Page 2 | DS failing A-Level maths, too late to change?

falalalalalalalallama · 2025-12-17T07:25:01+00:00

DS has just completed the first term of A-Level and it looks like he made either the wrong choice or something has gone very wrong. He's done two assessments in maths and got an E in both. Meanwhile, he has an A in the assessment for his other subject and is predicted an A - this is a humanities subject. (Third subject hasn't done an assessment yet.) He's a very bright and articulate young man. He's on the spectrum and doesn't have good organisation. He says also didn't realise he was doing so badly in maths, although it turns out he often wasn't doing his homework. I feel like history is repeating itself. I was a bright child with (at the time undiagnosed) ADHD and I flunked A-Level maths despite having a lot of promise, because it's so easy to get behind and then everything builds on what comes before so it's easy to lose the thread. He'll have to work hard to catch up and he says he wants to do this, but I feel he is being unrealistic as he has no plan for how to actually do this, and since getting the low grade he's focused on his extra curricular stuff, not maths. He's interested in STEM based careers, but he excels in humanities. He's well read and well informed and writes and researches well. I suggest changing subject but he said it's too late. I suggested a tutor but he said he doesn't want one. The universities he wants to go to ask for results like 3 As. That seems totally unrealistic now, although I know it would absolutely be doable for him if he was studying all humanities subjects. If he's going to stick with maths I think I am going to insist he tries a tutor. Are there any other options? WWYD? I am going to talk to his 6th form college, but I would really appreciate any advice.

DemonsandMosquitoes · 17/12/2025 18:59

DS1 got a good 7 at GCSE and A level maths almost finished him off. He came out with a B after being heavily tutored, and was lucky it wasn’t to the detriment of his other subjects which took a real back seat.

Jok77 · 17/12/2025 18:52

A level maths is, apparently, ridiculously complicated. If he is struggling now, I suspect he always will. I struggled with A level biology after getting As at gcse. I really regret not ditching it and picking up another humanities subject.

ColesCorner7814 · 17/12/2025 18:40

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 07:57

He got the E because he's not been putting the work in.

I'm not sure he knows how to, though.

He says the problem is because he hasn't got a good memory, but I suspect the problem is also that he doesn't appreciate how much you need to repeat things in maths to make it stick.

It's certainly possible in general terms to catch up from this point, but I'm not sure he has the organisational skills or the focus to do that. He does say he enjoys maths though, that's a good start!

Perhaps we try with a tutor and then see where we are at Easter. Maybe the right tutor might make all the difference.

If it looks like he's going to flunk maths, could he do a crammed Alevel in humanities in a year or something like that? Or start a new one in September and be a year behind? Or is that madness?

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Many years ago, I dropped maths ALevel after a year as I found it so hard. I picked up another A level the year after and finished a year later than my friends. It wasn’t a big deal as I had friends in the year below, there’s no time limit on these things- I didn’t actually go to uni until I was 22.

Ireallywantadoughnut36 · 17/12/2025 17:56

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 08:04

He got a 6 at GCSE.

Oh gosh I think this is your issue. A level maths is HARD, at our school they only allow 7s and above to even take it. I suspect the absolute best he'd be aiming for is maybe a C, so he's not actually that far behind. To go from a 6 at GCSE and expect anything above a C at a level ua highly unlikely. Personally, I'd be discussing how to drop it and replace somehow. He clearly has amazing passion for his other subjects and if you don't like it, and aren't naturally gifted at it, maths is brutal. I got an old school A in maths gcse, the school tried to put me off doing the A level and I came out OK, but not as good as my others and I hated every step of the way I wish I'd been able to replace it or drop it!

PloddingAlong21 · 17/12/2025 17:00

Best course of action is an open and honest meeting with the college and his teacher

Stoufer · 17/12/2025 14:54

Did you say your son wanted to do computing at uni? Which unis has he been looking at, as a lot seem to require maths A level. My eldest is doing Comp Science at uni, and there are maths modules in it, so it does help to have a good maths background.

