5 Strong Reasons to Get a GCSE Maths Tutor for Your Child
Table of Contents:
- 1. Maths is Important for Everyone
- 2. GCSE Maths is Mandatory
- GCSE Maths in 2023, What to Expect?
- Will Your Child Need Maths After GCSEs?
- 3. Children will Learn Maths much Faster With Tutors
- 4. A Good Tutor Can Help Set the Foundation for a Future Career in Maths or Related Subjects
- 5. Tutors Can Help Children to Become Confident in Themselves
- Conclusion
As a parent, ensuring your child receives the best education possible is likely a top priority. One way to give them a boost in their studies is by hiring a GCSE maths tutor. GCSE is a crucial exam that determines a student’s eligibility for higher education in the UK. Achieving a good grade in maths is crucial for a student’s future academic and career prospects.
1. Maths is Important for Everyone
Unfortunately, many young people grow up thinking that maths is a subject that only has to be learned in order to pass their GCSEs and then forget about it. While this may be true for some students, for others it is a life-long skill that will benefit them throughout their adult lives. There are careers which don’t require maths like being an artist. However, there are so many more where your child can benefit from having at least a basic understanding of maths topics. It is also worth noting that the UK government is considering making maths mandatory for students until the age of 18.
A good maths tutor can help your child achieve more than just passing grades at school. It can help them learn how to solve problems logically and think analytically, two valuable skills that are useful in any field of work or study.
Important Skills Maths Provide
✏️ “Because maths includes generalizations and abstractions, maths skills help young children connect ideas, develop logical and abstract thinking, and analyze, question, and understand the world around them.” – according to the Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center.
These skills will also come into play when completing a university degree or apprenticeship course as well as securing employment after leaving school or college. In fact, employers actively seek out candidates who have good problem-solving abilities. It’s because they know these employees will be able to adapt quickly when things change at work.
2. GCSE Maths is Mandatory
Maths is a core subject in GCSE and is considered one of the hardest subjects in school. It is the foundation for many other subjects and opens doors to higher education, a better life, and even new cultures. Since it is a mandatory exam, most universities require students to have at least an acceptable grade. GCSE maths tutoring can be a great help for students who are struggling to understand the subject.
In 2019, it was decided that AS levels won’t count towards the final A-level grade, which made GCSE grades even more important in university applications.
Maths involves using many multi-step processes to solve problems and needs consistency. Some people think that comprehending maths is a talent. While some children can understand topics faster than others, the most important part of learning maths is motivation and dedication.
For some children, it’s hard to understand how crucial it is to put time and effort into studies. They may give up easily and just say “I’m not good at maths”. The right tutor will help your child understand the subject, teach them accountability and assist them with passing their GCSE exam with flying colours!
GCSE Maths in 2023, What to Expect?
The Format of the Exam
The format of the GCSE mathematics exam includes three separate papers. Each paper contributes 33⅓% of the overall score. The exam also includes one calculator and two non-calculator papers.
The GCSE mathematics exam has a Foundation tier (grades 1 – 5) and a Higher tier (grades 4 – 9). Students are required to take three question papers at the same tier, and all question papers must be taken in the same series.
Will GCSE Maths Students Have Formulae and Equation Sheets?
GCSE mathematics students will be provided with equation and formulae sheets in 2023. This will allow students to have a reference during the exam. It makes it easier for them to recall what they have learned.
How to Help a Child Master Exam Techniques?
To understand the format better, children can do GCSE Maths past papers, which will familiarise them with the types of questions and format of the exam. Additionally, tutors can help with that by providing guidance and support during their practice of past papers. They can help them identify areas where they need improvement and provide strategies on how to tackle questions.
As a parent, it’s crucial to guide your child to read the question attentively while they are preparing for their GCSE mathematics exam. One effective method for handling wordy questions is to follow these steps:
📌 read the question completely in one go.
📌 identify the action word or command word.
📌 read the question again and highlight the important information or values.
This method will help them to understand the question better, and identify what is being asked, and what information they need to use to find the solution.
Will Your Child Need Maths After GCSEs?
It has been reported that the Prime Minister of the UK is planning to announce a new initiative to make it mandatory for all school pupils in England to study mathematics until the age of 18. While the Prime Minister acknowledges that this reform will not be easy to implement, he has committed to starting the process in this current parliament and completing it in the next. They believe that this change will provide young people with the necessary quantitative and statistical skills required for the jobs of today and the future, including financial literacy.
This makes it imperative for parents to seek out a GCSE mathematics tutor for their child to ensure they are well-prepared for the continuation of mathematics after GCSEs.
