Foundation or Higher GCSE Maths?

[Justbehappyandsmile]

Hello!

My son is in Year 10. He is a bright boy, but he really enjoys spending time with a group of friends (they do have football, basketball, music group). Since he loves both music and sports, he isn’t the type of child who puts a lot of effort into his schoolwork.

He is not planning to take Maths at A-level, but he definitely wants to go to university-either to study creative subjects he enjoys or possibly law. Because of this, it is essential that he passes his GCSE Maths.

Previously, his school used reports like “above average,” “average,” “working at expected level,” or “needs improvement.” However, since Year 10, they have started using grades from 1–9. He was given a “working at Grade 3” in Maths, which really worried me.

At parents’ evening, I spoke to his teacher, who recommended that he take Foundation Maths next year. Since then, I’ve started helping him at home (just making sure he is practising and motivating him). For about a month now, he has been practising questions regularly, and I’ve also given him past GCSE Maths papers as mock exams. He is scoring around 45–55 out of 80 (we did 9 past papers).

I asked Chat GPT (please dot ask why, he is one of my best friend now:):) said Grade 4–5 level at year 10 is not bad. He is my first son and I don't really now what to expect at this stage.

Do you think by end if year 11 he could reach a Grade 6 if he studies consistently?

What would you suggest I should do? How much did your own child improve between Year 10 and Year 11?

I should also mention that he hasn’t been very motivated or used to studying regularly before. At the moment, he does about 30 minutes of practice, 3–4 times a week.

Do you think, even though his teacher is recommending Foundation now, that if he works over the summer he could move to Higher tier in Year 11? Or would that be unrealistic?

Thank you all ☺️🙏🏻

They shouldn't be deciding until half way through y11 if borderline.
The risk with higher tier is they get into the harder questions very quickly which can panic some. To get a 6 he will need to do the first half of the higher tier paper or so I understand.

If it has been lack of work ethic rather than lack of ability then I don't see why he can't get himself up.

For edexcel last summer you needed 144 iirc on the foundation tier to get a 4, and ?175/178? to get a 5 out of 240.

You say he’s a bright boy. So from that he really should be doing higher tier. If he’s willing to put the work in, and you say he’s bright, there is no reason why he would need to drop to foundation.

If he’s bright he should do the higher tier.

Motivation is the hardest part.
Mr Corbetts 5 a day I think is helpful: practice, practice, practice!

They can make a decision nearer the time. On Foundation you are capped at maximum grade 5 and it can be trickier to get that compared to with the Higher paper. Most unis would expect 5/6 or higher especially if there is any mathematical component to the degree(and even social sciences and politics can have elements of statistsics for example).

I regret making my son do the higher paper - he is a hard worker & bright but struggled with maths. Wish I’d let him do the lower paper as he scored a 4 on the higher paper so may have done better if he had only foundation exams instead. Too late now for my son but in my experience, I’d consider it (& would make a different call next time around).

Thank all so much!

He is in independent school (not too selective) - in the end schools decide what paper each pupil will do or the parents?

I agree with others, this is a bit early to make such a decision. I would expect it to be in year 11 at the earliest.

He doesn't need a grade 6 in maths to go to uni – unless studying a science subject, very few unis require a 6 in maths GCSE. UCL is one and obvs Oxford and Cambs look at GCSE grades. However yes for sure he needs a 5 or at least a 4 in maths ideally. For uni or for work tbh.

This is curious: Since he loves both music and sports, he isn’t the type of child who puts a lot of effort into his schoolwork. I have DC who loved music and sport for sure but they were also happy to put effort in at school. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. But anyway, if he doesn't put much effort in at school, the unis I mention are unlikely to be targets for him (which is fine for sure).

When you say you are doing maths past papers, is the higher or foundation? To gain a 5 in F paper you need to score a high % (78% for AQA last year) – but the questions are a lot more accessible so that's achievable for a grade 5 candidate.

