in English and Art. Is it seriously that difficult to understand that some people are better at some subjects – i.e. creative ones – and others are better at maths and science?

PS> I ending up having a hugely successful career in the arts, top of my field. So, literally, go figure.

Because some people struggle
You don't sound very bright yourself if you can't understand that.

Spot the parent who wouldn’t onow dyscalculia if it bit them on the arse.

If you know you only need a pass, you take the Foundation because you've got more chance of getting a 4 or 5 with easier questions.

I understand not everyone can get the top grades. But apart from something very serious affecting mental/physical health like why do people find the basics that difficult?

I am so old that it was O levels when I was 16 and my maths was so bad that I was not allowed to sit it. I just could not understand any of it apart from arithmetic and I was very quick at that and could do much of it in my head. I did take and pass the old City and Guilds arithmetic. Anyway, less of me, out of curiosity I have just googled some sample GCSE maths questions and even after all these years I felt echos of sick panic as I read them. I could do the arithmetic ones but the others might as well have been written in Japanese for all the sense it made. Yet I achieved good A levels a degree and post grad qualifications so I guess I am not unintelligent. There must be so many kids out there with different sorts of intelligence and skill sets.

ETA mis read your post and took it completely the wrong way.

Sorry!

When I was in school (years ago!) the highest mark I could have been given for my GCSE maths was a D, due to paper I sat, that was the highest achievable grade.
It was my only grade that was below a c, the rest were all A’s and B’s. I just didn’t ‘get’ the more complicated maths and would panic, teachers seem to only have one way of teaching it and if you didn’t understand that way, then you were left behind.
I had to do Maths again at college, but not a gcse paper, it was a functional skills course and I passed it.
Roll on 20 odd years and at a parents evening one of the teachers said that our eldest was so far behind in Maths he would never catch up….. I felt so awful for him, that I had somehow passed on my own weakness.
We paid for a tutor to help him and once he had someone working with him to give him strategies and confidence he soon caught up, now he is at secondary school and in the top half of his class.
Some people do struggle, I know I did, if I had had to keep retaking it I would have bawled my eyes out.

Daughter's school last year. All average sets for Maths and below generally took Foundation. It's a risk going for Higher as if they don't get the band for the 4, and it's a hard paper, they fail completely. So schools hedge their bets and put them in for Foundation. Hence overall why there's a massive issue with getting these kids through GCSE Maths.

If you are aiming for a 4 or 5 you take Foundation.
You only take Higher if you have a plausible chance of a 6, and not if you are at risk of not getting at least a 4.

No it is not true. They don’t have to stay in school. Their education will still end at 18 (unless EHCP) but their options will be seriously impacted.

It’s not compulsory to keep trying until they’re 25 no, but a lot of college courses require maths GCSEs
Needing to pass maths and English was definitely a thing when I was doing my GCSEs in the 90s too so it’s hardly new

Colleges insist on retakes for Maths and English if they don't get a 4. If they don't attend the retake classes, and teaching reputedly not great and with large classes, they're not allowed to continue their (possibly vocational) course. Funding is dependent on the retakes for the student so they heavily push it.

Shouldnt average students be taking the higher tier paper.

The foundation isn't aimed at them is it?

I meant percentage, not pass rate!

My ds is resitting his maths gcse on Thursday for a second time at college, despite passing English and science. He has been stuck on a low '3' since his mocks and had tuition during school but just can't grasp it.
He will leave college with a level 2 and that's ok.
His brother didn't pass his resit doing carpentry at college so left with a level 2 and now is a paratrooper,travelling the world.
I tried the functional skills online quiz and found it really hard and couldn't do it so no hope with the gcse paper!

I meant the percentage rate required to get a 4, not the pass rate. My mistake!

And I am aware and have posted saying I can’t edit my post, unfortunately.

and what’s your point?

How weird, so your son got a 9 but others struggle with maths, that sure is a puzzle isn't it, I just can't think how that could be, anyone else know?

I think all the people who think getting a grade 4 is easy live in a bubble of high academic achievement and don’t realise the range of abilities children actually have. Ironically they are highly academic but extremely ignorant of others lives.

No, they're not wrong, it's the 4+ rate for everyone sitting maths GCSE in England, which includes resit students.

It's far higher for 16 year olds - 72% got a grade 4+ in maths last summer
But for 17+ (the resit students) - only 17.4% got a grade 4+

This drags the total percentage getting a 4+ down to about 60%

Im.desperate for my son too.do functional,skills
His college assured me last September he had been enrolled on functional rather than GCSE ,only to find out that didn't happen and he's got take maths and English GCSE for a third time this summer I not overly optimistic.

This isn't true. With Foundation, they need about 70% to get a 4. With the Higher paper, a 4 is the lowest you can get but level wise it's much more difficult. Most students taking Higher will be after a 7 plus. So for average students wanting a 4 and taking Foundation, it's actually quite a tricky task.

Same.