Fail.in GCSE maths

[Kfor]

A GCSE question.

Is it possible to be accepted to 6th form if the Maths GCSE will be only 3 (and retaken in a college).or schools will not allow this at all?
We did put few sec schools down and I will contact them directly, but wanted to know in general?
Also is it too late to apply for colleges, or still can be done after the result day?

We left it late as we did not expect this to happen.. DD is in a srong competitive grammar..and for some reason her grades started to fall sharply in yr11, she finds the exams extreamly stressfull and blanks out..most possibly inattentive Adhd (ticks all the boxes) but no assessment done. According to her tuor she is very capable....but we are preparing or the worse...as case she will freeze...she belives she did nothing correctly on paper 1 and left half empty...

There’s 2 more papers left to go.

Whether an A level school/college will accept with a 3 in Maths is up to them. The more popular may not as it causes timetabling issues, larger 6th form colleges may do so. You need tolook at admissions rules for each place.

You can apply to colleges for vocational courses, however more popular courses may well be full. If you think vocational may be the way to go, then get on and research them if not already, colleges round here stop for summer in the first week of July.

Is she doing Higher or Foundation tier maths? You don't need a lot right on higher tier to get your pass.

You need to talk to the schools. At my dc sixth form they will take students who got a 3 in English or maths with a view to resitting it, as long as they have 38 points across 8 subjects and a grade 6 in those they want to do at A level. They won’t take them if they fail both maths and English as they can’t timetable it, and it depends on the other subjects. So a 3 in maths and wanting to do science A levels they would probably say no, because it’s so fundamental to the subjects. Likewise a 3 in English and wanting to do history.
If they have a 4 in either subject they are encouraged to resit it alongside A levels.

They also give priority to students who were in the school for ks4, and will consider any reasons for the grade drop on an individual basis.

It’s worth looking at other options as A levels are incredibly demanding, so if your dd is struggling now it may not be the right place for her.
If there’s any way of funding it yourself, I would also encourage getting an assessment for any possible ND conditions - whether or not there is something going on, it can make a difference in the child’s own sense of self and being able to deal with the next stage.

She is certain of her Fail, "when I look at the paper my mind fo blank"😔

It is not too late to apply to FE colleges and in fact many run application/open days after the gcse results for exactly this reason.

sixth forms if she wants to do a levels vary. Some will some won’t

Foundation or higher?

getting half of the higher paper done/partially correct is still a pretty good grade

Our 6th form would accept.
My local colleges were advertising as having spaces in September last year.

But we're not in a grammar area, so what happens here might not happen elsewhere.

If she's on the higher papers, about a quarter of the marks will get her a 4. There is hope

Thank you! yes it is higher maths...She did a paper at home yesterday..got only 27 points out of 80..but while I was marking she suddenly remembered more..I feel sorry for her as the strees or possibly burnout..or else.. may stop her dreams come through

27 out of 80 on the higher paper is a perfectly respectable number of marks to get.

dunno which exam board you are but the general rule is that half the marks on the higher paper are at grade 8/grade 9 level so if she’s anywhere near half way you are looking at a 6 maybe a 7.

ex maths teacher

If the exam hall freaks her out ask if she can sit in the back row and face the wall.. or put her desk actually at the wall.. for some kids the size of the hall and the rows of desks is all too much.. so a way of overcoming that is having your own corner..

It depends on the school and what her A-Level choices are and how much effort needs to go in to getting a higher grade next time. Many schools woukd be happy to have a 6th Form pupil doing 3 non-mathsy A-Levels who got a bunch of grade 6+ in non-mathsy GCSEs but slipped on the maths and is close enough to retake in the November retakes.

If she has a lot of 3s and 2s then possibly not.

Does her school that she's been at up until y11 have its own 6th form? I know some secondaries finish at y11 but the ones that have a 6th form keep very quiet about the fact that it's actually really difficult for them to get rid of a pupil whose only crime was to fail some GCSEs. They may try to confuse you into withdrawing your child 'voluntarily' but you may not have to if you check the small print.

Wow I didn’t know that. Dd got a 6 in maths. I hope your dd does ok op. It actually sounds as if she will.

Wow this really surprises me! So 50% could possibly get you a 7, which is an old grade A?

Last year, for Edexcel Higher maths, scored out of 240 the boundaries were:
9 - 217
8 - 186
7 - 156
6 - 121
5 - 87
4 - 53
3 - 36
So With half marks you would just miss a 6 by one mark.

See here Grade Boundaries - June 2025 - GCSE (9-1)

Thank you! yes I am hoping she will have options, most of her grades should be between 5-7 dependig how sressed she will be. The Maths is the only one that vecame a risk zone..although after a week of sitting with her down at home every day, going through her mistakes, often very very silly (missed numbers etc) she came home and said she did half of todays paper well (Higher Maths). I think her problem is she can not focus when teachers or a tutor is explaining anything, instatntly switching off...I know the GCSE maths..but thought a tutor whould have been better, seems that she prefers to go over with me..Teens. * She is in a very competetive Grammar, they have a 6th form but they can't stay if below 5 in Maths or English...I don't mind if she went to a "normal" secondary..I think it would be a better environment)

Thank you ❤

Thank you!

Thank you, I just asked her about the boundaries, at looks a bit better knowing all that, I was "freaking" out, but she may actually pass...Seriusly never thought GCSEs will come with so much stress😐

OP, these things can be stressful. I hope her maths goes well enough. Is this just an issue with maths? I only ask as if she is finding GCSE exams incredibly stressful, A levels might be very hard and whilst I wouldn't discourage anyone from giving them a go, they are not the only way. When the exams are over and you have time to breathe, might it be worth researching some alternative higher education options just in case her results mean you have to change tack or she finds A levels incredibly stressful. The reason sixth forms want you to have a 6 in A level subjects is their knowledge of how hard A levels are if you don't find the GCSE relatively easy. You can get onto lots of career pathways including university with qualifications that are not A levels and you might both feel better if you have some possibilities on your horizon. Hope she does brilliantly OP.

For now I would focus on keeping her well rested, fed and as unstressed as possible. The final paper is next week. Snap Revise do some flash cards which may help her to focus. Helpfully my child broke them last night ahead of the second exam [bought them for the mocks in Jan] and pronounced them useful this morning. She is also doing Higher maths but is very borderline and it doesn't sound like Paper 2 went well at all this morning.

As you say she may do better in a less pressured environment than her current school. A bigger institution may also have the facilities and timetable to allow for resits. I would make discreet enquiries now about local sixth forms rather than trying to do it over the 6 weeks of summer holidays or when the results come back. She may well decide to change some subject choices and/or school irrespective of how her maths go.

If you can afford it, get her tested. She can at least then avail of the extra time in the resits and her A levels.

I don't know if it's possible to do a resit at Foundation level if you've gotten a low grade in Higher Maths. On my list to check.

I also don't know if you can only resit in the Autumn or push it out entirely and sit it next summer with the next GCSE cohort. Also on my list to explore.

@TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams I don't know if it's possible to do a resit at Foundation level if you've gotten a low grade in Higher Maths. On my list to check.

The most you can get at Foundation is a 5. If you have a 3 on higher tier they would be putting you in for Foundation tier at resit. I don't know whether you could resit a 4 to get a 5, you may need to pay.

Thanks - that's helpful to know.

You can resit if you got a 4 and want a 5 I had kids in my resit class every year who were in exactly this situation.

sounds like she will pass though.

BTW if she is AQA or edexcel first paper is no calculator which most kids find hardest.