DS only projected B at GCSE - worth getting a tutor?

[mumblechum]

Haven't actually received the result of the first module back, but Maths is his worst subject, and ds thinks he'll probably only get a B.

He wants to do 3 Sciences, English and History for A level, but not Maths.

Do you think that a Uni would insist on him having an A for Maths GCSE (he's hoping to do medicine)?

If so, and if he goes for tutoring to get up to that standard, would he have to go every week for a year, or is it more a last couple of months cramming scenario?

He's mostly A and A* for all the other GCSE subjects, ie those have been his coursework marks, but always lets himself down with Maths, particularly in the tests. He seems to do ok in lessons and h/work, but for some reason goes to pieces in Maths exams.

[hmc]

I don't think it can hurt - why not give him every possible chance if you can afford it (which I assume you can), yes get him a tutor

[mumeeee]

A B at GCSe is a good grade. Why do you want to push him further when he'll all ready have a lot of pressure doing his GCSE's/ Yes I know he wants to be a Doctor but if he needs pushing to get more than a B in his Maths he actually might find that doing his Maths A level very hard and also might strugle with the uni course. If he wants a tutor then okay get hin one but if he doesn't then don't force him to have a tutor.

[amidaiwish]

i got an A at GCSE maths (20 years ago!) but struggled with the maths portion of chemistry A level and dropped it.
so yes if he wants to do medicine he needs to really have a very good grip of maths GCSE.

[tokyonambu]

"He wants to do 3 Sciences, English and History for A level, but not Maths.

Do you think that a Uni would insist on him having an A for Maths GCSE (he's hoping to do medicine)?"

My university would, yes. I doubt it's alone in this. The initial filter is 7 GCSE A or A* including maths and English. Even if it's not a stated requirement, these are competitive courses.

Those A Level choices should be checked with a tutor who understand admission. You presumably realise that most people only take three A Levels, and offers are only based on that, so when you talk about five subjects you mean at AS. You can't do A2 without the AS, so you need to think which three you will eventually pursue (four at a push, but there's limited advantage to anything other than the school's league table position).

My university wants two from the sciences and maths, one of which must be chemistry, plus another which cannot be General Studies or Critical Thinking. So in theory Chemistry, Biology, a huumanity would work. As to whether they really would, either in admission or once you were there, is less clear.