3. Children will Learn Maths much Faster With a Tutor
💡 Did you know that attitude can affect your child’s productivity?
✏️ Study published in PLoS One states that for some people even anticipating doing maths affects the same regions in the brain as the pain does.
Working with a tutor can greatly benefit your child’s understanding and performance in maths. Tutors can personalise lessons to cater to your child’s specific learning style and needs. They are trained to explain concepts in ways that are easy for children to understand and remember. Additionally, their experience working with children allows them to effectively motivate and guide students who may struggle to understand certain topics.
Tutors with extensive experience in GCSE tutoring have a strong understanding of the exam and know what it takes to answer questions correctly. They can help your child develop the necessary skills to pass the exam successfully.
Furthermore, a good tutor can not only help your child achieve good grades in GCSE maths but also deepen their understanding of the subject. This can give your child valuable skills that they can use throughout their lives.
GCSE Maths Tutor from Edumentors
One of the excellent online GCSE maths tutors is – Zac. He studies at the University of Warwick. He has always loved maths and has experience tutoring GCSE students. If you choose Zac, he will make sure that your child will improve their result by at least 2 grades! He has helped numerous teenagers to receive 9s in their GCSEs despite their initial grades!
You can check out his video about GCSEs and A-levels and see if he seems like someone your child would connect with!
4. A Good Tutor Can Help Set the Foundation for a Future Career in Maths or Related Subjects
A good maths tutor will be able to help your child get to grips with some of the trickier areas that may have been missed in school. Some students have exam anxiety and revision season is too overwhelming for the. A great tutor can support them emotionally, and personalise revision methods for them. Bonus point if the tutor is young and has taken the same exams recently! Also, tutors can help students with GCSE maths past papers, mark the work, give feedback and advice.
The Role of Maths in Future Career
Many people think that studying maths at school is boring and pointless. Despite that, it’s not just something they do because their parents said so! To become an accountant, doctor, engineer or architect you need core knowledge of different subjects including chemistry, physics and biology (and yes – even maths). Not only this, but many careers such as piloting aeroplanes use algebraic equations every day! Many people say things like “I’ve never used my maths knowledge in my life”. However, they do it without even realising it. Your child could end up using their GCSE schoolwork one day when they go off to work after university or college. See how you can make maths really enjoyable.
✏️ “When your teens hear how maths can be used every day, they will be more likely to view maths as important and valuable. They may also become more interested in mathematics. Remember that you as a parent can greatly influence how your child thinks about mathematics.” – according to the Nothern Illinois University.
5. Tutors Can Help Children to Become Confident in Themselves
The confidence that children develop from learning maths with a tutor can be invaluable in helping them achieve their goals. As parents, we want our children to be confident in themselves and their abilities. A self-assured child is more likely to reach their potential and make positive choices for the future.
✏️ “A positive attitude toward maths boosts the brain’s memory centre and predicts maths performance independent of factors such as a child’s IQ.” – according to Stanford University.
Learning maths with a tutor can help your child develop good study habits and build positive self-images as they learn new concepts and gain confidence in their ability to tackle problems on their own without assistance. Generally, many students struggle with maths. Therefore your child suddenly realise that they got better at maths can be motivating for them enough to study other subjects better too!
Studies have found that children who are confident tend to be less stressed and more likely to achieve their goals. It is also very important to take care of mental health during exam season. It is a key to success. An experienced tutor can bring a positive attitude, and provide encouragement and support when needed. Great tutors guide your child through learning new concepts at their own pace.
An experienced tutor can also help build a positive self-image by providing praise for effort as well as achievements in schoolwork. Although, don’t forget to work alongside a tutor in helping your child feel less nervous. There are so many examples of the brightest students having bad results in GCSEs due to nerves.
Conclusion
As you see, whether your child is a maths lover or a hater, they all need maths to some extent. You may be curious what happens if your child fails their GCSE, can they still go to university? Even though some GCSEs including maths are mandatory, your child can still go to university, but it will be costly and really hard. For example, some universities offer foundation courses that are equivalent to GCSEs. However, there should be a good enough reason for not receiving enough grades.
GCSEs are stressful, but they don’t have to be! If you choose to hire a maths tutor, you won’t have to worry about your child failing at maths. Read about the benefits of online tutoring and consider if that sounds comfortable to you and your child. If it does, you’re in luck! 📚
There are numerous great online tutoring services, one of them being Edumentors. Edumentors scouts for only exceptionally good tutors from top UK universities who scored the highest grades in their GCSEs. Visit Edumentors.co.uk to book a free introductory session and find the right GCSE maths tutor for your child.