Year 12 - 2024/25 - Support, Discussion and Looking After Each Other

My point was partly, why is the link between what are ostensibly pretty high grades at GCSE in maths, such a weak predictor of A level maths outcomes?

Why do you have to get much higher grades in GCSE maths to stand a chance of getting those high a level maths grades? Is it something intrinsic to maths that can only partially be taught? Is maths something where you either do or do not speak maths language and this feeds into maths a level grades?

alternatively is maths teaching at GCSE somehow failing all but the brightest of buttons? It can’t be right that a much smaller proportion of the school population can hope for good A a level maths grades, whereas some subjects do not have a similarly strong link between GCSE outcomes and A level grades.

personally I feel everyone should do
maths till they leave school. Not just because it’s useful in and of itself but because it teaches logic, reasoning and foundational skills for loads of things like computing. It’s one of the very, very few things I agreed with the last government on!

The number of people doing A-level maths was at an all time high last year, maths A-level is the most popular A-level by a significant margin and it continues to extend its lead. I’m not sure if I really understand your point. Are you saying we should make maths A-level easier?

I think the message is more based around 'if you need to achieve a high grade in Maths A level to move on to a degree / job then think twice' rather than don't bother with maths. If what you want to do in life is not dependant on getting an A or A* in maths and you enjoy the subject then absolutely do it, it's a valuable A level for all sorts of other careers.

Dd finally decided to take bio psych history as well as core maths. Is core maths similar to higher paper gcse? Shes looking forward to starting!

Caught up with thread ... feel like us mums/dads have also "graduated" this summer along with our young people!

After passing all subjects (including a 4 in maths ... this was the biggest triumph of all as far as I'm concerned, I almost cried when she read that one out ) and even getting a couple of 7s DD decided to go with offer to do Sociology, English Lit and Media at the college in town. She could have stayed on at school but would have had to have done another A Level and resit maths to gain a 5 in November. She did lots of soul searching and talking to us about pros and cons of both offers but decided to go move on.

It's a wee bit scary as for its faults, school does offer a familiar and smaller environment. However their support over the last few years while she struggled so badly with maths was, quite frankly, shameful (compounded by me discovering this week from another mum that her high achieving daughter was after agreement moved down from higher to foundation paper as she was on the 4/5 cusp. All good and sounds sensible. Until I heard she had several intervention sessions a week since Easter to help her "manage the transition of dropping down a paper. In the meantime so many kids were struggling to potentially pass at all Oh well she got 9a across the board other than maths so I suppose it all helps for the league tables. Sorry I know I sound bitter and I am a bit).
For DD, It's down to her hard slog she got that 4 and we couldn't be prouder.

So on balance I think the new, bigger, slightly scarier unknown option will be good for her. A clean slate too, for me also!! Plus campus has a Starbucks so that's amazing apparently 😀 I think she's going to have a crash course in the value of money over the next few months ...!

She had her enrolment day on Monday and starts next week.

Yesterday I had my first "calm" feeling day in so long, it was lovely to know so much unknown was now a known and decisions had been made.

I didn't say it on the other thread but wanted to say an enormous thanks for all the chat, laughs and handholding these threads have provided.

❤️

I hope she settles well. My DS has had a similar path. Different secondary from all his primary friends and now onto a different sixth form due to his lower results (there is no school sixth form) He has autism, so friendships aren't the easiest, but he is doing maths and further maths so may well meet some like minded people.

Hasn’t the Summer flown by 😱

Ds was not amused when I reminded him he starts next Wednesday, a day before the rest of school for ‘team building’.

He’s staying on as planned to
do Drama, Politics, PRE and an EPQ - it’s compulsory unless taking 4 A Levels. They also do a sports leader qualification, voluntary work and choose a couple of MOOCs although I suspect he’ll try to swerve the voluntary by running the drama Tech Club for the lower years. There was a bit of general reading around the subjects for bridging work, nothing too demanding.

Suits were bought for prom and work experience and he’s given a tie on the first day. He’ll be doing everything on his MacBook so minimal need for stationery, I’ve agreed he can finally have a new rucksack - old one lasted from Y7 😁 So we’re pretty much there.

Interestingly on the Maths front he did get an 8 so would have been able to take it, however he’s very glad to see the back of it. Of my 4, only one went down the Maths/Science route. Ds2 was badly affected by lockdown and so had grades much lower than expected. After a foundation year at Liverpool Uni, he’s now heading into Y2 of an aerospace engineering degree…

Actually not quite zero transition work, as I made her sit down with me and go through the very basics of what Economics is!

Mine has started today! It’s an induction day, with the timetable kicking in on Monday. Obviously the main thing has been to get her first-day outfit right (no dress code). She has done zero transition work, on the basis they never sent her any (hope she didn’t miss an email). Looking forward to hearing all about it later.

