Improve GCSE Maths?

[CuppaTea1980]

My son is doing A levels now. The uni courses that he is looking at all require a 7 in Maths at GCSE level and he got a 5. So he wants to retake the exam in November if possible so that he can try improve his grade. (Can’t do it in June as the one exam date clashes and apparently it’s too late to apply for June now anyway) so we will need to find an exam centre somewhere where he can write it. We also need to find an online program that he can work through and upskill. (It’s Maths EdExcel) Does anyone have any recommendations of a good online Maths Program? He’s capable of getting the 7 - he just didn’t put in the required effort in Yr 11!

Tutors and Exams have exam centres around the country and for sure they offer maths as an option. Some students there are HE, some are in school and taking extra qualifications, some are mature students.

He won't get the result for a November resit until mid-January tho – will he need to have it before he applies to the uni courses?

According to the T&E site, its deadline for sitting in June is 9 Feb. After that you are "late" and it costs more. I would think doing it in June would be better from the PoV of uni application? what do you mean one exam date clashes - with what? So many questions sorry!

https://www.tutorsandexams.uk/

Thank you, I will try www.tutorsandexams.uk. He's only in his first year of A-levels so time is on our side and Uni applications are still more than a year away. The place I tried said we've missed the deadline for June - there is a late fee (which doubles in the next few days) but unfortunately they were fully booked and don't offer November rewrites. He is booked to do work experience abroad in June (non-refundable trip) and the dates are over the same date as one of the maths exams so doing the exam later would be better for him and then give him ample time to prepare.

I thought the November sitting was only for those that got less than a 4?

Oh and does the uni he wants to apply for accept GCSE resits?

Oh (again!) and uni applications are less than a year away - he’ll undoubtedly have to have his application submitted before Christmas in order for his school to have time to add their reference before the mid-Jan deadline.

I wasn't aware that November resits are only for people who didn't get a 4. If that is the case then we'll have to rethink how to do things. He got a 5 at GCSE so didn't do badly. He is keen on Business or Economics degree at uni and we see that the majority of uni's are asking for GCSE Grade 7 pass. He plans on a gap year after A-levels anyway so will only go to uni Sept 2028 - but it made sense to me to do maths while the content is still fresh in his mind. Would it really make a difference to your university application if you got your grade from resitting the exam? 😮

Yes some unis specify that the result have to be sat in the normal round for gcses (this stopped some schools doing early exams to bump up the overall number too).

can you resist GCSEs these days? For some reason I thought they were now a one time and final deal? Apart from having to resit if you didn’t get a level 2 pass. But I must admit to not seeing this in writing.

You can sit the GCSE at a private centre regardless, HE students take them and resit IME. Obvs you pay. Resits to get a 4 are a different thing.

Coipke of things @CuppaTea1980 yes, do the unis accept resits - better to check.

Also if he got a 5 in maths does he really want to do a maths heavy degree?

Finally uni applications are not more than a year away. Deadline is mid Jan. And he needs to be getting everything sorted in the autumn term ideally. Open days this summer.

ETA apols just saw he us applying a year later. No worries then re timing.

Does his school/college not offer resits? I know this would be unfunded and I would expect them to ask you to pay as a private candidate.

What A levels is he doing?

I would honestly contact the admissions at whatever universities he is looking at to see what the deal is with the maths grade. Did he sit the foundation paper? Was he predicted higher and just had a bad day?

He's doing Business (which is 2 of the 3 subjects) & Economics and is doing well at both. He sat the higher paper and was predicted 6. He just didn't "lock in" is what he said. One of the papers was a bad day.

I would expect to pay privately. College doesn't offer it but suggested a place however unfortunately they have no availability for June and don't offer November. I'll continue to look for an alternative.

I would also ask admissions about that combination of A levels too. Where I am you cannot take both business studies and economics, they are considered too similar. It does depend what unis he is looking at in future. My child is studying economics at uni.

I would also consider asking MNHQ to move this or post again on a more active board.

