To be a bit disappointed year 9 dd is in bottom set for maths?

[awaywiththecircus]

Dd goes to a grammar school. She loves school, cried when it shut for lockdown and was excited to go back.
I know I’m being unreasonable as Dd is definitely no maths whizz. It’s not something that comes easily to her but she gets there in the end. I’m the same so don’t know why it’s bothered me. Her older brother (15) is brilliant at maths and going to do further maths GCSE and A level. Please talk some sense into me.

My DD was in one of the lower sets for maths at an academic girls school and got an 8. As others have said, she is at grammar - lower sets mean she is just at the lower end for her year group at her school which is probably actually quite high compared to the population as a whole.

Prepared to be corrected her but I do think GCSE grades matter, especially English and Maths. With most RG making offers of AAA my understanding is that they will sometimes look at GCSE grades. Additionally if a student wants to go for a higher level uni they will need high level GCSEs.

I personally wouldn’t take much notice of groups at this stage of the year. It’s far too early, my dd started high school in the second lowest maths group, she was disappointed but put her head down, worked hard, asked for extra work, went to after school support groups and worked her way up. SHes just received an A grade in Maths higher! Not bad for starting in the second lowest group.

Thanks so much for all these brilliant, positive replies. You’ve helped me see she’s definitely in the right set for her and I know she’ll do better with a slower pace.

I'm sure she is good at other things and excels at some. As long as she gets by in maths, don't worry. She is not alone.

I went to a GDST school (free place) and was bottom in maths. When you go to an academic school after having been a 'very clever' one, it's quite humbling to be just average. Average is good though. If she isn't overly pressurised, your daughter will do well. There aren't that many 'bods' who are brliliant at everything.

You can tutor if she wants. If she does other subjects no one will care.

I was in bottom set for maths at a grammar. I had to take my maths three times to get a C. I came top in a Russell Group University in my English degree and am a great English teacher. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I still hate maths though 😁

I achieved old style A and A* in every subject at GCSE back in the day, and yet it took me FOUR attempts to get a D in Maths. Some people just struggle with numbers 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'm sure she has other strengths and she only needs to pass the subject

It just means that they will cover the syllabus more slowly but that will be better for her. She will take the same exam as everyone else and as long as she passes it won't make any difference. She is obviously very good at other subjects to get into grammar.

I can't see why it matters?

A good pass, c or above is all that's needed surely? She doesn't need maths to get into grammar, she doesn't need maths for any future carer?
She will pass however..

I definitely wouldn't worry at all unless she wants to do A Level maths . All she needs is a 4/5

Very funny @Pumpkinnose

What are you going to do about it?

She's at a grammar school, the standard is probably higher. Bottom set isn't the be all and end all. I was in bottom set Maths at a comprehensive and I have a maths degree.

75% of all jobs require GCSE maths

Generally 50 odd % pass this at school

Kids are being let down somewhere

How does your dd get on with their Maths teacher? If not great, can you afford a private tutor OP? I honestly think that it makes a huge difference if there is a good relationship between pupil and teacher.

My son was in the standard below (not sure what they actually call it, as in Scotland) he should have been for his age. Didn’t help as his teacher didn’t like him (he could be a right little shit, so not necessarily her fault). Starting the next year he moved into another teachers class. He got on with new teacher and they had a great relationship. He went from below standard to top Maths group in one year because the teacher believed in him! He was a bit upset when he had to move class because of this, but original teacher had an after school club, which he continued to go to. He got an A in his Higher Maths!

Not saying this would be the case with your dd, but I honestly believe that having the right teacher (or tutor) makes a massive difference in their learning.

Stop negatively comparing her with her brother - she is her own person and her strengths and weaknesses will not be the same as his.

Be proud of what she does best.

I can understand how you feel - its totally natural to feel the way you do even though you know it makes no sense!

Do remember that Grammar schools are a bit of Narnia and due to being surrounded all the time by other bright DC its very easy to lose perspective. She is likely still in the top 20% in terms of her maths skills :) and lets face it, we are all in possession of strengths and weaknesses. Being in a 'lower' set just means she will be taught at the right level for her. Nothing would dishearten her more than being in a class where she struggles and will feel like she is stupid. This way she can grow in confidence and is more likely to get a better grade overall :)

However please don't let her know how you feel, when I was at school ( also went to a grammar school) i was put in the 2nd out of 5 sets for English. I was very good at English and my Mum was outraged and kicked up a massive fuss that I wasn't in the top set. Long story short it worked out better pretty much my whole class got two A*'s/A's in their English GCSE's as we were bright and taught at a slower pace meaning we were more confident than the top class in the end!

your daughter will do just fine :)

@awaywiththecircus My DS (super selective) was in the 8th of 8 sets for Maths. 14 of them, instead of 32 in the higher sets. They worked at a steady (slow!) pace, finishing the syllabus in March of Year 11, while the top 3 sets had finished by the end of Year 10.

