Foundation to Higher Maths in a year - is it possible?

[MintLindt]

My AuDHD daughter has been at online school for the past three years following a period of severe burnout and very low (or, more accurately, no) motivation. She wouldn't turn her camera on, engage with teachers or submit work so her GCSE results today aren't entirely surprising. She got a 3 in Foundation Maths, 4-4 in Combined Science and a 6 in English.

Shortly before her GCSEs, she started medication for depression and ADHD and has recently completely rediscovered her love of learning. It's as though a light has been switched back on and she has her life back. She is now highly motivated to continue studying sciences and would love, at an absolute stretch, to become a vet. Alternatively, she'd be very interested in training as a vet nurse.

She is planning to resit her science GCSEs to improve her grades. In September she's starting a Level 2 equine course at college but she'd also like to study online for the Higher Maths IGCSE alongside it with the aim of progressing to A levels afterwards.

I believe she is academically capable of doing this but obviously going from Foundation Maths to Higher Maths in a relatively short period is going to be a huge challenge. She's absolutely adamant that she can do it and I'm keen to support her if it's realistic.

So, firstly, has anyone had experience of making this sort of jump from Foundation to Higher Maths in a relatively short period of time? Is it achievable with intensive, structured support?

Secondly, I'm looking for recommendations for an experienced maths tutor who could help her. Ideally we'd need someone who really understands GCSE/IGCSE exam requirements and could assess where she is now, identify the gaps and work out a realistic route towards the Higher paper. I suspect a qualified teacher or examiner would be ideal but I'm not sure where best to look.

I'd be incredibly grateful for any recommendations or advice, particularly from anyone who has experience of supporting an AuDHD young person who has suddenly regained their motivation to learn!

That is a lot to take on.
Level 2 equine, plus science resit, plus more maths.

If she wants to be a vet, would she be better off doing a home ed resit year with the maths and science, and not 'waste time' on equine? I know it would be relevant but it would take up 3 days a week, plus college would make her do foundation tier maths lessons too.

She doesn't want to just get a 6 in maths on higher tier, to go on to vet Med she'll be wanting 7+ for maths and sciences I would think.

Yes, I completely agree and we have suggested this to her as an option. However, she's been at home for the last three years with nobody her own age to socialise with so she's really keen to try getting back into a college environment and hopefully make some friends. I think that's quite important for her.

She's so adamant that she can do this, and although it might seem unrealistic to me, I don't want to come across as negative or make her feel that I don't believe in her. It's just so lovely to see her motivated and excited about learning again after all this time. I really want to support her and give her the opportunity to see what she can achieve while obviously being realistic about what is possible.

As an aside, why equine rather than Animal care?
I would have thought animal care (which DD did) would give an aspiring vet more variety of hands on experience?

I understand re the socialisation.

If she is capable and focused then the L2 work could be got through quite quickly I guess. I still think it is a big ask.

I guess I'm really just trying to find the best way to keep as many options open for her as possible. It's probably unlikely that she'll go on to vet med but she may discover other opportunities along the way and I don't want the lack of motivation she had before her GCSEs to unnecessarily limit her choices now that she's found her motivation again.

Perhaps A levels will open more doors for her than progressing to level 3 equine but we don't know yet. I'd like to give her the opportunity to see what she's capable of and keep those options open while she has this new enthusiasm for learning. I just hope it lasts!

Yes, I think she can do it. My AuDHD completely disengaged with another subject after burning out but suddenly rediscovered it and everything fell into place. Have a look at 5-a-day on Corbett Maths -really good for kids like ours.

She applied for equine before this newfound motivation and it was the only course that really excited her when we went to the open day so that's what she went for.

If she doesn't manage to progress to A levels, she may well switch to Animal Management afterwards which would give her a route towards veterinary nursing.

Thank you — that's really encouraging to hear, especially from someone who's been through something similar. I'll definitely have a look at Corbett Maths and the 5-a-day 😊

You've said she's highly motivated, so I guess it depends on her aptitude for the subject and how much time she can free up. What's your take on that? Presumably college has to make her sit through foundation maths classes, which will cut into her time and perhaps bore her if it's aimed at people who are less capable and motivated than she now is.

Individual learning by someone who really wants it is always going to be far more effective than group teaching when they aren't interested. For instance, one of my kids, having never done any formal maths at all, blitzed through the entire maths curriculum in nine months, working about three hours a week, and then sat higher tier. However, the fact they'd never been forced to do maths against their will and hadn't suffered burnout made a big difference IMO. And they weren't juggling college alongside it.

Your daughter only recovered a few months ago, right? This is a lot of work she's taking on so quickly. And I imagine she'll find the social side tiring even if it's great. Maybe manage her expectations with discussions like, "Okay, this is going to be very full on so why don't you try, but here are some fallback plans if it proves to be too much" sort of thing. It would be simple enough to drop the higher tier maths if it isn't working out.