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

I agree.

Lots of people have good memories, can remember all kinds of things, but completely useless putting it to practical or any other use.

Lots of people can barely remember what they had for lunch, but are remarkable with applying knowledge, logic, etc.

A few people have both skills.

Just because someone doesn't have a good memory doesn't make them thick. I think that's a big part of the problem with schools today because so much is all about remembering things which is why I'm a strong advocate for change in schools to reduce the "memory" side of things, i.e. facts, equations, etc., and more emphasis on skills, i.e. logic, analysis etc. There really is no need for "some" equations in Maths and science to be put on the equations sheet for exams, but others aren't - that's just an unnecessary test of memory and another obstacle to success for pupils who don't have a good memory!

I wish I could have managed to get a resit for my DC but the college said that it wasn’t necessary and wouldn’t be funded as they had met the criteria. They now have a level 3 extended diploma in another subject but I do feel it doesn’t look great on their CV. It’s now listed on their CV as English GCSE instead of English Literature.

I had to insist my son retook English language. He got a 5 in lit and 3 in language. He resat in November and got a 3 again but fortunately passed with a 4 the following summer.

Sympathies, I also fear the 8 times table.

Thanks for the reply. My DD is also an art and photography genius! I can’t tell you how hard I’m praying for her to pass her maths GCSE so she can get onto the L3 Photography course at college she desperately wants to do.

It just seems so counterproductive to hold DD back on a L2 course and (countless) resits for the sake of a maths G4 GCSE. DD just wants to get on with studying what she loves. What’s wrong with that?

It just seems a bonkers system to me…anyone who doesn’t thrive in maths is penalised. If a pupil who couldn’t draw or use a camera was told that they couldn’t do maths A level until they could, everyone would think it was completely ludicrous. And yet pupils who excel in the creative field are told they’re useless all the way through school.

it’s funny (not funny!) how whenever an established artist, singer, actor, photographer or anyone in the creative field is interviewed, they always, without fail, say how awful school was and how they felt worthless and stupid. Why is creativity not praised in schools?

We had similar with DS2, though it was English that was the issue. Thankfully the tuition got him over the line to stay on for A Levels, as they wouldn't allow him to do them with a resit needed, and he had no interest in any BTECS there or at a college.

He's really able at maths and is predicted A* (FM and Maths), and should be going on to university in September. But he could easily have just dropped out of education completely, if he hadn't got the pass in English.

You need about 55% to get a Grade 4.
You need about 70% to 75% to get a Grade 5

I'm not sure if the word "struggle" is the right word - the Higher Paper is aimed at people who do well in maths - and can do things like complex algebra, advanced trignonometry etc. People who struggle with maths will do the Foundation Paper but not all people who do the Foundation paper struggle with maths,

Step forward Michael Gove.

Doing GCSEs here. Pass rate is 75% for a foundation stage maths exam. Foundation is for children who struggle with maths. You cannot get higher than a 5. And you must get 75%+ to pass the exam. Next year if she wants to go to 6th form she needs a 4 or she will have 8 hours of study a week of maths on top of her A-Levels. She doesn’t want to go to college, she has a condition which makes organisation difficult and she has anxiety so staying at 6th form is preferable. I’m paying £35 an hour for a tutor once a week.

Make it make sense.

Numbers instead of letters is proven to be harder for population to compute. Why is our grading system so stupid?!!

Yes, this is certainly the case for my DC’s collage. They said that they have strict criteria as to whether children can sit functional skills and not GCSE. I am just happy that they managed to pass. It did set them back a year, as the college would not let them resit the GCSE while studying a level 3, so they ended up having to spend a year doing a level 2 that they didn’t want to do. It’s quite tough as it means them being a dependant for an extra year.

One of my DC’s got a 4 in literature and a 3 in language, went on to do an extended level 3 course (equivalent 3 A levels) and did not have to resit English. They are considered to have met the conditions if they pass English Literature or Language AFAIK. I actually wish they could have retaken language but was just told that this is not necessary by the college.

@Earlymornyawn some colleges make students resit GCSE rather than functional skills even if they got 2 or below. However, that isn’t the condition of funding rules as you can see from the link I posted.

My DC is severely dyslexic, has ADHD and ASD. They got a grade 2 in GCSE English. They were told that they had to retake GCSE, I did query whether they could take functional English but was told no. Thankfully, they managed to pass 2nd time.

I’ve got a good memory for information, so I can remember formulae etc, it’s my working memory that’s poor. I can’t hold lots of numbers in my head at the same time so I’m not good at mental arithmetic but if I have a bit of paper to jot stuff down on, I’m fine. I did very well academically.

Do you remember primary/secondary school formulas or would you need to derive them from first principles?

I’ve got a degree in maths and have a poor working memory. It can be an advantage as a maths teacher tbh because it means I write every stage of working down for them as I can’t hold it in my head.

I think people who are naturally good at maths don’t understand the concept of poor working memory, and the challenges it poses.

And memory isn’t just one thing. For example, someone can have an amazing long term memory but a very poor working memory.

And social awareness and empathy.

the problem with a lot of academically “gifted” people is they often lack common sense and life skills.

Memorisation is not intelligence. It’s just showing you have a good memory.

Really?

@Mangala13 since you think everyone can memorise facts easily, perhaps it is something you should try harder to remember. Then you won’t continue to post in a way that demonstrates your lack of understanding.

The school year in which you learn topics is entirely irrelevant if you have difficulty retaining information. It’s okay being smug saying you learn things in year 5/6, but for someone who has difficulty retaining information, that isn’t going to be any help to someone sitting a GCSE 5 years later in year 11. I mean, that is pretty simple. You seem to have difficulty understanding that yourself? Can you remember everything you learned in school?

I'd completely missed the fact people can be unable to retain stuff. Thanks for reminding me.

Yes I have children. All doing well in life. Being an engineer myself I've sat with my children for school maths, GCSE maths and A-level maths. I've helped them and taught them.

Angles in a quadrilateral - that's year 5/6 stuff.

Area of a pyramid is year 7-9 stuff.