Does a GCSE Math Grade really matter?

[Patrick]

I have a Maths GCSE Exam tomorrow morning - and I find Maths extremely difficult.

My teacher has been telling me all year that I'll fail and if I do I'll find it very hard to get any sort of career.

When I leave school, I want to do a course in Film and TV Production starting this September - so the job I want to get will be in that field anyway.

But I wanna ask you all something (because obviously maths teacher is biased) - does not having a C-Grade in your Mathematics really effect your chances in the job world?

[Tom4784]

It makes things harder but not impossible. It depends on what you want to do.

If you do fail though you can always retake it in college. I did Media in college and a lot of people had to resit their English during the course.

[Ninastar]

100%

The amount of courses that I know of that you can't do unless you get a C or above is unreal. This applies for both job applications and uni ones

[AnnieK]

I thought most college courses require grade c in Maths and English. Most jobs have basic education requirements and Maths and English Grade C or above are pretty much pre-requisites.

[MTVN]

I'd say it helps a fair bit to get at least a C in it but GCSEs aren't the life defining event the teachers make them out to be at the time, really depends what you're looking to do afterwards though, I'm not really familiar with what they'll require from you doing a course like that

[Jarrod]

I have it tomorrow morning at 9:30 dude and honestly don't panic about it. Most courses ask for a minimum of 4 GCSE's A-C and it doesn't specify what subjects you need. (Well for me they didn't)

You can re-take maths in college too so don't get too worried about it.

[Me. I Am Salman]

Check with the place you want to go to? And just lie on your application form if you're applying to a part time job, they don't check.

[Patrick]

/Feels so much more better.

I'm being serious - cheers guys.

[Kizzy]

Good luck, my son has it too are you doing the foundation or higher paper? I always thought that 70% for a pass at foundation and 40% for a pass at higher was a bit unfair.

[Me. I Am Salman]

Anyway I wouldn't listen to your teacher. My maths teacher was a prick (predicted me to fail) and then he got a brain tumour (Dont worry he didnt die, he came back a few months later) and I got an A.

[Benjamin]

I'd say most serious jobs require you to have a minimum of Grade C in Maths. You can retake, but Maths, English and IT are probably the most important of the GCSE's unless you are going into a science based job then Science is important too.

[Benjamin]

Check with the place you want to go to? And just lie on your application form if you're applying to a part time job, they don't check.

You'd be surprised how many actually do. ;)

[Me. I Am Salman]

You'd be surprised how many actually do. ;)

Not places like McDonalds, the only evidence of your grade is your certificate
With unis and higher firms you can't lie

[EddyEagal]

Patrick, I think it really depends on the grades you have in other subjects. For your course, I'd say obviously Media you'd need a good grade in, and maybe English would be quite beneficial. If you put it into perspective, you're doing a course which doesn't feature Maths, and assuming you have high grades in the other subjects, how the hell could they reject you?

For example, if you've got a B-A* in Media, English.. how can they say no to you, when you could be an opportunity for them to have a pupil who would bring in good results?

Sure, maths will help if you're going for a banking job or something, but it's a known fact that those in Media are notoriously bad at Maths.

[Joe.]

Thought you were in college Patrick?

Don't worry about it if you don't need it really- I need it for what I want to do so I had to get it. It isn't too bad- I'd say English is most important.

p.s I got an A* on maths gcse - so proud.

[LemonJam]

My sister hasn't got a GCSE in Maths (she has dyscalculia) but she's been given the opportunity to attend London college of Fashion, so I think it depends on what you want to do. I think there are substitute courses that you can take anyway.

[Tom4784]

Also a lot of places if you haven't got a GCSE in Maths will just ask you to take a piss easy test just to show that you have basic knowledge of it.

[jackc1806]

I've got it tomorrow too- good luck everyone taking it. Thankfully, I've done well in other subjects so this could compensate for my terrible maths skills... Want to be a journalist anyway so do I even need maths?

