Not allowed to do Maths A'level....with an A

If he's now got a place elsewhere, can you name the school for the benefit of others, please.

That's absolutely unreasonable and definitely about school self interest - sure he'll have to work harder than the kids who get As without trying but my daughter's boyfriend just got an A in his maths a level having got an A at GCSE because he worked significantly harder and decided he really wanted it. If he wants to get "above a D" then he absolutely will be able to. Such a shame that they're taking this unreasonable route, I really feel for your son, especially as he's done so well and should be proud of his result.

School's self-interest at play. Questionable morality.

You have to wonder what quality of A Level teaching there is, if they can't get an A grade student any better than a D.

You should look elsewhere. Last minute places on offer at good colleges right now.

Best of luck.

I am shocked that the Indy school are prepared to lose 2 years fees and tarnish their reputation by being so inflexible. They will regret it in the long term.

My daughters's Indy also stated A* at GCSE for A level subjects but Maths A level was done in one year only, she did achieve an A, by the skin of her teeth, but she didn't really work hard on her own admission.

Several girls left to study elsewhere at local grammars and excelled, so you son will probably do well if not better.

Derelict I think you are thinking of Further Maths A level not Maths A level. It would be impossible to do most (all?) engineering without a good grounding in maths.

AppleQueen, I have not read the whole thread, but just wanted to say I hope your son settles in to his new school and is soon happily making new friends there.

I agree with Noble's advice of the importance of study. The more he puts into the A level, the more he will get from it. On the positive side, he will perhaps now have more of drive than other candidates, having experienced a set back. Success is often not governed by how easily we achieve things, but how resiliently we can bounce back from failures. (Though it does seem ridiculous to class A at GCSE a failure)

Interesting discussion. I have certainly seen several 'good at maths' at GCSE students drop Maths after their first year. I struggled myself, but got s hard won C. Glad you have found an option for him. Might be the making of him, this move.

I think the school is unfair, what they should have say is that he might struggle to get an A, not that he would scrap a D>

However, going by DD and her friends' experience (small sample, but quite representative), it is a fact that those who got an A in A levels have all failed to get an A at AS levels, and that's with them going to 3 different institutions.

DD got A* at Maths and FM and managed to to score all above 90, but her best friend, who managed to get 5As at GCSEs included Maths did so by working extra hard, and even continuing to do so at college, got a B at AS.

She is still hoping to be predicted an A and to be able to go to study Engineering, and is likely to get a place even if she does end up with a B, so I think the school is being very unfair. Was was your son expected grade? There's a difference if he struggled through the year but somehow managed to just scrap an A than if he was A* level but lost out by a couple of point on the day.

I would have a talk with the school again. It's amazing how some say no before start of the year and suddenly (as a number of students drop off) become more flexible afterwards. If it's still a no and your DS is determined to study Engineering, I would change school.

I got 8 As and 1B in my GCSE mocks. The B was in Maths. This was in the days before A* grades. I was at a grammar school so they told me I couldn't do A Level Maths.

In my actual GCSEs I got 9 As. I then moved to a sixth form college where I got 3 As in my A Levels including Maths.

I then studied Engineering at University and graduated with the highest mark in my year. I got particularly high scores in the maths papers.

To be honest I say the idea that you need an A* GCSE to do well in Maths is rubbish.

I have always been a bit crap at arithmetic and a bit careless. However I am very logical and good at problem solving. So basically the 'harder' Maths got the easier I found it.

i agree it is harsh of the school. I gor a B at GCSE and a C at a-level. To be honest I didn't really try that hard though so sure there was room for improvement. I went on to study architectural engineering gaining a 2:1 and am a chartered structural engineer. There is a lot to engineering beyond just maths. There are apprenticeship routes that may also be worth considering. I think they are generally day release and as I understand all firms have to put money into these schemes so most will be keen to tske people so they at least get some benifit from paying in. in my area there are some soecialist colleges for engineering too.

If he wants to do engineering, the best thing to do is get an apprenticeship. A good provider will pay for all of his qualifications and perhaps even a degree, but in the long run the degree isn't important because he'll have on the job experience. It really is the way forward. Unfortunately I can agree with the sixth form's statement - all of us getting full marks in our maths GCSEs barely passed A Level maths, although it is harsh for him to not even be able to try.

UCL require Maths for both Mechanical Engineering and Electrical/Electronic. Not Civil. It would be very unusual for Maths and Physics not to be required for Mech Eng.

My dh did engineering at Uni. He is now head of a few departments in an engineering firm. He went to an Indy school who told him he couldn't do A levels as he got mainly As and Bs at GCSE.
In the end they 'allowed' him to do Maths, Physics and D&T. He got ok marks, can't remember what exactly, but he went to a new Uni (at the time) with great engineering degrees. Don't let your ds be put off.