Have you looked forensically at your son’s maths assessments to see where he is losing marks? My dc has dyslexia, and in year 11, we found that he was having difficulty transcribing from one line to the one below, due to misremembering abstract symbols in short term memory. (And losing lits of marks). Having extra time to enable him to double check everything, and correct mistakes (where a + gets transcribed as a - in the line below due to working memory) really helped him.

In terms of adhd, I think quite a common issue is being unable to really focus or revise until the adrenaline kicks in, which is usually one or two days before an exam. This is no good for maths!! The best way to learn and revise maths is to be practising regularly - going over concepts, practice questions, and past papers again and again.

One of my other dc has suspected adhd, and the way we are getting over this in the short term is by getting him a tutor, who can go over concepts, and can get them doing practice qu’s. Sadly we have realised it is the only way to get our likely-adhd dc over the line. As we are in an exam year, we have increased to 5 sessions per fortnight (for two subjects). It is essentially outsourcing the hardest bits of the revision (the drive / focus) - but it seems to be the only way…

It might be worth exploring everything you can online as well - there are some very good offerings for A-level maths resources on YouTube, he may get on better with videos rather than textbooks.

Body doubling is another thing - some with adhd find it easier to focus in a room with someone else in..

axolotlfloof · 17/12/2025 14:40

I think a university subject target and then the grade requirements might be a good starting point.
Assuming he wants to go.
I think stick with maths and get a tutor might be sensible.
Though my son's friend moved from science to history in Feb and got a B. He was very motivated.

Redburnett · 17/12/2025 14:31

I'm not familiar with current GCSE grades but the college I worked at some years ago rarely allowed students with below an A at GCSE to do A level. The statistics showed that the chance of staying the course and passing A level maths (let alone getting a high grade) were very low for those embarking on A level maths with a B at GCSE. It sounds as though your DS was ill advised to take A level maths. Given his mixed attitude to work I doubt if starting a new subject now is feasible, always assuming the school would allow it. Would he consider starting again in September with a better fit of subjects?

Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 14:24

Deneke · 17/12/2025 14:20

I've edited the post to add the progress data for grade 7. The school I teach at requires an Grade 8 or 9 to do A level maths because grade 7 pupils tend to head for Cs and Ds.
If it were a 6 I'd definitely drop maths. Since it's a 7 you have a tough decision to make. Is it better to do a subject he is likely to get a better grade in? Or better to keep maths so that a STEM career is still a possibility even if the grade he gets at the end may be lower?

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Thanks, that's useful info.

Is it better to do a subject he is likely to get a better grade in? Or better to keep maths so that a STEM career is still a possibility even if the grade he gets at the end may be lower?

Yes, this is the crux of it. It's really hard to know what's best. We need a crystal ball!

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Deneke · 17/12/2025 14:20

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 14:10

I'm really sorry, I got the grade wrong - he got a 7.

Does that change your advice? Thanks

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I've edited the post to add the progress data for grade 7. The school I teach at requires an Grade 8 or 9 to do A level maths because grade 7 pupils tend to head for Cs and Ds.
If it were a 6 I'd definitely drop maths. Since it's a 7 you have a tough decision to make. Is it better to do a subject he is likely to get a better grade in? Or better to keep maths so that a STEM career is still a possibility even if the grade he gets at the end may be lower?

Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 14:11

shivermetimbers77 · 17/12/2025 14:03

I would say focus on getting a maths tutor who is experienced in working with neurodivergent young people . Very common for working memory to be weaker in Autism , which is going to mean he needs excellent compensatory strategies (eg rote learning of particular rules for calculations; making sure he writes things down as he goes). A good tutor will help him to catch up and also to develop good study skills, adjusted for his autism .. Try that quite intensively for a half term and then see where you are at that point.

