Is an GCSE English Language resit worth it for a mathematician?

Yes but it’s IELTS which is testing language proficiency which is different to what an English GCSE is testing. DD clearly understands English as it is the language in which is she is currently studying. Maths bsc entry requirement at imperial is IELTS 6.5 which is equivalent to C or 4 in GCSE English. Obviously would be preferable to have a better grade in English GCSE but I don’t think it’s necessarily the deal breaker they think it might be. I didn’t do all that well in chemistry and got into to biology BSc and graduated with a 1st. Even with very competitive universities, there is more flexibility than you might expect.

The foreign students actually do have to demonstrate a language aptitude for most courses. There are specific qualifications with points requirements that vary based on the content of the course.

As an imperial Grad, I doubt imperial will care much about English GCSE given the large percentage of foreign students many of whom would quite possibly struggle to achieve a 5. Also DD is actually at an advantage as imperial have really been trying to have a greater intake of female students esp. in subjects such a maths, physics and theoretical physics ect.

Or just messed up an exam. It happens. It happens to even the most brilliant

For competitive courses a 5 in English will matter - despite having the required predicted A Level grades my child failed to get an offer on the basis that others had higher GCSE grades

For those that seem to think a 5 in English shows they you don't have amazing language skills, would the uni admission people not take into account the 7/8/9 in other essay based subjects. My DS can obviously write a good structured argument, just can't make a story up on the spot.

I think people need to realise tgat tge English Gcse requirenent for maths is to give some assurance that literacy skills are good enough to access the course.It is not there to distinguish between applicants.The top universities have their own tests in place to do this.
Maths giftedness is not necessarily related to general intelligence unlike most other subjects except perhaps music.you would only pick the best musician by their musical ability.Maths is the same

If she is a truly outstanding mathematician (BMO round 2, invited to the Trinity training camp, that kind of thing) then the 5 probably won't matter very much for university admissions. I would still encourage her to resit it. Brilliant mathematicians eventually have to write papers, emails, persuasive grant applications etc, and paying attention to writing will be very helpful.

If she is extremely good at maths but not currently/ in some easily assessed way in the top 50 or so in her year in the UK then she needs to resit it. Even if she does well in the entrance test and interviews at, say, Cambridge, lots of other people will also do well. For an applicant close to the margin the 5 will likely scupper her chances. Most applicants will have only 8s and 9s.

Friend of Ds2 is at Cambridge (tho I gather Oxford sets more store by GCSE grades) with a 6 in Eng lang. I only know this bc ds was delighted to beat him in one subject. He is an absolute maths whizz with 4 x A star at A level in maths, FM, CS and physics. Good thing Cambridge could see beyond his grade 6 (tho I infer his other grades were 8/9).

Obviously one example only tho.

Not gifted but learning differences will certainly make it harder for someone bright to achieve. Otherwise more people would be getting straight 9s

But do they get 9s?

You don't have to be gifted in a subject to get a grade 9. You really don't. I could say a lot more on this issue but won't because it would be outing.
I would advise reviewing the 5 as it seems unusual and resitting to improve the mark.

ASD does not prevent exceptional performance in the humanities. If there is an important explanation of a 'spiky profile' there is space for that in the application process.
I work with exceptional mathematicians every day. Many of whom are ASD. They all have significantly higher than a 5 in English.

But many exceptionally gifted mathematicians aren't gifted in humanities. Those with ASD for example. And sine of the most creative writers are crap at matts and sciences. Sadly what happens when people are measured using tools as blunt as 1-9 and A*s is the true brilliance of the exceptional individual comes up wanting.

Yes, but there are plenty of gifted mathematicians who are. Most of our students who are going for Imperial, Cambridge and Oxford for Maths, Economics and Engineering will have 9s or at least 8s in both English Lit and Lang. I would review and/or resit.

I do t think your experience is that relevant to a maths degree.Maths is a curious subject where A level success is not a good predictor of degree performance. In Competitive maths courses the 'decider' is really the additional entry test eg ( for Cambridge) STEP. The really gifted mathematicians are often not great across the board.

@anomaly2

We do look at everything in the application, I promise you!

But the standards are extremely high. About half of the applicants have perfect scores (only 9s) at GCSE. The others might have some 7s or 8s. I have never admitted anyone with a 6 or below in any subject, but that's because very few people with those grades apply and, of those who do, most won't make it to the interview.

If someone had a 5 in any GCSE it would be a bit of an issue in the application, even if everything else was outstanding. On the margin, it would cost an applicant a place, so I think it's worth resitting if DD really underperformed on the day and was disappointed in her result.

I find this a weird attitude. If someone got all 8s and 9s but a 5 or 6 in maths which as you say is in no way related to your humanities subject, that they were lacking in general intelligence seems a very strange and flawed conclusion. If their sciences were all 8s & 9s I'd assume they just messed up the paper. I'd look at everything else in their application.

I don't know for sure what it's like now but 20+ years ago when all this was green fields and I was at school, you didn't have to declare your lower mark on UCAS forms if you took the same qualification twice, so if the grade on the retake was lower, it didn't matter.

First of all, school won’t benefit from an enhanced grade from a resit (unlike a remark) so they are encouraging it from a place of kindness and knowledge that DD can do better.

Secondly, English Language is a skills based subject so revision is minimal. As a PP said, get her to check the requirements for the two writing sections. Adding a range of paragraph lengths, sentence openings/structures and varying punctuation can have a huge impact on the marks. If she’s a maths whizz, she’s clearly clever so it will be some minor tweaking needed for a significantly higher grade, I’d imagine.

I'd review. We've had a 6 go up to an 8. I'm surprised this wasn't recommended. It may be too late though. I'd definitely resit. It will also impact upon opportunities after university.

Definitely resit. If you get the paper reviewed, it will likely only go up to a 6 if it does move. Look at the papers and target areas of weakness. If it's AQA, students can lose significant marks on the writing sections that cost 2 or even 3 grades. A targeted approach to both 40 mark questions could really pay dividends.

A grade 5 is high enough for teacher training

What did she get in English Literature?

My DS is the same. 9 in maths and 5 in English. What were her marks. He was 3 of a 6 so gone for a review.
I've looked at unis. Think only LSE are fussy and not recommending he goes to London anyway.
Some want a 6 in lang or lit so we are ok there as did well in lit.
Otherwise he'll just have to roll with it. He got good results in everything else, including essay subjects so he can write.