It suited him down to the ground - he was able to ask the teacher to go over things again without worrying that he was slowing the pace of the class for the more able.

He ended up with a really good grade for maths, as did the vast majority of the Set 8ers. I'm certain he wouldn't have achieved that in a mixed ability class.

@Pumpkinnose

I think this is awful post. Why would you put this on a public forum!

It’s very goads, well your daughter got into grammar school someone has to be in the bottom set...! There will be parents whose children didn’t pass the 11+ reading this feeling rubbish!

Awk, away on! My youngest will never have the ability to read better than a five year old, but I’m not taking it personally. It’s Mumsnet, we all have shit going on abc this is a good place to look for support.

How do the children get on, OP? Do you think her older brother could help her?

I voted YABU but I do understand how you feel. She’s in a grammar school and strong maths skills are fairly fundamental for passing 11+, so a lot of those girls will be ‘naturals’.

Remember she’s there with about the top 15% of children... if she was in a comp she might not be in the top set but would be pretty close to it.

Only thing to keep an eye out for is being ‘made’ to do the easy paper at GCSE... perhaps think about a tutor nearer the time and she should be fine to go for the high grades. I was at a grammar with my friend, who wasn’t much better at maths than me and who got an A, but I was made to do the easy one... she said there was loads of trigonometry that I really liked, so I was a bit disappointed I couldn’t have given it a crack!

I was bottom set maths at a grammar school. Maths didn't come as naturally to me as other subjects but I still got an A at GCSE.

Bottom sets at grammar don't mean you're bad at something, you're just being compared to the brightest!

I was in top set for maths at first and hated it. I really struggled. They moved me to bottom set - we only had two sets. Suddenly it was a language I could understand and I felt happy. I got a C at GCSE which was all I needed. I have a first class English degree so it hasn't held me back. It might be the making of her! It's horrible when you feel you are struggling and your peers aren't. Really damages your confidence. Moving down sets built my confidence. Don't worry in other words!

So what? I was in the bottom A band set for maths because I really wasn’t much cop at it (or at least compared to my other subjects). I ended up with a C grade GCSE in it- which was all I needed to do A Levels- and ended up with a decent English Lit degree and Masters from good unis. Weirdly enough, in my arts-centred job, what set I was in for maths never comes up! This is really only a “problem” while she has to do maths and that won’t be for much longer.

I was in the bottom set for maths and I now own a successful company.

Maths isn't the be all and end all. Just tell her to hire a good accountant should she need it

My mother was like this - I was always crap at Maths but my mother thought I should always be in the top 'set' 'band' whatever...not because she thought I was naturally bright but because it made her look good, the perfect mother...

During one of my many secondary school changes, she actually lied to the headmistress of the public girl's school I was going to attend, during the interview. saying I was brilliant at Maths and lying about my previous grades, to make sure I was put in the top set...I tried correcting her and got told to shut up. And was bollocked to a inch of my life by her afterwards...I was 13 and basically suffered for the whole of the 6 months I was at that school - I didn't have a clue what was going on most of the time, the class was way ahead anyway of what I was doing when we left the UK (we'd gone back to Oz) and I didn't have a hope in hades of catching up.

I basically totally gave up on Maths as a subject and as it was the early/mid 80s there wasn't too much communication between the school and parents so I got away with it. I ended up attending Oxford as a mature student at age 25...still without even a GCSE in Maths.

She's only 9! I was quite mediocre in my results at my school (and in the bottom set for maths) until I hit puberty, then everything clicked and I raced ahead (according to the teachers) - A in GCSE maths, A in GCSE statistics, and even tried the A Level and got a B, though it wasn't something I wanted to pursue. I got a 2:1 from Oxford in a very not-maths related field (could have been a first according to my tutors - but boys and alcohol . . . .). But being in the bottom maths set was right where I needed to be, as they were dealing with concepts my understanding just wasn't up to in that area, at that time. Really do not worry, brains change hugely. I am sure your daughter will be just fine. It is not a reflection on her intelligence, just more the level of explanation needed in that particular way of thinking/grasping concepts for the age (and believe me, I needed a lot!) - it most likely means her brain is better at processing words, images, emotions or some other field right now. She may never be a professional mathematician but she may well be extremely successful at something else.