DS struggling with 1 A Level

My son got an A * at GCSE Maths years before Covid and still struggled at A level Maths. He had 2 hours tutoring every week and during half term he had 3 hours tutoring each day from Monday to Friday. He found the topic they did at school hard and could not get his head around it. In the end my DH day him down and worked through the mechanics topic which he did get and could do. They did not do Mechanics at school. He got an E at AS level which came as a huge shock to him because he had not had to work too hard at Maths before that. In Year 11 he resat core 1, core 2 and stats as well as his Year 13 topics. In the end he got a B. Without Mechanics it would have been a C. Your son will have missed much Maths learning because of Covid. Last year teachers gave assessment grades. As you know grade inflation went through the roof as teachers were generous. In 2 years time when he sits A level it is unlikely there will be teachers assessment again. If he is struggling this early into his course then he needs to swap quickly. Can he pick up a BTech? If so there is a large coursework component that he can do and keep on top of every week. That way he could focus all his energy on other 2 A levels at exam time. Universities accept 2 X A level + 1 BTEC. My dd did this and went on to get a First in Business Administration.

@UserAtLargeAgain His paper is mostly blank. He said he looked at the questions and didn't have a clue what to do

The way Ds was taught was that if they didn't get the question correct they had the mark scheme open so they could see the step by step process as to what they needed to do. Once they worked through that then it can just be a case of practising that particular method on other examples until it sticks. There are many websites that offer examples broken down into each category like www.physicsandmathstutor.com/maths-revision/solutionbanks/ and on the same site www.physicsandmathstutor.com/maths-revision/a-level-edexcel/ which is the how to do section.

@Lovemusic33 the above website may help your DD with maths. Ds said lots of his classmates found this a really good site. There are also lots of YouTube videos explaining concepts etc that show how to do it. Once you know how to do it it can just be a case of practising it so when it comes up she will know how to tackle it.

Ds did peer teaching and found that lower than hoped for grades knocked the confidence of very able maths students. Maths is a hard A level so to come out with a C grade is really something. She needs to identify what she needs to work on. Every paper starts off with zero marks, you gain marks, never lose them. Resit the paper she got the C on at home, literally one question at a time with the mark scheme open.

I would second the diploma (3 A level equivalent) suggested by a pp.
Foundation courses can be really hard to get into if you've done the 'right' subjects but didn't get the grades - they would be more likely geared to someone who did arts/humanities A levels and now want to do computing. Or a mature student who didn't do A levels at all.

digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/results/providers?searchTerm=Computer%20science%20foundation%20year&destination=Undergraduate&distanceFromPostcode=&studyYear=2022&sort=MostRelevant

If it helps my youngest son got A* at GCSE Maths but an E at AS level. He was shocked. We got him
A tutor over summer break for 8 hours a week and he focused well and he sat the first 2 modules again at same the as Year 13 exams. Then he got an A and a B for first 2 modules but you guessed it got a D and U for units 3 and 4. He ended up back with tutor over summer again the sat in January and ended up with a Math A level grade B overall. It took a lot of effort but he said he learned more in 8 hours a week with tutor than over 6 week summer break than 8 hours a week with teacher 36 weeks. In extra year he worked in supermarket part time to save for uni. He did not struggle at uni which was our big concern. It does not harm people to take an additional year as studying and we thought son matured in extra year too.

I don't wish to be cruel but if he's unable to even attempt most of the questions on the paper, even after revision and a tutor, he isn't going to be able to turn this around in year 13. The second year of the a level will be even harder and he will be trying to relearn the content from year 12 on top of getting to grips with the new yr13 work.

I would take steps to get him on a different pathway asap.

Alternatively if he's told what the question is asking for step by step can he do the maths? In which case with some tutoring he should be able to learn what techniques are being asked for given the wording.

