Failed GCSE maths again..

[scoobysnaxx]

Hi all,

My son is currently in college which will come to an end in June. He has no idea what he wants to do and no other course or apprenticeship attracts him. He will likely be going into full time work.

He failed his maths GCSE in year 11 and has just failed his resist at college. He is continuing maths lessons and will retake again in May.

Can I ask any teachers out there what will happen if he fails again but has gone into work? Will he have to attend college and resist again? Or will it be forgotten about as such.

Nope. Will be forgotten about and he just won't have a maths gcse. I did mine 3 times throughout my college course and still left without one!

Despite that I'm running a successful business :)

What grade did he get? Could college put him forward for functional skills maths L2? My ds2 passed maths but got E in English three times - but he got L2FS which we have been able to flag on his CV as equivalent level to a GCSE grade 4/C so I think that has opened some doors for him. Worth asking.

I hate the way children are expected to pass and made to feel awful if they don't get a 4 in maths and English.
I think the percentage of school leavers leaving without maths and resitting is around 37% and a small percentage do go on to get a 4 at college.
My son is at college and resitting but feels he will never pass,despite passing English and science so I'm trying to relax about it but it's hard.

There is a lower qualification of Functional Skills maths which he might pass instead. GCSE maths is structured to teach children the basics of what they would need to know in order to progress to A Level Maths or sciences. If someone has no intention of further maths or science they don't need it. Many employers ask for GCSE maths but all they actually want is some kind of proof that a person is basically numerate, and Functional Skills does that.

No one will force him to keep studying it but some jobs that he might be interested in will be inaccessible.

It's just forgotten about.

Is this his first (Y12 equivalent) or second (Y13 equivalent) year in college?

If he goes into work it’ll just be forgotten about. But a lot of jobs have it as a requirement so it may work against him later on depending on the field etc.

Ask for him to do functional skills, this is accepted instead of GCSE in the majority of cases.

Poor kids. My DD also failed Maths and English, did resits in November and managed to pass Maths. Unfortunately will have to resit English for a 3rd time in the summer. I do worry for her.

Level 2 functional skills English is more straightforward than the GCSE.

The maths I am not so sure about as questions seem to be more wordy. But it drops out things like algebra and trig. I am due to chat to DD's tutor on this shortly as we may go straight from gcse to fs without waiting for gcse resit results.

I think worth pursuing the level 2 FS via free adult education post college as you never know when it will be needed for a job.

College funding requirements tend to push colleges into gcse resits rather than level 2 FS.

Really, it's forgotten about?

Surely employers/colleges will ask for it??

As has been said, L2 Functional Skills has less content but can be just as tricky due to the style of question.

You can look at the papers here - https://passfunctionalskills.co.uk/ I used this site for revision for my Yr 11's who we put through Level 1 if we think they won't pass GCSE.

Yes which will make it harder for him to get a job. That's why there is multiple pushes while in education.

I agree with others that functional skills is his best bet.

It's forgotten as in no state requirement to resit.
But obviously other courses or employers may require a level 2 pass.

Nobody ever asked me. I failed O Level maths (it was before GCSEs came in).

I don't have a single qualification in maths but I got into uni and gained an honours degree in modern languages. I then went on to work successfully in financial services.

It will be forgotten about in years to come.

@Topseyt123 it may be forgotten, it may not.

Thanks guys, I think I'm going to email his college and find out. I've encouraged him to revise more (which I knew he hadnt been revising for the resit before!) I hope he passes it. I'll email about functional skills and ask if it's still an option to attend college to do this even if he's left and is working. Either that or he changes to functional skills now. He got a 3 in his gcse and his resist.

That is less likely now tho tbh. My DC were asked to show their grades in maths and English lang for uni admission. Some unis ask for a 4/C, some ask for a 6.

I guess someone who had been out of education for a while would perhaps not be expected to produce the maths grade 4.

I think tho that to say "it will be forgotten" is a bit glib; yes college will not chase him up for years to do resits; but employers may look for it so it's ideal to have something that ticks the box.

@scoobysnaxx if he got a 3 twice, do you know how many marks from a 4 he was? I would say pushing a decent 3 to a 4 is well worth a third try. Can you look at getting a tutor?

When someone said ‘it will be forgotten about’ they were answering the OP’s question about the requirement to keep resitting it. She asked, if her DC went into work if they would still be expected to re-sit until 18.

The answer to that is no. It will be forgotten about in terms of anyone chasing him up to re-sit.

The poster who said this, did not mean it won’t matter they didn’t have GCSE maths. It is a barrier to lots of jobs. This is why getting L2 functional maths is a good idea as it is an alternative. Even if the DC gets a job without Maths GCSE, they may struggle to access their next job as maths will be a requirement.

Therefore, rather than just accepting it can’t be achieved, for those who’ve failed a couple of times and are struggling, it is a good idea to push their college to let them do Functional Maths. Parents might have to get invovled to really argue for this. This is usually more achievable for students and means that barrier to lots of work options or next level courses will be removed.

I know adults in their 30s now returning to night school to battle through GCSE maths as they are finding they can’t apply for jobs they want without it. No-one wants to be in that position.

Yes absolutely @WombatChocolate and I appreciate you clarifying.

I was trying to say that just posting “it will be forgotten” while strictly true, is perhaps not helpful as in, GCSE maths is useful (tho obvs not essential).

I think with 2x grade 3 a 4 is a real possibility tbh.

I know at local authority where I work there is opportunity for staff without pass grade maths and english to resit or take equivalent qualification at no cost to them. It’s encouraged as lots of job roles do require a pass in maths and English.
My friend resat as a private candidate at a school age 40 after self study as she couldn’t apply for a promotion without it (nhs)

There are free adult education classes for people without level 2 passes in English or Maths.

Good the LA encourages people to do them.