GCSE maths for an over 50 dunce!!!

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Hello i wasnt very good at maths when i was a kid and onky got a CSE gade 2. Id love for myself to get at leadt what was a Grade 1 CSE or a Grade 4??? in todats GCSE system. Can anyone recommend how to start??? how/where to study??? thanks

Have you considered a Level 2 Functional Skills in maths qualification? It’s considered the equivalent of GCSE maths by employers and might be a style that suits you more.

Print off some GCSE papers from the website

https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/

You want to start with foundation tier any exam board is fine but stick with one.

Maths papers start with simple addition, subtraction and multiplication.

Obviously they get harder. But you will be able to find YouTube videos on every type of maths topic.

My son used AI when revising. So you can Google images search any question you can't do and it will show you how to do it. You then just need to practice. Again you can get AI to give you lots of similar questions to practice on.

What I would do is buy the CGP workbooks and anything you're not sure of look online for explanations, but the best way to learn is by practice and testing yourself. You might need to start with KS3 to make sure you understand all the basics.
When you have worked through most of the syllabus, try some GCSE past papers and look up grade boundaries to see if you would have passed and see if you do better with the foundation or higher paper. When ready, put yourself in for the exam.
A cheaper way might be to see if your local college offers free maths for people without a C at GCSE, but these sometimes only seem to offer foundation.

Yes consider functional skills first !
Did you want to.do an exam also ?

How do you put yourself in for an exam ?

Just to encourage you, one of my friends wasn’t good at maths when she was at school. She failed O level twice, if I remember rightly.

Years later she did an English degree and wanted to train to be a teacher, so she needed maths GCSE, as it was by then. She went to the local FE college to do evening classes and ended up with an A.

Good luck!

If you don’t have an equivalent qualification there are free government funded courses at local colleges and some community providers.

Does your local community learning offer classes? Ours does, and they are free for English and Maths GCSE/functional skills.

I just wanted to say ‘go for it!’. No reason at all why not as maths is taught so much better now and so many more resources online. Don’t forget there is always more thank one way to solve most questions - and you were probably only taught one way. You might find ways to do maths that suit you better to understand the maths.

Try BBC bite size and see how you go.

Thanks. I was in the top tier at school until they started in equations!!! then I dropped to the bottom set. I've got a degree but have seen a few NHS job/training opportunities that ask for passes for maths and English GCSE's

Thanks. I was in the top tier at school until they started in equations!!! then I dropped to the bottom set. I've got a degree but have seen a few NHS job/training opportunities that ask for passes for maths and English GCSE's. so is the KS3 workbooks all i would need then GCSE workbooks?,? I've found this is thst all i would need ???

Go for it! I did just that a couple of years ago after failing O'level multiple times at school. I found a structured online course which did live and recorded lessons and provided a named tutor for further help. They used the CGP textbook and workbooks. It took one academic year, I booked the exams at a local community college (make sure they do the right exam board) and achieved a grade 5. I was chuffed to bits and really enjoyed it. Forgotten it all now of course 😁

thanks for this. coukd you go straight in or did you need to do some catch up.first? could you please list the books you used?? thanks again

You would need the workbooks for keystage 4, GCSE. Keystage 3 would be a good gateway.

Do you want to get to the standard or do you need the qualification?

@squashyhat did they let you book the exam without having to use their lessons ?

I'd like get what was a GCSE grade C

From what i remember, you become an independant entry, the fee is slightly higher than what you would pay if following a course. We sometimes had the odd candidate sit an exam with our students as we were the local centre. if you contact the exam boards they will explain the fees etc.

Do a p time course at college.
French was my worst subject at school so a few years ago I decided to challenge myself and did a GCSE in the local college (night class) and went on to take A level! Dream big 😊

You need to enter as an independent candidate: either contact local colleges/independent schools and see if they would accept you or go through a provider such as Tutors and Exams.