Is an GCSE English Language resit worth it for a mathematician?

[Bigcoatweather]

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this situation.

DD is a genuinely spectacular mathematician and wants to study maths or computers at Uni. Has started A levels in Maths, Further Maths, Computing and a fourth A Level in a MFL.

She got great GCSE results apart from one totally unexpected Grade 5 in English language, below expectations. This apparently means that despite her amazing skills in maths and computers, she won't be eligible for somewhere like Imperial (she'd rather had her heart set on it, even though I didn't) or Oxbridge (who say they have no specific GCSE requirements but they may be looked at for context). I think what adds to the pain is that other students who are not as strong at maths as she is are not having this issue because they got a higher English result - it smarts a bit.

She has been offered a resit in about four weeks time, meaning if she does go ahead, I'll have to find a tutor to help in addition to her other A level work commitments and DoE. Resit grades have to be declared on UCAS.

My fear is that it seems like a gamble - school are encouraging it (it is a competitive school, so they would), but I'm personally not sure it's worth the risk. English marking was weird this year, so if she gets the same or lower, doesn't that look even worse? 5 is still a pass.
I'm inclined to recommend she doesn't resit and live with the Grade 5. If she manages to get stellar A levels, maths pre-test results, good extra-curricular activities etc....are Oxbridge really not going to consider her based on English Language, so we shouldn't waste a Uni choice?

Curious if you were in my shoes, what would you encourage?

Yes, but there are plenty of gifted mathematicians who are. Most of our students who are going for Imperial, Cambridge and Oxford for Maths, Economics and Engineering will have 9s or at least 8s in both English Lit and Lang. I would review and/or resit.

But many exceptionally gifted mathematicians aren't gifted in humanities. Those with ASD for example. And sine of the most creative writers are crap at matts and sciences. Sadly what happens when people are measured using tools as blunt as 1-9 and A*s is the true brilliance of the exceptional individual comes up wanting.

ASD does not prevent exceptional performance in the humanities. If there is an important explanation of a 'spiky profile' there is space for that in the application process.
I work with exceptional mathematicians every day. Many of whom are ASD. They all have significantly higher than a 5 in English.

You don't have to be gifted in a subject to get a grade 9. You really don't. I could say a lot more on this issue but won't because it would be outing.
I would advise reviewing the 5 as it seems unusual and resitting to improve the mark.

But do they get 9s?

Not gifted but learning differences will certainly make it harder for someone bright to achieve. Otherwise more people would be getting straight 9s

Friend of Ds2 is at Cambridge (tho I gather Oxford sets more store by GCSE grades) with a 6 in Eng lang. I only know this bc ds was delighted to beat him in one subject. He is an absolute maths whizz with 4 x A star at A level in maths, FM, CS and physics. Good thing Cambridge could see beyond his grade 6 (tho I infer his other grades were 8/9).

Obviously one example only tho.

If she is a truly outstanding mathematician (BMO round 2, invited to the Trinity training camp, that kind of thing) then the 5 probably won't matter very much for university admissions. I would still encourage her to resit it. Brilliant mathematicians eventually have to write papers, emails, persuasive grant applications etc, and paying attention to writing will be very helpful.

If she is extremely good at maths but not currently/ in some easily assessed way in the top 50 or so in her year in the UK then she needs to resit it. Even if she does well in the entrance test and interviews at, say, Cambridge, lots of other people will also do well. For an applicant close to the margin the 5 will likely scupper her chances. Most applicants will have only 8s and 9s.

I think people need to realise tgat tge English Gcse requirenent for maths is to give some assurance that literacy skills are good enough to access the course.It is not there to distinguish between applicants.The top universities have their own tests in place to do this.
Maths giftedness is not necessarily related to general intelligence unlike most other subjects except perhaps music.you would only pick the best musician by their musical ability.Maths is the same

For those that seem to think a 5 in English shows they you don't have amazing language skills, would the uni admission people not take into account the 7/8/9 in other essay based subjects. My DS can obviously write a good structured argument, just can't make a story up on the spot.

For competitive courses a 5 in English will matter - despite having the required predicted A Level grades my child failed to get an offer on the basis that others had higher GCSE grades

Or just messed up an exam. It happens. It happens to even the most brilliant

As an imperial Grad, I doubt imperial will care much about English GCSE given the large percentage of foreign students many of whom would quite possibly struggle to achieve a 5. Also DD is actually at an advantage as imperial have really been trying to have a greater intake of female students esp. in subjects such a maths, physics and theoretical physics ect.

The foreign students actually do have to demonstrate a language aptitude for most courses. There are specific qualifications with points requirements that vary based on the content of the course.

Yes but it’s IELTS which is testing language proficiency which is different to what an English GCSE is testing. DD clearly understands English as it is the language in which is she is currently studying. Maths bsc entry requirement at imperial is IELTS 6.5 which is equivalent to C or 4 in GCSE English. Obviously would be preferable to have a better grade in English GCSE but I don’t think it’s necessarily the deal breaker they think it might be. I didn’t do all that well in chemistry and got into to biology BSc and graduated with a 1st. Even with very competitive universities, there is more flexibility than you might expect.