As a maths tutor, I specialise in teaching the UK Maths GCSE.
Something that not many people realise is that the content for Maths GCSE starts in Year 6/7 and is stretched out over 5 years for the exams to be taken in Year 11.
KS3 Maths (years 7 to 9, or ages 11 – 14) is the maths that is tested on the foundation level GCSE paper.
Most students complete around 8 – 12 GCSEs during their time in secondary school.
The more students I work with, the more I am questioning: why so many GCSEs at one time and why does it take so long?
Just earlier today one of my students was telling me they are learning to draw triangles with a ruler (this is year 8 work for some bizarre reason) the next part would be constructing triangles with a pair of compasses and protractor, which takes 5 minutes to learn, but that won’t be covered until year 9.
So students are waiting an entire year to be taught something that could easily be covered, or learnt from a video, in literally minutes.
There are several success stories about children who, either whilst being homeschooled or in mainstream schooling, complete their maths GCSE far sooner than age 16 – not just maths actually! Other subjects too.
Of course the natural reaction is “oh that child must be super smart” or “wow they were probably pushed a lot and didn’t have a social life”.
I personally disagree with both of those viewpoints.
My current opinion is that you do not have to be super smart to do some GCSE exams before the age of 16 and you certainly don’t have to give up other aspects of your life, living in a virtual prison until the exams are done.
I think if more students (with support from their parents/carers) utilised their time better by planning their GCSE route, particularly from the age of 7 or 8, it would be very easy to start the content for some of the GCSE exams – perhaps around 3 of the subjects, including maths – and be ready for the exams by around the age of 12.
If you look at the topics for the maths GCSE it is basically comprised of:
Number – arithmetic, fractions, percentages, powers/indices, standard form
Algebra – simplifying, solving, rearranging, graphing, algebraic fractions.
Data – histograms, charts, box plots, cumulative frequency and probability
Geometry – shape, area, volume, vectors, circle theorems
Even if your child spent one year on each of those topics, starting at age 7, they would be ready by age 11.
Those topics could easily be covered in 2 years by spending around 30 – 40 mins per day studying each maths topic or concept.
This would hardly require much of a sacrifice of the hobbies or social life that a child would normally participate in.
In fact, because your child is doing the maths regularly at a pace that suits them, they will probably enjoy it far more than the way its currently delivered in school. If they need to spend an extra week or two on arithmetic, they can. If they need more time to understand algebra, no problem.
What resources do you need to do the maths GCSE early and is a tutor neccessary?
There are so many free or low cost resources available online and in print now that as a parent you don’t have to be an expert in maths yourself in order to help your child.
So the short answer is that you don’t need a tutor necessarily.
The longer answer is if you don’t have the budget for a tutor or a course, your child needs to be motivated and driven enough to find the answers and methods they need to figure out the maths. Again, this is not that difficult particularly with the number of youtube videos that are available for every maths topic.
You role as parent/carer is to provide the space, support and light guidance to help your child stay on track. Perhaps helping them set daily or weekly goals on what topics need to be covered.
If you do have the budget and find yourselves getting overwhelmed with the amount of stuff available, then a tutor or online course might suit you better.
How to sit the exam?
You will need to register at an exam centre, an exam centre is any organisation that is registered as a place for students to come and take their GCSE exam under exam conditions.
This could be a local school or college or any other educational organisation near you that offers exams for students.
Please note there is usually a charge to sit a GCSE exam. For example the GCSE maths exam, done privately, currently costs around £200. Prices are set by the centre so do check this well in advance to ensure proper budgeting.
What is the point of doing GCSEs early?
There are several advantages:
Children generally love learning, giving them the option to move faster means they are less likely to get bored and disruptive.
Once they complete their core subjects like maths, english and science, they can focus more on the subjects they really enjoy.
Completing some GCSEs before 16 means there is a lot less pressure and means they can spread out their exams over 4 years instead of doing them all in one summer.
Does your child really need 8 – 12 GCSEs? Not everyone wants to go to university for example, so what is the need for such a range of academic subjects?
Some children simply want to start earning money or do an apprenticeship and would benefit more this route.
Currently the timing for GCSEs is the same time children go through adolescence, if we can ease the pressure they face at this time or help them to study more on their terms and help them to achieve their goals, it would make their teenage years easier.
Are there any drawbacks with this?
It is possible that some children may be reluctant to do this, I am simply proposing keeping the options open for them and at least discussing the possibility of completing their compulsory education early.
Of course if they start to feel overwhelmed or de motivated, its good to re think the plan.
How do you keep children engaged and motivated with the idea of doing exams early?
One of the best ways is to plan ahead.
So even if your children are under the age of 7 at the moment, start thinking about what route would be best for them.
Keep learning fun and playful and never let their academic ability be the basis for their self worth.
Build the basics in a fun way when they are young, things like number facts, timestables and so on can all be learnt by playing games.
As they get older, especially between the age of 7 and 10, start to introduce some structure and weekly goals for their learning.
Talk to them about the advantages of finishing some subjects and getting the exams done and out of the way.
You want to reach a point in your household where education and lifelong learning are the main focus but in a fun and low pressure way.
Children should enjoy their education journey and as they get to the pre teen and teenage years they will hopefully want to choose their own learning goals and work on them whilst being intrinsically motivated.
I hope this has been helpful, drop a comment below if you have any questions or any discussion points to add.
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