But yes, if it is lack of work rather than lack of maths ability that is the issue then higher paper is certainly possible. He should be aware than a grade 6 candidate taking H will find much of the paper inaccessible. This was my DD tho (able but focused on other subjects) and it didn't seem to bother her.

To answer your last qu @Justbehappyandsmile as a rule it's the school’s decision in discussion with the student (certainly that's how we did it when I taught in schools – not maths but a subject with tiered papers) but if parents had a strong view that would be taken into account. Ultimately tho the teacher will see how a student performs in class and in tests and knows what sort of evel they are actually likely to achieve.

The first 5 or 6 pages of higher is the last 5 or 6 from Foundation

If he is getting most of his marks from the back of foundation past papers then I'd consider him for higher

If he's not able to do much of the back then stick with foundation

I say he is bright because even without putting in much effort, he can get 6s in all his other subjects right now.

But he needs to be patient, build motivation, and create a proper study routine. He may also need to cut back a little on the hobbies he enjoys, because at the moment he meets his friends almost every day for sports and music activities.

They go to the gym, do activities together, attends concerts/musicals and play instruments. I really like seeing them enjoy life, but of course they also need to study in order to move forward. He knows now that he needs to practice to progress to a Level 3 course.

However, while his friends focus on one sport or one instrument, my son has been involved in many different things, so he hasn’t really developed a consistent study routine for STEM subjects.

Maybe I created this outcome myself, because my priority was always for him to have good friends, hobbies, and a nice routine.

I never worried that my son wouldn’t study or wouldn’t have a good career. My main concern was that he wouldn’t develop bad habits or form bad friendships. I wanted him to enjoy his childhood by doing the things he loves.

Being a mother is truly very difficult. I constantly have this worry inside me about whether I’ve done the right thing for my child.

Ah @Justbehappyandsmile don’t beat yourself up. If he has friends and a range of hobbies he enjoys then he is truly winning. Having a social outlet is so important. Again and again I see (and read on here) about YP who are very academic but who don't get on at uni bc they cannot find friends – and activities such as sport and music are such great ways to make friends and relax.

FWIW my v sporty DS2 continued with all his sports (at least three even by year 10/11) right through school including sixth form. He trained or had matches several times a week. And my DD continued her beloved music with lessons, concerts and out-of-school music club, again right up to A level exams. An outlet is good. In fact it's vital IMHO.

All that said, yes he does need to work as well! Often it's about targeted revision and work rather than the time spent. That's a good point by a PP about which questions he can do well – if you are practising F papers, how is he on the second half?

Edit for typos

@clary thank you🙏🏻🥹

Maths Genie is helpful

This sounds really positive actually, those scores on past papers are decent for Year 10 and the fact that he's doing 30 minutes 3-4 times a week when he wasn't doing anything before is a massive shift. Our DS is 15 and was in a very similar position, bright but just hadn't built the habit of actually practising. The thing that made the biggest difference for us was finding something with a gamification element, short sessions where he felt like he was earning points and beating his own score rather than grinding through past papers. It kept him coming back voluntarily which is the hard bit. On the foundation vs higher question, if he's scoring 45-55 out of 80 on past papers already in Year 10 then I'd push for higher personally. A grade 6 is absolutely realistic with consistent work between now and Year 11. The summer is key, if he keeps the momentum going over the break rather than switching off for six weeks he'll be in a strong position by September.

Schools have the final decision on what paper is taken but most consult parents if there is any doubt.

at my old school anyone who wasn’t sure did January mocks in year 11 and sat both papers so they got the experience of doing both and knew what it felt like. They also got their grade from foundation and from higher.

sone students hated the higher paper and really wanted to do foundation as foundation does ease you in with easy questions at the beginning whereas if you are grade 4/5 ish the start of the higher paper is tricky and it gets harder from there.

ultimately he just needs to pass. My dc had this with English and I got him a tutor in the end and he scraped through