Struggling with maths a level

[Ilovedogs10]

Dd in year 13 and is really struggling with a level maths. with hindsight she should have swapped it for a humanity subject this time last year but we were assured that she would improve. She is getting grade d/c in her assessments and says she just can’t understand the questions even when she is capable of doing the maths. She got a grade 8 at gcse so we presumed she would be fine.
she has spoken to her maths teacher, we have bought uplearn and suggested she go to the drop in maths group. She doesn’t want a tutor.
this is really frustrating for her as she is predicted a* in her other subjects. Applying to uni is a nightmare as the ones she wants won’t accept her with a predicted c (and this seems aspirational at the mo). We have suggested a gap year to take the pressure off. She won’t get a contextual offer.
anyone been in a similar position and can offer any advice or positive stories?

I don's have much advice @Ilovedogs10 but sympathy. It’s tough for uni applications isn’t it, as two Astars indicate a highly ranked uni but the C will not be acceptable there, even if it is not the subject to be studied. And a uni that will be happy with a C will want (say) BBC which is evidently way below what she might achieve. It's a shame in a way that more unis are not happy with a spiky A level profile as it is perhaps more common than uni offers suggest.

Really she needs to get the grade up to a B, then a lot more options will be open. Why does she not want a tutor? That would be my immediate suggestion. Online tutoring can be really effective and a lot of YP prefer it IME (in their own house, can wear what they want, a lot more relaxed).

DS1 struggled with maths A level. He had a 7 at GCSE. We got him a tutor and he came out with a B but sweated blood and tears, luckily not to the detriment of his other subjects. There’s no way he would have got that B without a tutor. He needed AAB for uni so it was really touch and go.

@Ilovedogs10 - honestly, there’s something about maths A level. I think it’s because you’re competing with the maths geniuses who just get it.

Elder DD got 9s at maths and further maths GCSE, albeit during the second COVID year, and her GCSE teachers encouraged her to take it at A level, and still she really struggled with maths A level. It was a real rollercoaster.

She was at a private school (ie small classes) but we still got her a tutor in the run-up to A levels. In the end she got an A which was her predicted grade but the months immediately before A levels were tough. Her issue was not doing the maths but working out what maths was needed to answer a question - sounds like your DD may be similar.

I think you really need to get a tutor to get your DD back on track and then she can apply with good grades in hand. It’s very unlikely clinics will be enough. Tutors can help train students to work out what maths a question is asking for.

Will she work with you as her tutor?

Dd always balks at professional tutors, but is happy to work with me. maths was easy for me. Some of her other subjects have taken some studying on my part, but I have gotten refreshed.

I got a tutor for one of mine for our equivalent course and it was worth every penny. DC didn't understand things at all the way the teacher taught them, was barely passing, and with tutoring got an A on the exam. It may well not be about her capabilities at all but the teacher's style.

Past papers - practise, practise, practise! My son desperately wanted to do Maths A Level because it was needed for Engineering degree but tbh, many times I thought he ought to drop it for a different subject that he'd do better at. He did really badly in his Y12 summer mocks (a U grade!) and had to re-do the mock (managed to get it up to a D) and also had compulsory "Maths Club" once a week after school to sit past papers and go through them. I'm so grateful that his school did this - it made all the difference. He eventually emerged with a C grade this summer - not fantastic but good enough - and is now studying for a degree in Engineering which has been his dream for ages. So, it's definitely not too late for things to improve!

Why doesn’t she want a tutor?
If she’s serious about improving her grade, she needs to go to every maths club and accept every bit of help on offer.
Really, she needs to be proactive, not passive.
Or accept the lower grade.
I don’t like my predicted grade but I don’t want a tutor.. 🙄