A lot of computing foundation years at university will accept two a levels look at the entry requirements for computing foundation years for some of the universities that he might be applying to on the UCAS website . That will give you an idea of what he needs. If necessary contact a few admissions offices . That will give you a better idea of what the foundation years ask for

Usually computing foundation years at university are for those who has very good a levels but not in maths or science or for those with less good a levels in science and maths

Do they do Use of Maths A level? Or can he switch to an AS in another subject for a year - that would sort the funding issue. If he's happy to apply for foundation years or foundation degrees (which can be topped up to a full degree) then having 2.5 A levels may not be such a problem.

DS1 was in a similar position.

He couldn't do the Computer Science A-Level he wanted as there weren't enough applicants in his year group. At the end of Y12 he got a U for Maths. He switched to a Level 3 Computer Science at college and ended up with Distinctions.

He's now in his final year of a Computer science degree and still doing very well.

My dd is also struggling with Maths and wishing she hadn't took it, she too wanted to do computer science at uni so needed maths, she got a C in her end of year exams but for her that's disappointing as she's always been a high achiever, she's now worried she will drop down to a D and has almost given up. She was hopping for AAA to get into oxbridge or AAB for Exeter, she's now talking about taking a year out or not going to uni at all.

A level maths is a huge step up from GCSE, any pass grade is a huge achievement.

2 A levels may be enough for a Foundation course which would fill the necessary gaps. Maths is hard though, it may yet click or not. A U and blank answers is not encouraging that he is developing confidence even if he has learnt the basics.

Is getting a tutor an option?

I did a'level maths, and I didn't do very well in it. I understood the methods when I was doing them but when I saw a question, it would always take me far to long to work out what it is I needed to do with it. My degree was in Philosophy and my dissertation was on propositional calculus, so I certainly had the aptitude for logical thinking.

Some 1-2-1 tutoring might help him with that, if he can work through the papers with help, it's not the fundamental abstractunderstanding he is lacking. If he can do the maths in his physics course it's probably because it is contextualized for him, so he knows what he needs to do with it.

If he wants to go on to university, 2 A levels may not earn enough UCAS points?

What was his GCSE grade for maths? DS is doing computer science for a degree starting this month.

He says that all the stuff they teach you in A level maths doesn't feel like it would apply to computer science but it absolutely does. Ds just watched a video on fast inverse square roots and it applies to all his computer science A level and advanced maths topics. Anything for game development is further maths based but even if you don't do game development general storage and accessing data is all maths, ie vectors and matrices.

DS says the people teaching computer science at degree say you need maths and if possible further maths. These are the people to trust as to whether you need it and you do. DS had to sit an entrance exam for Cambridge for CompSci which was a maths test.

I would want to talk to his maths teacher to find out their opinion about why he got a U. Look at his paper he sat where did he not get full marks on a question. Is it a maths error, misread question, lack of knowledge. Look at the mark scheme, does he now understand what he was meant to do.

Personally I'd pursue a Plan B in the background with meeting with school. if he wants to switch to a BTEC he may find if he waits more than a week he'll have lost his chance.

You are right about the funding OP.

The problem with math is you can be good at the areas needed for certain subjects but struggle with other areas. In DS1 class there was a few who struggled in year 12. DS1 lost his confidence in math for a short period. His teacher pulled him aside and gave him a pep talk. He needs to talk to his tutor, I would be curious to know why he is being allowed to continue and what is his predicted grades. DS1 college you were not allowed to do maths without a 8 or 9 at GCSE and some students still struggled.

If a level maths is a requirement for the degree he wants to do he won't be able to do the degree work if he can't do the a level work. He needs to change plan.

Could he redo year 12 and start with different A levels?

If he struggles with maths wouldn't he struggle with a CS degree course anyway?

This may sound a bit radical but if he moved NOW he may be able to find a 2 year Extended Diploma in Computing at a local college. This is a '3 A level equivalent' course.

But term has already started and there may be no spaces.

It might be a better option than just 2 A levels...