Changes to GCSE Maths – BBC interview the Maths Department
The following article was written by Robbie Meredith Education and arts correspondent, BBC News NI.
There have been calls to pause changes to GCSE Maths which will lead to many exams taken in November each year being scrapped.
From 2027, students will only be able to take their exam in November if they are re-sitting the subject.
One head of maths in a County Tyrone school said that was “pulling the rug out from under pupils who need those structured manageable steps to succeed”.
But the Department of Education (DE) said that schools had been given “sufficient notice to plan for the revised arrangements”.
What is changing about GCSE Maths exams in Northern Ireland?
In some schools, pupils take their Maths GCSE exams in stages throughout the course, using a staggered approach.
For example, at Dean Maguirc College in County Tyrone pupils sit some exams in November and summer of year 11.
That gives them a GCSE grade which they can increase by sitting more maths exams in year 12.
But from 2027, they will not be able to do that anymore as the November exams will only be for students who have finished their GCSE Maths course and want to re-sit the subject.
The decision has been taken by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) exam board and DE.
What do GCSE Maths students think of the change?
A female pupil in a school uniform stands in the centre of a brightly lit classroom, facing the camera. The classroom contains desks and chairs, colourful educational displays on the walls, a door leading outside in the background. The student has long hair tied back and is wearing a blazer, shirt, tie and green jumper.
Image caption,
Spacing out exams allows for extra revision, Maeve says
At Dean Maguirc College, an all-ability school, 15-year-old Maeve said maths was a vital subject to learn.
“It’s to do with everyday life and you need it for loads of stuff like money and most jobs,” she said.
She said that being able to sit some of her maths exams in November gave her more time to revise for her other GCSEs in the summer.
“They’re not all crammed together,” she said.
“For maths, like, there’s a lot of stuff to learn so when you have the one exam to do in November you can learn all of that for November, you don’t have to keep looking over it until summertime.”
Maeve said that, in her opinion, the decision was “not fair”.
Fifteen-year-old Cara is also currently studying maths for GCSE at Dean Maguirc College and she also has concerns.
“Getting half of your exam done with in November I found it really eased the pressure,” she said.
“And it allowed me to focus half of my subject into June.”
As she had achieved a C-star grade by the end of year 11, she is hoping to make her grade higher by sitting more maths GCSE exams in year 12.
She said that being able to divide the maths exams up and take them in stages benefitted everyone and is worried about the impact of the changes.
“I think it’s unfair and gives less of an opportunity for the people upcoming,” she said.
“Nearly for every single career you need maths and you need GCSE Maths.”
Liam, 17, says it feels like the exam board are “pulling down a ladder that helped students”
Seventeen-year-old Liam is now studying A-levels at Dean Maguirc College but said that being able to take GCSE Maths on a “staggered” basis had helped him get a B grade.
“I did struggle at maths when I was younger,” he said.
“It feels like CCEA are pulling down a ladder that helped students like me climb higher, because not all students are able to do it in one go and instead have to do it step by step.
“So they can gradually reach their full potential.”
‘I would ask CCEA to pause and consult’
Máire McGinn is head of maths at Dean Maguirc College and had previously served on Northern Ireland’s literacy and numeracy task force.
“Maths is everywhere and it underpins everything that a pupil is going to need to get through their future life,” she said.
“For about the last seven years we have had a carefully structured, staggered approach to the study of maths.”
Máire McGinn says a staggered approach to maths exams has worked for students
The “staggered” approach has worked for students at college, as the proportion of their students achieving grades A* to C at maths is well above the Northern Ireland average for non-grammar schools.
“It provides manageable milestones for pupils, structuring it like that,” McGinn said.
She said CCEA was “pulling the rug out from under pupils who need those structured manageable steps to succeed”.
Many other maths teachers across Northern Ireland also felt that “this policy change is not in our pupils best interests”, she added.
“I would ask CCEA to pause what they have suggested is going to happen and consult with teachers.”
What has the Department of Education said?
A DE spokesperson said: “The decision to change the November CCEA GCSE Mathematics examination series to a resit-only series from 2027 was an operational decision taken by CCEA.
“CCEA has advised the department that the decision followed consideration of a range of educational factors, including the impact of assessment arrangements on pupils’ learning and on teaching time in schools.
“CCEA’s Maths GCSE will continue to be a modular qualification with pupils able to sit modules at the end of Year 11 as well as the end of Year 12.
“The November series will remain available for pupils who have completed the qualification and wish to improve their grade.”
The changes will apply from 2027, “providing schools with sufficient notice to plan for the revised arrangements”.