Many Ways To Get a C at GCSE Maths

As a tutor, one of the questions I get asked the most about GCSEs and A Levels is: are they getting easier? The answer to this is a simple yes. But not as easy as you might think, however.

Firstly, the amount of content is definitely being reduced, but not at the pace you might think. Students now have to do more GCSE subjects and with the A* grade, the target for the best grade is now a lot tighter. So students are probably working just as hard as you when you were studying. Doing 4 or 5 AS Levels is almost the norm now.

Teaching facilities have also improved a lot in the last decade, and with more and more ways to use all sorts of media, we are moving more to an age of multi-sensory learning. So what about that C Grade in Maths? First of all, you must look at the exam boards.

There are many boards in England, each including subtle but important differences in syllabus. And then there is the public school backlash to GCSEs which resulted in the iGCSEs or International GCSEs. iGCSEs are as hard as ‘O’ Levels used to be.

There are now 3 different syllabuses and routes you can choose to get a C grade at GCSE with the same board. So in the order of the hardest to easiest way to get a GCSE C Grade, Edexcel board give you these routes

iGCSE Maths Higher Paper - GCSE - GCSE Foundation Paper  

I’ve tutored all 3 options of this paper for the Edexcel board. The foundation paper is for students who struggle with Maths. The best grade you can get at this level is a C. I think this is a good system because some children who have Dyslexia, Dyspraxia etc can actually get quite confident with the more basic foundation paper.

A C is a pass, for all intents and purposes for future job options. The Maths in the foundation paper is not only good enough for daily use as an adult, but actually goes a lot further. I’ve tutored some professional adults in the Financial and Accounting world who know less than foundation GCSE students! The iGCSE paper is a lot harder than the GCSE paper for sure. In fact it is somewhere between AS Maths and normal GCSE Maths. The Algebra at iGCSE is more challenging, they even start differential calculus at iGCSE.

So there you go. There are many ways to crack an egg and there are also many ways to do Maths GCSE.

Filed Under: IGCSE Maths Maths C Grade