GCSE maths off-putting to FE learners, AoC claims

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has said that new harder GCSEs could be off-putting for many further educations (FE) learners.

The AoC said that many learners who arrive at an FE college could harbour ‘negative feelings’ about the subject as a result of not achieving a good pass during their time at school.

This year, students who have not achieved a grade C or above in English and maths during their time at school will be required to retake the qualification at college. However, according to Catherine Sezen, the AoC's 14-19 policy manager, studying for a GCSE resit may not be the best option for FE learners, given the transition to newer tougher GCSEs.

Sezen said: “English and maths are at the heart of everything we do now in college. This has been a huge cultural shift for colleges – a change in the nature of what we deliver. Previously there was a focus on vocational skills and A levels for all our young people."

“Lots of young people have a very, very negative feeling about maths when they come into college," she said. "They feel like they’ve failed because they’ve got a D. A ‘C’ is that gold pass that they want. And they really feel that they’ve failed. They often come in thinking they can’t, they won’t, and they don’t.

“A lot of colleges are looking at putting the majority of their young people in for GCSE. But as we’ve already been hearing, there is a question over whether GCSE is necessarily the right qualification for those young people and for the skills that they need in the wider context."