DS changed his subjects, so he is a bit behind on transition work. He was very surprised school starts next week. 🤦‍♀️ Why has noone ever mentioned it to him?! I despair. (He has been in school for 2 weeks for preseason training.)

I am ashamed to say I am another maths-pusher here. I told he can do any A-levels, as long as one is maths.

Good advice, thank you. I will have a look at the geography spec with him today.

DD is taking A level maths with an 8 at GCSE. She loves maths and was predicted a 9 but had a blip with one paper. She is doing bridging work (of which there are 7 chapters!) and is finding some challenging, some good but said it is like further maths GCSE work so far.

DD is a self motivated high achiever so far (all 9s for other GCSEs) but I am still unsure if she will be able to stick at A level maths. Time will tell, she won't be swayed to anything else.

With regards stationery, this is a major part of each back to school shop, every year, whether she needs it or not 😂DD loves pretty pens and folders.

I am surprised at the amount of bridging work she has to do. DD did choose to leave it until after results though, so is now spending all day every day completing it 🙄.

@optimisticvibes
Everything I have read about core maths leads me to think it is a very useful qualification to go alongside Geography (and economics, sociology, or history). I think noble touches on it in her recent thread.

Please don't let your DH push his interests onto your DS's A levels when they have different skillsets.

Statistics a-level could be an option instead of maths? Dd debated it but has decided on maths, economics and psychology. She’s been stationery shopping today, wants girly notebooks and pencil case to counter the boy-heavy bias in maths and economics, think she’s channeling a legally blonde vibe 😂
Has done induction and confirmed choices, sixth form college here is the only option, which I glad about, some of the school selection seems very stressful. She’s opted for the college slightly further away and so getting there maybe a bit of a challenge, essentially there’s two buses in and two out so if she’s likely to be spending quite a bit of time in the library until she passes her driving test.

I did a-level geography without having done the gcse, no problem at all, ended up doing it for degree.

DD off to a new sixth form as current school don't offer A level she really wants. Is so sad, as all her friends are staying at current school. Also was uprooted after primary. Feel sorry for her. But they quickly adapt....think it's harder because she is the only one if a tight group of 5 leaving.

@optimisticvibes It might be worth your having a chat with a Geography tracher at the college if DS is interested. I’m not a teacher so I can’t really say whether you’d need the GCSE. Having spent some considerable time alongside DD’s revision this summer I would say probably not. There might be some catching up to do on some aspects, but so much of the AQA GCSE seemed to be about memorising case studies (a specific country’s economy, a specific natural disaster etc) that unless the same case studies appear in the A Level spec it wouldn’t be an obvious carry-over. Perhaps google the A Level spec and see what it looks like.

DD thought about Core Maths so I had a brief look at it and my impression was that it focuses on the maths which facilitates other studies (such as data interpretation, statistics, sampling etc) rather than pure maths concepts such as algebra and calculus. Again, you might want to look at one of the specs online to see in more detail what is involved.

Yes I agree this seems a real shame. I suppose that is what core maths is, a way of keeping up maths skills without the more difficult parts?

I really appreciate this advice, thank you, I feel like we've been going round in circles for a year. Re geography do you need to have done gcse for alevel (his sixth form don't require it) to succeed? He did history not geography.

@optimisticvibes Politics A Level will be essay-based and is reputed to be on the dry side as there is a heavy emphasis on learning and comparing the political systems and institutions of the UK (possibly mostly England - not sure how much coverage the devolved administrations get in the exam specs) and the US. At least with a US election this year there will be a clear tie-in with current affairs!

How about Geography? It has aspects which appeal to the scientifically-minded and a real 21st-century relevance, as the younger generation prepare to grapple with environmental issues and their human consequences.

I find the maths thing very odd. I’m absolutely not saying noble is incorrect, they are correct.

But it seems a bit mad that unless you get an 8/9, A Level maths is a bad idea.

That basically means very very few young people will end up succeeding at maths/ continuing with any maths at higher levels.

Bit of a travesty.

Off to look at what other countries do re maths in later schooling.

Similar A levels. Business and history. X

@MyOtherProfile although we talk a lot about politics at home I wouldn't say he's especially well informed-he doesn't have a strong interest in reading newspapers or watching the news yet. I think that's a maturity thing though.

I imagine politics is very essay based?

DS is doing English lit with history and economics but not ideal for your DS I'd imagine as it's yet another essay subject.

DS got an 8 in maths and toyed with the idea of A level maths for a long time. He is very competent, but not naturally a maths person. In our area you can't take physics without maths at any of the sixth forms. My BIL has a Cambridge first in physics and thinks that's restrictive- he says the most you need is further maths GCSE, but, unfortunately, he doesn't make the rules!

DH is very pro maths and physics and thinks both DCs should carry a numerate subject on as long as poss to leave doors open in future. His view is it's possible with hard work and practice. Certainly his career prospects have been very good due to a physics degree so he's probably very biased!