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Secondary education

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Original poster

New Maths GCSE is properly hard isn't it?

82 replies

Somerville · 11/04/2018 21:40

I've seen this discussed, but I only just clicked how much harder it is. DD is revising, and has been given a maths past paper to do, but no answer booklet. So she asked me to mark it.

I have maths A level, but struggled a bit Blush

Differentiation, 3-d trig, factorising quadratic equations??! I'm sure I didn't do any of that at GCSE (in mid 90's). Is A level harder too?

OP posts:
KendalMintCakey · 11/04/2018 21:42

I'd recommend a decent tutor. I did none of the above on NEAB Maths in 98 and passed with a B. Not that I pushed my 16 yr old self lol x Differentiation not killer.

Original poster
Somerville · 11/04/2018 21:45

A tutor for me, so I can mark her past papers in future? Wink

OP posts:
Hobnobsarenotfordunking · 11/04/2018 21:47

I’m a maths teacher and yep it’s hard!

Rachie1986 · 11/04/2018 21:48

I think I did solving quadratics and 3D trig 15yrs ago..

Differentiation is new to GCSE. As is functions, and set theory.

Yes it is harder (maths teacher here)

jazzmin · 11/04/2018 21:52

One of the gcse maths papers last year had something like 18percent to get a grade 4. The paper has to stretch up to grade 9 level. I’ve told my daughter not to get disheartened if she can’t understand some of the questions. It’s still quite an unknown this year with the new grades...

LineysRunn · 11/04/2018 21:55

I remember all that being part of Maths O Level (London board) in the mid to late 70s, and you needed it all for an A grade.

Original poster
Somerville · 11/04/2018 21:58

I was really quite shocked by it. DD is good at maths and hasn't been struggling, so I've been focusing on helping her with other subjects. Just as well she didn't need my help, because it's too hard for me to be able to help her much. Hmm

Massive kudos and thank you to all you maths teachers who have been teaching this new curriculum, at short notice Flowers

OP posts:
Original poster
Somerville · 11/04/2018 22:03

In all honesty, I thought it would be fun to do the paper myself rather than a google to find the answers. I was wrong. Not fun at all.
And then there was a question toward the end that I had to Google. (DD had the right answer but had kind of hacked it by estimating and then process of elimination.) I couldn't make sense of it at all.
Bloody hell, I need to re-learn some maths.

OP posts:
gillybeanz · 11/04/2018 22:03

My dd Y9 has the GCSE and Science Books.
I showed them to my 2 ds's who took theirs 7 and 10 years ago, they thought both were the old AS level.

myrtleWilson · 11/04/2018 22:07

my dd is in year 10 and is always beating herself up about maths - I agree it does seem very hard now... On some topics (maths and sciences generally) she is taking the view that she passes and she'll never have to do physics again Grin Thats not to say that she's slacking off in them but that her life won't be determined by whether she gets a 6 or an 8 in physics GSCE (poor physics I've picked on them for the purposes of this post!)

TheFrendo · 11/04/2018 22:10

What syllabus does differentiation at GCSE?

sayatidaknama · 11/04/2018 22:11

I agree. My DS has gone right off Maths and Science after this year and he is/was planning to do Maths and Further Maths next year for A level.

gillybeanz · 11/04/2018 22:17

I feel for teachers who are pushed to give targets and predictions.
It's good if they can but they shouldn't be expected to.
I found it strange at first, with no NC levels for KS3, having been through it twice before but it doesn't make a difference to the outcome.
I think teachers who are able to give an indication on the predicted lower grades, are brill Grin It's good to know a struggling child will reach a level 4.

AprilShowerz · 11/04/2018 22:18

I differentiation at GCSE 10+ years ago but I think I did an iGCSE

youarenotkiddingme · 11/04/2018 22:43

I've not seen a higher paper. Ds, 13, (yr 9) was given a link to a predicted foundation paper for this year to do on the snow day. He got a 5!

I was thinking it looked hard - maybe I should be slightly more gushing about his abilities as teachers say he's good at maths Grin

noblegiraffe · 11/04/2018 22:55

Differentiation isn’t on the new GCSE. They might have to find an estimate of the gradient of a curve by constructing a tangent, and estimate the area under a curve, but they won’t be expected to do calculus.

popularandspirited · 11/04/2018 23:00

You what?

EllenJanethickerknickers · 11/04/2018 23:20

DS3 isn't doing any differentiation at GCSE either. Edexcel board. Surds, functions, quadratic equations, and a little bit of set theory, definitely. Back in my O level days, surds were A level and we did a bit of velocity and acceleration at O level, but the new GCSE looks a lot like my O level did. I think 65% or thereabouts was an A grade. The grade boundaries weren't publicised but only a set % (~10%?) of those taking O levels got an A grade.

gillybeanz · 11/04/2018 23:23

They just increase in difficulty throughout the paper.
ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2017/11/03/gcse-maths-grade-boundaries/

myidentitymycrisis · 11/04/2018 23:41

its hard.
I'm taking it this year in a one year course (messed up at school)
the pace is relentless and I some of it is completely new to me. Although I did O level in early 80's, some of its familiar (quadratics eg) some completely new (the area under the graph mentions above, surds), lots of things we will not even have a chance to cover

Cherryburn · 12/04/2018 07:03

Noble I thought calculus was on the Edexcel igcse syllabus, but I could be wrong.

It was definitely on the O Level syllabus I did-I remember because I could never do it!

MirandaWest · 12/04/2018 07:09

I did factorisation of quadratic equations at gcse in 1992. It seems things got easier in maths at some point after that (some topics in A level single maths went to further maths) and now things are changing again I suppose.

Will see what year 9 DS and year 7 DD think of it all I suppose.

Oblomov18 · 12/04/2018 07:12

I too have looked at it and was shocked at how hard it was.

BlueBelle123 · 12/04/2018 07:14

Noble thanks for clearing that up, I'd seen differentiation mentioned a number of times and I definitely know that DS hasn't done it and due to sit GCSE maths this summer........although it would actually of been one of the few things I could of helped him with I loved differentiation wasn't so keen on integration!

thisagain · 12/04/2018 07:41

It is a lot harder. I sat a maths GCSE a few years ago in an evening class. I got an A and could easily answer the whole paper getting 100% on some parts. My eldest daughter also got an A and was the same. My year 11 now is getting many questions she cannot answer and still coming out of mocks with high grades. Consequently she thinks she isn't good at maths. We are finding the same on some other GCSEs.