Is it possible to get really good at Maths?

However, he has shown some promise in other subjects related to engineering and it is something he is interested in

Which subjects are these - someone might be able to come up with alternative ideas if he can't turn his maths around with the support you're planning on.

I’m sorry to be a negative but Engineering isn’t a great choice. Maths is vital and he doesn’t sound bothered enough to do it at university level where there won’t be one to one tutors. He needs physics too probably. Engineering is a serious discipline and I would be more realistic. DH employs engineers and they do have to be naturally good at maths and be able to apply their knowledge to find engineering solutions. I’m really not sure this is the best career for your DS.

@MrsCardone I was your son, messed around in Maths class, was a total pain, when I eventually went to Uni, I was diagnosed as Dyscalculia. I’d never heard of it, only messed around because I genuinely struggled and teachers, parents presumed I was not working hard enough.

Yes, you can. I was terrible and enyeded up excelling at them because I wanted to be a physicist to be an astronomer.

What is his predicted grade at gcse?

It all depends on his attitude and if you can afford private lessons or time. I am numeracy specialist and as part of my research I conducted survey that indicated that learners potential in maths was affected by their anxiety. In my practice I had a learner who got A * after the teacher decided he would probably get a C.

I was a disaster in maths class for years, never paid attention, never had the right book or copy, didn't do the homework or know any formulae.

I changed school, had a teacher with an extremely systematic, structured approach to it all, and it all clicked into place. I came to adore maths and got an A1 in leaving cert honours.

I was just diagnosed with ADHD a few weeks ago

So it's absolutely possible that he has the ability, just hasn't found the right motivation or teacher.

It is possible, if the barrier really is that he hasn't been working. Because that's a motivation issue, not an ability/diligence one.

He's in year 10, he has the greater part of an academic year to improve his performance in time for it to be taken seriously by the school and reflected in his predictions. What does the school need him to show to move up sets, and which set does he need to be in to do the higher tier paper?

That's the first step - securing the higher exam.

Then getting a prediction of a 7 or above

Deciding about engineering comes later. If he's serious, then physics is also useful (and as maths and physics overlap, they reinforce each other). That's not just about having A levels that look good to universities, it's about what makes a good engineer.

How does 'mild Aspergers' present?

ADHD fairly recently diagnosed and medicated sounds ideal conditions for a good maths tutor to make a huge difference.

In my opinion, doing well at maths is a combination of understanding the basic con cepts, and enough practice at methods, as well as "flair" for the subject. The latter is neither enough on its own or essential. Lack of confidence can undermine performance massively in a student who actually has a good brain to achieve at maths.

Don't worry too much about the future yet, just as a reason to set a goal for "let's help you get your maths going well". Later next year when you can see how well it's going, should be plenty of time to explore alternative engineering related courses and careers if he isn't getting strong enough at maths. At this point I'd think it could be possible to achieve well. Good luck finding a tutor that "clicks".

DS1 just got a B at maths A level. He got a good 7 at GCSE (not far off an 8) and really struggled at A level. He sweated blood and tears to get that B, even had a tutor for the last few months. Ended up devoting far more time to it than his other A levels.

He is not good at Maths, mainly because he messes around in class, being a general pain in the arse, hates his teacher, does the bare minimum of homework, etc.

How can you help him to adopt a more helpful attitude to learning? Why does he hate his teacher? Why is he not doing his homework? Does your ds want to be good at maths?

it is something he is interested in, so I do want to pursue it. Does he want to pursue it?

For this reason, the school insisted on testing him, which revealed he had ADHD and mild Asperger's.

School tested him? Or school referred him?

Either way, 'mild Asperger's' isn't a thing.

As for the maths, he has to be willing to try really hard. DS is doing his first maths module in Uni just now and finding it a huge leap from Higher maths. He is managing but he is also putting in a lot of hours to be able to do so.

What other A-levels would he be planning to do? Physics A-level is also very maths based

I think it’s the case of getting the right tutor/teacher. I was terrible at maths in primary school and in the bottom set. At secondary school, I finally ‘clicked’ with a teacher’s teaching style and became good at maths. I’d say I was top third of the class in a selective school. As with most things, some people will have a natural affinity for one subject and not another, but I think you can go a long way with hard work and the right teacher.

For 1 of my dc i invested in a maths tutor, he was in yr10 at the time and the more he struggled the more disengaged and disruptive he got. The tutor worked with him 2hrs a week, for whole of yr10, they would go over what he'd learnt in class that week and ensure he'd understood it all. By the end of yr10 my ds had moved from the bottom set to one of the higher sets, but more importantly he was confident in his abilities and no longer disruptive. He ended up doing really well in his exam the following year.

Cross posted with your response - is this a selective school? Bottom set maths would not normally be anywhere near good enough for A Level. Even "average" wouldn't be. Do you know if he is line to take the foundation or the higher GCSE paper? He absolutely needs to be taking the higher if he wants to do A Level.

I don't think it's possible to get "really good" at maths - I think the people who are really good have a natural feel for it.

However I do think it's possible to get "good enough to pass an A Level" good at maths by practice and application. Maths is logical so you if you know all the methods and techniques you can work through them in turn to find one that works. There are also (at A Level) only so many types of question you can be asked!

My DS also took maths A Level to facilitate his future study. He will never be a natural mathematician (I'm a person who "gets" maths, so I can see the difference between the way we learn - what's intuitively obvious to me he has to laboriously work through) but he will (hopefully) do well enough to progress.

I agree getting a tutor is a good call. What you don't want to happen at your DC's stage is for him to get to the point where he's "behind" what's being covered in class as it makes it harder to follow the new stuff.

In Year 10, it’s possible, but he does need to stop what he’s doing in lessons. Can you get to the bottom of why he’s doing it?

My DSis really struggled with maths approaching her GCSEs. My DM hired a tutor for her (an expense we struggled to afford but saved money to do). He was brilliant and she went from failing to achieving a 9. As long as your son is willing to engage, he can absolutely turn it around.