This seems like good advice if he carries on with the maths, thanks :)

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Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 14:10

Deneke · 17/12/2025 14:09

Maths teacher here. I recommend that you ask the school if your son can switch to another A level asap.
The school should have advised you at the start of the year that a grade 6 GCSE does not often lead to a decent grade at maths A level. The most common grade for pupils who scored a 6 is an E, with around 3/4 of pupils getting a D, E or U grade.
This summer the grade boundary for a 6 was 50.5%. Knowing only half of the year 7-11 content is not sufficient basis for A level maths.
They should have told you this before your son started the course.
It's great that he is heading for an A in his Humanities subject. Hopefully he can switch maths for another Humanities subject which uses similar skills and play to his strengths.
Edit: I've just seen your update that he got a grade 7, not a 6. Here is the progress data for grade 7 maths continuing to A level: A* 1%, A 8.9%, B 15.4%, C 25.6%, D 27.5%, E 17.4%, U 4.2%

Edited

I'm really sorry, I got the grade wrong - he got a 7.

Does that change your advice? Thanks

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Deneke · 17/12/2025 14:09

Maths teacher here. I recommend that you ask the school if your son can switch to another A level asap.
The school should have advised you at the start of the year that a grade 6 GCSE does not often lead to a decent grade at maths A level. The most common grade for pupils who scored a 6 is an E, with around 3/4 of pupils getting a D, E or U grade.
This summer the grade boundary for a 6 was 50.5%. Knowing only half of the year 7-11 content is not sufficient basis for A level maths.
They should have told you this before your son started the course.
It's great that he is heading for an A in his Humanities subject. Hopefully he can switch maths for another Humanities subject which uses similar skills and play to his strengths.
Edit: I've just seen your update that he got a grade 7, not a 6. Here is the progress data for grade 7 maths continuing to A level: A* 1%, A 8.9%, B 15.4%, C 25.6%, D 27.5%, E 17.4%, U 4.2%

shivermetimbers77 · 17/12/2025 14:03

I would say focus on getting a maths tutor who is experienced in working with neurodivergent young people . Very common for working memory to be weaker in Autism , which is going to mean he needs excellent compensatory strategies (eg rote learning of particular rules for calculations; making sure he writes things down as he goes). A good tutor will help him to catch up and also to develop good study skills, adjusted for his autism .. Try that quite intensively for a half term and then see where you are at that point.

Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 13:52

He's a bright kid, and where he loses marks is usually through lack of organisation or understanding how to study effectively, rather than lack of overall aptitude.

Having ADHD myself, I don't really know how to help him here, never worked that one out myself.

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Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 13:47

OMG - apologies everyone!!!

I just looked up his GCSE results to check I remembered the science results currently, and discovered he did get a 7 for maths afterall, not a 6.

Sorry everyone

FWIW, he got 8 for English Lit, Lang and History.

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Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 13:45

axolotlfloof · 17/12/2025 13:24

The situation as it is now is he is unlikely and always was that he will get a high grade at A Level maths, but with some application he could get a C or D. What STEM subject does he want to do and what are the entry requirements?
He sounds like he loves humanities but he doesn't intend to do that at uni?

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His third subject is Computing.

He got an 6 in that at GCSE. I'm yet to find out his mark for his assessments, so I have no idea how well he's performing or not at A Level, yet.

The thing is, he loved the sciences as subjects. He finds physics fascinating, always has done. But, that didn't translate into high grades, so it wasn't as simple as subjects he loves = high grades.

He got 6,6,5 for his three sciences IIRC.

He really struggled with making choices for college, and could easily have picked all STEM (which I'm glad now he didn't) or none at all.

He's spoken about doing Computing with a humanities subject (found a university he likes that does this) or Engineering.

When I mentioned politics and philosophy - which he would excellent at, I have no doubt - he said no, as there are no jobs in politics. I tried to explain that you don't necessarily go into politics after doing it as a degree. I think maybe he could do with some careers advice - as suggested up thread.