I got a B at Maths GCSE (although I got 98pc) as middle tier paper. I got a C at A level Maths, and enjoyed it (and not having to write essays!!)

OP bear in mind that not all universities ask for Maths to do Engineering BsC or MEng - UCL don't require maths or physics in fact as they know this severely limits the type of students they get.

One of my DCs is currently halfway through an A level (not maths) after only getting a D at gcse last year. We moved schools for 6th form and the new school did not seem to think the D was a problem.

Go somewhere else and let him do what he wants.

I have a GCSE and a degree in Spanish, but no A-Level. I got an E at French A-Level and yet still got a degree in a modern language and added Portuguese, Catalan and Provençale to my list.

I have an A-Level and a degree in History, but no GCSE (I didn't fail, I just never took it).

Hard work, dedication and passion go a long, long way.

A school who can only scrape grade Ds from A grade students is not teaching properly. Most schools will accept A level maths students who got Bs at GCSE.
A relative of mine got an A at GCSE and then got an A in maths A level and a B in further maths A level. They worked jolly hard though but shows it is possible.

If the OP knows the mark (Not UMS for IGCSE) and the grade boundary, she will know if he squeaked it or not.

A levels have 6 grades. Restricting access only to those who are likely to get the top 3 is unnecessarily selective for a comprehensive school.

Of course, the OP's DS's school is private, but all this reference to "local schools" being highly selective is disappointing.

OP are you able to tell us what his UMS was and what the boundary mark was?

As others have said, he may have scraped the A grade and this could be relevant.

In our local school, to do A Level, students need to achieve at least an A in the subject they wish to study AND have to be green lighted by their GCSE teacher about their ability (can they achieve a B or above at A level) and attitude to work. It is possible for someone to get an A and not be green lighted if in the teachers judgement the pupil doesn't have a good work ethic or has limited ability - it recognises the vagaries of the exam system and puts teacher judgement ahead of grades.

Student A Level choices are analysed closely in Yr 11. If they are picking things which might result in lower grades than if they picked other options (only academic subjects offered) then this is pointed out to them.

Is this because the school is looking out for the kids best interests or the school league table position? A bit of both. These kids want to go to RG Unis and in most cases will need a B or above in each subject to get their offers and places. They are guided to was subjects where this will be possible for them and away from subjects where a C or below is the likely outcome. Yes, this will boost league table positions, but it will also allow students to get to the good Unis.

As far as I have heard, anyone who isn't likely to get a B or above in anything is offered a different course to the 3 a level standard. I hear that some do just 2 subjects or do a BTEC with an A level. Some choose to leave, but I dont think anyone is forced to leave altogether. And I don't think people have to leave after Yr12 if they do poorly, although I'm not sure, but I think that once on the course they support the kids through to the end and provide extra help for those who need it.

OP can you tell us what marks your DS got and also tell us if he was perceived as an able and hard working student at GCSE or if there were issues lower down the school which might account for refusal to take him. And I'm glad he's found somewhere which will take him if he's really set on A Level maths. Would you rather he did it and got a C grade which might limit uni options or prefer he did something else where his likely grade would be higher?

I think A and AS Level maths can be a bit of a shock after GCSE as there is a big jump.

DS's friends were all A and above at GCSE but there have been quite a few Bs and Cs at AS Level. His school still do 4 in Y 12 then drop one. Lots are now dropping Maths. It hasn't been the same picture in other subjects I don't think.

Ds got a an A at GCSE and an A at A level. Both at normal comprehensive schools (and he has quite significant additional needs). It may have some truth as a generalisation, but if the school knows its students surely they ought to be looking at each one as an individual?

Good luck to your DS. I am glad he has got a place at another school. My DD1 had to work hard to get an A at GCSE maths, she then did A level and also had to work hard. Your DS will need to practise questions/past papers a lot. After every lesson, do more questions etc. DD got an A (just missed A*) at A level and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Good luck to him. Engineering is brilliant and he should be encouraged. There is a lot of maths but it becomes easier to relate to than some of the very theoretical stuff.

Round my way, at least for boys, I can only think of Magdalen who set A as the requirement for A level study in a subject. When I did maths admission at an Oxford College, we filtered on A, but that was for kids who wanted to do maths at Oxford (there were of course other requirements - A GCES was necessary but not sufficient!). The school my son is at says that kids who want to do Further Maths as well should have A. Sounds like the OP has a school more interested in protecting league table placings than meeting kids' needs. A good reason to move.