A levels or GCSE resits fall under Further Education (16-19 year olds) some post on the Secondary Education board because some schools run until year 13 but Further Education is probably best.

Yes you can resit in November if you have a 4. In order to take the exam in November you need to have taken it at least once before (ie it is a resit only).

I have students that resat because they needed a better grade for uni.

there was some talk about not having a higher paper in the November exams as so few people sit it so maybe check that out.

the vast majority of students taking it in November are people who didn’t get a 4.

We’re in the exact same position as you, so following eagerly.

DD was entered into foundation maths by the school as she wasn’t a big fan of the subject at the time. I didn’t find this out until over a term into her course, and when I asked the teacher about switching her they mumbled about it being difficult at that point because of the curriculum, and never contacted me about it….despite my request and offer to get a tutor to support her. I deeply regret not chasing that up…but life gets in the way.

She was bored in maths the whole of gcse year, as she’d have finished her work before the teacher had finished explaining to most of the class.

Fast forward, she’s got a 5 in maths and wants to study cognitive psychology and linguistics (she has been a psychology fan for a few years, it’s not a new thing). But when we look, all of the courses require a 6 minimum, some a 7.

I’m so cross that a decision made when she was 14 has messed up her opportunities…reading the posts above she clearly needs to do the higher level again in June so it’s on her UCAS application.

It feels so utterly unfair to cap kids ability to achieve a good grade so early…

What a pity that the school didn't recognise that she could do Higher and move her up! I have been told (by my daughter who is accepted for psychology at uni for this year coming) that a psychology degree needs a good understanding of maths at GCSE level so retaking maths at higher sounds like a good idea for your daughter. Good luck!

I had someone ring me back from a company called "PassMyGCSE" today. She said that anyone can rewrite to improve their grade at any time - it would be considered private - as I expected. They have space available for November. GCSE Maths will cost £351 and an extra £100 to access study materials. They will book you at an exam centre near you and take all the planning stress off. I think we will probably go this route. I just want to see if I can find some reviews on their program before signing him up.

I'm not willing to accept that his future career aspirations could be doomed because of an exam! He's just completed some psychometric testing which showed he is best suited to a career in Business and/or Economics and I'd like him to have a fair chance at university applications when the time comes.

Some economics degrees are BA so probably not so maths based and therefore may be less rigid about maths GCSE.

Hey @CuppaTea1980 still wondering about a mathsy degree without a keen interest in maths, I agree with a PP the answer may be to look for econ BA.

Which unis is he currently targeting? I would think the best thing might be to look for unis that fit what he has currently. I mean to be helpful when I say that if he was predicted a 6 and got a 5, it’s unlikely that he will score a 7 more than a year later and with no maths input for a lot of that time.

Plenty of unis do not require a 7 in maths GCSE tbh. Leicester uni (highly underrated IMO) for business econ for example is happy with a grade 5 https://le.ac.uk/courses/economics-and-business-bsc/2026

There are lots of other options – and if he is taking a business Btec (I assume as it covers two of his subjects) and economics A level, and no maths A level, a number of the top unis for econ will not be available to him anyway. I would also suggest (as well as Leics) Keele Econ BA; Nottingham Trent (a good uni for this kind of subject), UEA and Essex. All of those are happy with a grade 5 in maths. All good unis.

Hi @CuppaTea1980just wondering how you are getting along and what you decided to do?

DD is resitting at higher level in the summer, in her school, so we are spending pretty much every night doing maths videos and exercises. I’m proud of her resilience, but far beyond my own maths capacity!

Thank you @clary I appreciate you replying with all this useful information.

@mumsandaunties Good luck to your DD, it sounds like she's putting a lot of effort in! My son will be resitting in November so we have a fair amount of time to prepare. His college have been really great with advice so I'm feeling a lot more positive about it all.

FYI regarding university applications, although the resit is in November the results don’t come through until January (it was 7th this year), which might be a bit tight with the UCAS deadline…

@Sleepthief You are absolutely right. He has said that he wants to take a gap year - which thankfully means we should be okay. If he changes his mind on the gap year then we'll have to figure it out as we go.