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Secondary education

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Original poster

Not allowed to do Maths A'level....with an A

113 replies

AppleQueen · 31/08/2017 15:42

So DS has just been told he will not be allowed to do A'level Maths. He got an A grade rather than an A*. Head says experience shows, those doing Maths A'level with only an A at GCSE will only manage to scrape a D. So puff goes ds's dream to study engineering. Really gutted for him.

OP posts:
Laniakea · 01/09/2017 09:53

I've only ever seen A* required for further maths, never for maths (it is usually A around here). That includes two state superselectives, the four nearest private schools (one academic workhouse & three old name boarding schools) and the six nearest comprehensives (including dd's which gets the best A level results in the county even when the private schools are included & isn't far behind the grammars in the adjacent county).

Once again Copperbeech's experience is very much a minority.

Piggywaspushed · 01/09/2017 10:04

The bigger question here is why is a subject deemed so hard that you apparently cannot access it to the satisfaction of maths teachers with an A grade ?

That is not true of any other A level : how has maths been allowed to evolve to be so different?

To play devils' advocate, perhaps the issue lies in the teaching of maths. Can maths teachers not differentiate? I do know a few schools which set for A level, which seems to answer my own question there.

TheFallenMadonna · 01/09/2017 10:07

Little smile at "can Maths teachers not differentiate". Sorry!!

TheFallenMadonna · 01/09/2017 10:08

I think the majority opinion on here is that an A grade offer is standard, rather than an A. Even copperbeech has said she fills an A level class with students who have failed to meet the A requirement...

Bluebelltulip · 01/09/2017 10:13

I got an A in gcse and a level then did an engineering degree and am currently doing an engineering doctorate. I really hope somewhere elsewhere in your area does allow him to continue.

noblegiraffe · 01/09/2017 10:15

Maths is completely different to other subjects except perhaps science in that it's hierarchical. You cannot learn to solve simultaneous equations if you have not mastered linear equations. You can learn Romeo and Juliet with no knowledge of King Lear.

AldiAisleOfCrap · 01/09/2017 10:18

I think the school is right. To achieve a good grade at A level maths you must be naturally gifted .

Danglingmod · 01/09/2017 10:21

And languages, Noble. The jump from GCSE to A level is considered similarly difficult, too.

elastamum · 01/09/2017 10:24

Go somewhere else. My DS1 has an A at GCSE a C at A level and a place to do engineering at the University of his choice.

NancyJoan · 01/09/2017 10:25

I work at an indy, we insist on an A at GCSE to go on with Maths, which seems reasonable. Can you ask if he got a low or high A? They will know his mark, and they should also know what he is capable of, and what his attitude to self guided work is.

Thisisanotherusername · 01/09/2017 10:26

I got a B at GCSE maths and very nearly 100% for a level maths - a combination of finding the topics more interesting and improving my revision techniques. The biggest difference between gcse and a level was not the difficulty but the increased quantity of work to get through.

Ttbb · 01/09/2017 10:29

Not exactly surprising. I've known people to get an A* in moaths while drunk. The whole GCSE thing just seems a bit redundant to me.

ZaZathecat · 01/09/2017 10:34

Did you write that while drunk Ttbb :-D

Original poster
AppleQueen · 01/09/2017 10:40

Thanks for all the supportive comments and advise etc. This morning DS has been called for interview at another indy who were quite surprised at his current school. They are on par academically. He is allowed to do the subjects he wants infact they said they would take B's. This yr they've had 79% A*-B at A'level (these are good results aren't they for a cohort starting with B's at GCSE?).

We're still gutted though that DS will be leaving all his friends behind to start at a new school, something he wasn't mentally prepared for at all. He is very depressed.

OP posts:
amaliaa · 01/09/2017 11:03

Personally, I would be angry at the school being so inflexible. Good for him that he is pursuing his dream of becoming an engineer.

He doesn't have to leave his friends behind altogether. My dd changed schools for sixth form and she continued to meet up with her friends from the previous school. True, they didn't see each other on a day to day basis, but they are all in touch via social media.

Rosieposy4 · 01/09/2017 11:17

Copperbeech has what one might call some very unusal experiences of schools.

mnahmnah · 01/09/2017 12:24

I'm a high school teacher. That's a load of tosh! With good teachers he should absolutely do better than a D!

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 01/09/2017 12:32

DS2's big standard state secondary school requires a 6 at GCSE for just maths & a 7 for further maths.

English A-Level also requires a 6 at GCSE & all other subjects require a B.

Rather than having to give up on his dream at 16, you should look for another school IMO.

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 01/09/2017 12:32

Bog standard! It's not particularly big!

TestTubeTeen · 01/09/2017 14:01

The high performing state sixth forms here demand a 7 in Maths these days (and As in sciences, English and a few other subjects to take those subjects).

It was an A but they don't work in letters now. Unless in Wales or iGCSE?

clary · 01/09/2017 14:16

OP glad to read you have found somewhere else.

I am surprised at insistence on A* (or 8 I assume) for maths a level. We had one 9 and a couple of 8s at my school, not much take up there! But it's a good thing in general imo that schools are looking for higher grades - I know of a child (also at private school interestingly) who is doing a level with a C! He is going in to yr 13 and really struggling which is hardly surprising.

yy btw re MFL also being linear - hard to grasp subjunctive if you don't get the present tense.

clary · 01/09/2017 14:19

Sorry meant to say don't worry about him missing friends - DD's best friend at school is going elsewhere, but I know they will stay close, they already have things planned. Encourage your son to do the same maybe.

SandyDenny · 01/09/2017 14:31

It's perhaps no wonder that there aren't enough students carrying on with maths if the A level is so hard that students aren't even allowed to take it without an 8/9.

I don't see the point of making A level maths so hard. Why not move some of the topics to further maths for the most able students to take and allow more young people to access maths for a further 2 years. It benefits no one at the moment imo.

And posters saying that they managed a good grade at A level without an A* at GCSE ironically don't seem to understand the statistical correleation that schools are using.

Copperbeech33 · 01/09/2017 15:24

I don't see the point of making A level maths so hard. Why not move some of the topics to further maths

err, further maths is full, actually Hmm

noblegiraffe · 01/09/2017 15:27

Post-curriculum 2000 that's exactly what was done, a bunch of maths content was moved to further maths and some further maths content ditched completely. It was because the 2000 reforms made Maths too difficult and take-up plunged. Since those changes Maths has increased in popularity and is now the most popular A-level.

Expect all that progress to be lost this year with the utter mess the Tories have created Hmm