GCSE in yr 7 - wondering what to expect?

[oopslateagain]

My friend's son who is 12 and in yr7 has come home with a note from his maths teacher. Apparently he finished all the class work quickly and was given a worksheet, he completed this and got all the questions right and the teacher then gave him another paper to work on. He completed it and got every question right. It was a GCSE maths paper. Next week the teacher wants to give him A-level questions to try.

I have no experience of this at all, neither does my friend, but this does sound rather 'gifted', doesn't it? We are really pleased that the school has picked up on it and hope they will challenge him a bit so he doesn't get bored in lessons, but we are also wondering where the school will take it from here - what would be the typical thing for the school to do?

When my friend told her son she was really pleased and that he sounded very good at maths, he commented "Yes but I hope they don't want me to work like that all the time!"

I would expect the school will still have more to do to assess him to find out exactly what he knows and what he does not. Different exam boards offer slightly different levels of content and different numbers of gcse exam papers; so what they have assessed him on so far will be dependent on what exam board the school use and what paper they gave him. (AQA and Edexcel have their own web sites - use google to find them - which will give you more information, gcse sample papers etc., as does Cambridge for their IGCSE. If you are in Scotland then there is only one, national exam board: SQA.) You should find out exactly what the paper was that he was doing e.g. core or extended, additional maths etc. and what aspect of Maths it covered. You will then be clearer on where they have currently identified his strengths (e.g. algebra etc. - forgive my vagueness: I teach secondary, but not Maths!) The school should, through this assessment process, be able to identify which areas he would benefit from additional work in if he is not at the same level of ability in all different areas of maths.

If he is very able and they are looking to start him on an early gcse path then an exam like cambridge igcse is good as he can do igcse extended mathematics as one exam e.g. in year 9 and then additional mathematics as another igcse in year 10 which will extend and broaden his knowledge as well as helping prepare him for the higher demands of A level (if he chooses to go that route). However some schools are not open to offering igcse (international gcse) though you will find it in many private schools as it is considered more difficult and better preparation for A level and IB. When the time comes the school should inform you what exams boards they use and what they think is his best gcse option. I would advise you however to investigate the different exam boards and what they offer and if his current school doesn't offer what you/your friend feel is the best option then shop around for schools that will allow him to sit as an external candidate.

I would tell your friend to write/email his teacher back and tell them that she is pleased they have noticed this; she should explain to them she would like to know what to do next to help support her son and ask what their next steps will be in assessing his potential and how they plan to support and enrich his learning once they have finished this. I am sure she will find the teacher/head of department more than willing to arrange a personal meeting once they have finished assessing his current standard of work.

Thanks adoptmama that is good information to have. I will pass this on to his mum.

DS (y7) came home a month ago with a GCSE workbook, they are hinting he could sit an iGCSE at end of y8 (I think).
Everything I read about such such early GCSEs says not to pursue it unless you're convinced they'll ace the exam. I think DS could get the material generally down well enough to pass, but he lacks the emotional maturity to work at being consistent in his presentation (marking schemes quite strict), and so probably wouldn't do very well.

I will need to chat about ways to extend DS without going down early exam route, I think I'll be quite disapointed with the school if DS can't be extended in other ways.

I agree, lljkk - my DD will be starting Yr7 next year, is expected to get a 5A/6C in maths next year and her future school has already talked about getting children to do GCSEs early. I would not want her to go into that without her having the chance to get the A or A* that she could get at 16 when she has had the opportunity to develop a broad and deep understanding of the topic.

An early GCSE but with an E or D grade is just not worth it, IMO.

I agree take exams early if it means not too much pressure and a near guaranteed top outcome.

agree also with lljkk - if child is not going to get a A or A* it is pointless to sit early. This is particularly true if they are only sitting say 1 year early as some universities expect all exam results - including gcse - to be gained on first sitting and do not accept resit results.

All of which is true.

But, if he's that good at maths, the extra tuition and stretching can be fun. I did 'O' Level maths at year 8 (and got an A). Not only did I really enjoy it, and it prevented me from being very very bored in lessons, but it also taught me how to work independently (I had 2 x extra lessons before school and then went through the work in class). That was a valuable lesson for both A Levels and university.

I guess it rather depends on which paper he did - Foundation or Higher Tier. My own DS, just eleven, has already had a go at several foundation papers which are extremely easy for a well educated quite bright child to ace.

If it was a Higher Tier, then not all of that is at either A or A* level, I can tell you (only about 25% of it is) and the rest is much lower standard. My DS can certainly cope with quite a large proportion of the Higher Tier questions already, but only because they are so easy.

My DD was given a Middle Tier paper to do in Year 8 (she had gone up a year early so technically she was in Year 7) and got practically 100%, this in the days when they had Middle Tier too. She's grown up now. But despite this she waited till she was in Year 11 to do the actual GCSE.
You need to be aware that a GCSE nowadays is not the same as an O level used to be. ie all the questions are long and hard! They are not! Download a few and take a look - you will be unpleasantly surprised by their simplicity for the most part, even at Higher Tier level.
I would not want my DS to do even the Foundation Paper yet, even though he can ace it, nor would I want him trying the Higher Tier until he was sure of an A*. I think he could probably get somewhere between a high C and a B on the Higher Tier, but this is ONLY because the grade levels do not reflect the actual work levels! ie, to get a low B you only have to complete ALL the C level work and below and get it all right. So, a child who is competent at C level work can get a B, without actually having to do any questions at B level.

Odd, ain't it?

Bring back the old O levels!

Our DS sat his GCSE maths two years earlier and gained A he had one in the bag and only 11 others left for January and June 2011, I agree with poster who said "only to to be allowed to take it so early, if predicted outcome will be the end result of A or A".
He sounds as a very capable boy, I am sure he will do well, as giftedness goes I am not sure about it, our DS certainly was not the only one who did it that early in his year, and more boys then girls did it.
There are positives to it, DS had a lot more time to concentrate on his other subjects, and also start his prep work for higher maths in preparation for his A levels, if the boy can do it then I don't see why not, good luck, your friend must be very proud.

I am one of the top mathematicians in my year and was fast-tracked through GCSE and AS level and hated it. The school did not have enough teachers to teach me, so I learnt everything from a textbook. I got excellent grades (90%) but kind of ended up going slow and cruising anyway because I wasn't given the attention necessary (with a teacher I could easily have done my A2 by Yr 11 IMO). Make sure the school has the necessary provision.