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axolotlfloof · 17/12/2025 13:24

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 13:08

OK, yes, but I'm unclear why people keep repeating this? It's useful background the once, but it's less useful the 10th time!

That's the grade this college accepts, and it's too late to go back in time and change anything now.

I need to deal with the situation as it is now.

Show quote history

The situation as it is now is he is unlikely and always was that he will get a high grade at A Level maths, but with some application he could get a C or D. What STEM subject does he want to do and what are the entry requirements?
He sounds like he loves humanities but he doesn't intend to do that at uni?

Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 13:08

TheNumberfaker · 17/12/2025 13:00

A 6 is a great grade to get for GCSE Maths but as others have said unfortunately it’s really not enough to secure a high grade at A level. (Unless there was some real context around exams.)

OK, yes, but I'm unclear why people keep repeating this? It's useful background the once, but it's less useful the 10th time!

That's the grade this college accepts, and it's too late to go back in time and change anything now.

I need to deal with the situation as it is now.

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TheNumberfaker · 17/12/2025 13:00

A 6 is a great grade to get for GCSE Maths but as others have said unfortunately it’s really not enough to secure a high grade at A level. (Unless there was some real context around exams.)

Original poster

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 12:59

perenniallymessy · 17/12/2025 12:28

My DS is in Y12 doing maths. At his sixth form they were only allowed to change subjects up to the middle of October.

His sixth form has lowish entry requirements for students who came up from the secondary school (compared to most local sixth forms), and they require a 7 in maths to study maths. 6 is only accepted where they narrowly missed a 7 and were particularly strong in algebra.

I totally get how he might feel a bit awkward about a tutor, but what about something like Uplearn, so online tutoring. Haven't personally tried it and no links to it at all, but they do video lessons for subjects and then structured questions and revision. Might help fill the gaps and let him catch up before it's too difficult.

Yes, they had 40 days to change subjects.

The one test he did well in was the baseline test at the beginning, he got 86% in that.

And every time we asked him how it was going, he said he was finding it easy. So we've only now realised he's struggling.

I suspect what he meant by he was finding it easy is that he's understanding the concepts when they're explained in class.

But he's then not putting in the time at home to practice so he gets used to the equations and remembers them, which is where he's coming unstuck.

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PoliteSquid · 17/12/2025 12:47

falalalalalalalallama · 17/12/2025 08:04

He got a 6 at GCSE.

In the schools I’ve worked in this wouldn’t be a high enough grade to get into A level maths.

If he is talented and interested in his humanities subjects why is he not looking at pursuing careers in that sector? Sounds like he needs some decent careers guidance sooner rather than later!

STEM is not the answer for everyone!!

perenniallymessy · 17/12/2025 12:28

My DS is in Y12 doing maths. At his sixth form they were only allowed to change subjects up to the middle of October.

His sixth form has lowish entry requirements for students who came up from the secondary school (compared to most local sixth forms), and they require a 7 in maths to study maths. 6 is only accepted where they narrowly missed a 7 and were particularly strong in algebra.

I totally get how he might feel a bit awkward about a tutor, but what about something like Uplearn, so online tutoring. Haven't personally tried it and no links to it at all, but they do video lessons for subjects and then structured questions and revision. Might help fill the gaps and let him catch up before it's too difficult.

angelcake20 · 17/12/2025 12:19

No school here would allow you take to take maths a-level with a 6; even with a 7 it is discouraged. I strongly suspect it is too late to change subjects. At our school, students in this situation will often retake year 12.

roadrunnerbeepbeep · 17/12/2025 12:19

I did this 30 years ago... swapped to Economics just after Xmas. Ended up getting an A in that. My friend who was also struggling but didn't swap got a D in her Maths. We both ended up as lawyers though so perhaps didn't matter in the end.

So, if he can swap and put in the time to catch up I think its a good idea.