Additional GCSE

[anotherdad]

Blimey MSD, you’re really going for it this week, aren’t you! Clearly the GCSE curriculum for maths isn’t enough for super-beings as well as the grading for sciences being too generous. Perhaps it’s time to emigrate to a country that can properly test these super-brained children.

I’m off to the shops to get some popcorn.

[piggys]

No, I am not joking. The standard 9-1 curriculum taught at school might not challenge the most able and gifted students, and I am referring here to the limied top set, who are really stretched by school. Yes, you can potentially get one to one help from school teachers to stretch them further, but that doesn't necessarily happen and isn't practical or convenient in the time available at school.

Gosh - as well as an arbiter of the new science GCSEs you are now a maths expert as well ? if no GCSEs are stretching enough for you and your child genius dc then you are wasted here on us mere mortals.

Guest55 is a highly experienced and qualified maths teacher. You, as far as I am aware, are not.

Can you please stop insulting everyone by suggesting the GCSEs aren't really tough enough ? The mods keep deleting your threads and asking you to desist but you're not quite getting it.

[Amber]

The standard 9-1 curriculum taught at school might not challenge the most able and gifted students, and I am referring here to the limied top set, who are really stretched by school. Yes, you can potentially get one to one help from school teachers to stretch them further, but that doesn't necessarily happen and isn't practical or convenient in the time available at school.

If the limied (sic) top set aren't stretched and challenged to the limit of their fabulous abilities, do you see this as a problem then? Is it a given that everyone needs to be constantly stretched and pushed? I am glad no one does that to me - I might get found out for coasting along sometimes, or daydreaming, or wasting my time. And how terrible would that be?!

Sorry, I fundamentally reject the notion that there are children who are just too bright to be educated in the normal way. If their superbrains are really in danger of atrophying though lack of appropriate stimulation, perhaps they could diversify and use their amazing talents to learn about things not on the school curriculum, like for example the natural world, international relations and politics, social systems, how to cook really nice meals; or even how to solve the problems of hunger in the world, cure cancer, reverse climate change... etc, ad infinitum.

[piggys]

Well, quite, Amber. As previous posters have said, broadness and variety is everything.

[doodles]

I thought I'd get a student's opinion on this so I showed this thread to ds2. He did his maths a year early last summer and did an FSMQ this summer, so his is a real view from the coal face and I'm afraid he just laughed at the comments about the curriculum not being challenging.

MSD please stop before you get this thread locked too.

[MSD]

Apologies Gulat, if we digressed! So, in a nutshell, I will just rephrase my original reply and say having spoken to many students who have taken FSMQ qualification and gone on to do Maths and Further Maths at A levels, it surely helped reinforce certain concepts tested during A levels as Solimum pointed out earlier. If you feel your child will fly through the standard GCSE maths curriculum, there is no harm in challenging her with FSMQ as long as she is up for that. You and your child are the best judge and I am happy to share my experience with you

[Guest55]

Apologies Gulat, if we digressed! So, in a nutshell, I will just rephrase my original reply and say having spoken to many students who have taken FSMQ qualification and gone on to do Maths and Further Maths at A levels, it surely helped reinforce certain concepts tested during A levels as Solimum pointed out earlier. If you feel your child will fly through the standard GCSE maths curriculum, there is no harm in challenging her with FSMQ as long as she is up for that. You and your child are the best judge and I am happy to share my experience with you

Many = ....?? The current A levels are different anyway so no-one can judge that one yet ... the new F Maths A level hasn't even be taken.

There is potential harm in accelerating in Mathematics - it has been researched by ACME. Let's forget research by a professional body shall we?

[JaneEyre]

any other parent could I get your view points on the Free Standing Maths Qualification (FSMQ) Level 2. DD does want too take Maths at A level and wonder if a Level 2 FSMQ will help her.

Having spoken to many students who have taken FSMQ qualification and gone on to do Maths and Further Maths at A levels, it definitely helps and reinforces certain concepts required during A levels as another poster pointed out. If you feel she flies through the standard GCSE maths, it might be worth a shot challenging her with FSMQ.

I agree with MSD, especially as attending the FSMQ lessons during the year does not oblige the pupil to sit the exam. That is great!

[MSD]

I must sincerely apologise but I am not going to reply to posts that have absolutely zero substance, are churlish at best, and have completely digressed from the original topic. I hope you don't mind.

[Guest55]

FMSQ takes time away from other subjects and is just not needed ...

I did not realise there were so many experts in Mathematics education on here