There is a real sense of dread as soon as a failed test comes in the door. And in particular around the GCSEs, where almost two out of every five students will fail their GCSEs and be forced to sit a resit for maths, this is a huge worry. 

So what can you do as a parent to help? 

Why good students suddenly start failing GCSE Maths

I think the first thing to realise is that a dip in maths results is common. I see it a lot and it’s not unheard of to drop 30, 40, 50% in maths out of the blue almost. Especially in that year 9, year 10, year 11 phase. These students are still teenagers and once the confidence dips, it’s like the whole thing falls off the rails. 

I see it day and out in my classes. What I want to say and what you need to realise is that maths is cumulative. All the topics are interlinked. So if you miss a part of Maths or you struggle on a certain topic, that has a knock-on impact on the next topic you study. 

And so it mightn’t be a particular topic they’re struggling on. It could be a previous topic or a fundamental of maths that they haven’t actually got right. And so it’s no surprise that the grades just start to fall. Good news, this is an easy fix, and you can help as a parent. 

Five things parents can do to help their child’s maths 

1. No secrets

I think the first thing parents should do is just talk about it. Questions like:

• How is school going?
• Are there maths tests coming up soon??
• Are you all set for the mocks?

If we continue to make exams the elephant in the room, then it just grows and grows and grows. Talk about exams without putting pressure on. That’s step one.

2. Structure their homework routine. 

Parents can help with their child’s homework. It’s not that they need to help with the homework itself but more around helping to structure their child’s evenings. Whether that’s:

• setting up their room to study
• booking them in to after-school study
• getting them a space in the library
• anything and all that can help to get their homework and study more structured

One thing my parents used to do is make sure I had dinner ready to go straight after school and that set me up for the evening. I was always structured in my evening and my homework improved.

3. Find a tutor. 

It’s worked for generations. Finding a tutor is probably the easiest, quickest, and most confidence-building way of supporting your child with their maths. I think it works because it’s like a third space. It’s not working in school. They can’t really get going at home and the tutor offers an avenue which is different and fresh.

I’ve often seen my students in Breakthrough Maths turn completely around after a few weeks. It’s like a new attitude to maths and that’s what can turn the dial: a fresh approach and so tutors, by and large, work out.

For example last year 91% of our students improved their grades in our Year 10 and Year 11 classes. I put a lot of that down to the fresh approach of our tutors, just reinvigorating the students to apply themselves in maths.

4. Set the goal. 

I love when parents sit down with their child and set the goal for their GCSEs. Whether they are failing GCSE Maths, going for all Grade 9s. It has to be a joint goal: what does your child want to achieve? Maybe put a reward in place if they get an X result, that maybe they go to Disneyland or even smaller or simpler. Maybe they get no chores for the summer. Something as simple as that but set a goal to achieve and it puts it into perspective.

5. Just talk

I think the biggest thing from this article you can take is just to talk to your child. When performance dips, talk about it. Don’t brush it under the carpet. That just escalates the problem. Talk about it even if it’s awkward for the first conversation. At least you’ve broken the ice. Getting it off your chest is step one and you can build a plan with them after that. Getting buy-in from both sides is key here 

In conclusion if your child is failing their GCSE maths, you’re not alone. It happens to almost one in every two students that I see. It can be sudden or over a number of months but the head just drops and results follow. It is very easy to turn it around once you openly talk about it and get some routines or a tutor in place.

With the GCSEs it’s much easier to make improvements at that age and deliver a boost to their confidence when they get the results that August.