[ThisIsNickkk]

Depends what you want to do... Sometimes it doesn't really matter. I only got a C in my GCSE maths and I'm studying business at university, which subsequently has an Accounting module... I hate math's but got through it, so it doesn't generally always matter.

The point I'm trying to make is even if you don't enjoy maths, try and get a C, but it isn't the end of the world.

Good luck to everyone, don't stress about it. It is easy to say when you have been through it, we know how you will be feeling, but as long as you have prepared, you will be fine, I'm sure!

[Kizzy]

Think there are ALAN tests you can do, or BSBK online competence tests that colleges use to judge if you have suitable ability for the course you apply for.

[Gstar]

Since coming out of school I've never been asked for my GCSE grades. With some things it's just a matter of being good at what you're doing.

[Gstar]

The director for some job I had with the BBC basically said he didn't care about our gcse grades

[Gstar]

But that's mainly for things such as drama, music, dance etc. If you got it, you got it

triple post i'm going to bed

[Z]

I was more or less frog marched into taking Maths beyond 4th year by my teacher and put into this Intermediate 2 course with the view of doing Higher in 6th year but I absolutely hated Maths; I managed to get an A in the Int 2 course which was a much easier course and more clearly laid out; and then didn't take Maths any further. It depends on what you want to do but when I was applying for uni the only subject I had to have a grade in was Higher English, no mention of Maths anywhere. Maths isn't an important subject unless you want to study Maths or some kind of engineering type course. Maths isn't arithmetic. Knowing basic arithmetic, your times tables, how to calculate percentages and that sort of thing is important in later life, but I've yet to encounter a situation where I've needed to know how to use the Pythagoras Theorem since I left school and it's been 4 years now :laugh:

[Z]

I also think it's pretty awful that your teacher's been telling you that you're going to fail and struggle to get a career, that's really bad. I don't know what you're like as a student, maybe you're a complete arsehole :laugh: but that seems completely unprofessional. Your teacher should be helping you, not putting you down. If you fail it, just resit it somewhere else and ask for help - there's no shame in asking for extra help if you need it, you're only shooting yourself in the foot if you don't. The sooner you get extra help to pass it (obviously leaving it too late now, but if you don't pass and you need to resit it...), the sooner you never have to study maths ever again. Good luck everyone sitting it tomorrow!

[Kizzy]

I think teachers try all kinds of tricks for overconfident students who have the ability but not enough focus, saying something like that could just shock him into giving the subject a little more attention.

[Withano]

I'm afraid I agree with your teacher. Maths and English are the only things that will hold you back in life

[ThisIsNickkk]

Let's put it this way, I'm awful at maths but I personally believe it is still important you get at least a C grade, even if it means resitting - I had to resit my math's exam.

Since you are doubting yourself, it's clear you don't want to be in a profession that uses a load of maths. Therefore, is it important you're amazing at it? Absolutely not. As long as you can do the basics, you will get by. The majority of the stuff they teach you at GCSE is a waste of time, depending on the profession you want to do. And, as I say, by all accounts it doesn't sound like you want to be a professor, or a physicist.

[SharkAttack]

Good luck, mate! I'd have gotten a few of the mock tests and tried to pass them, and then see where I went wrong to get those examples correct.

Reducing fractions, and doing ratios and percentages will help you in life. Finding the angles of a particular shape will help you if you get into design or constructing buildings, or an angle of a shot you want to film.

Even video and arts need specific calculations to get them just right. Area = length x width, the simple one. Think about a television screen and pixels and what makes HD work! Math is important, try to catch as much of it as you can, and take from it what you will.

Again, good luck, and you can always go back and learn more, Patrick. You can produce and film much cleaner when you understand and completely know those ratios and percentages when using the cameras, especially the much more advanced ones that need programming.

Looking forward to your films. :hugesmile:

[aman201]

Not when you get into the work environment, no.

But, to get into Uni, it matters.

[aman201]

And, i remember sitting my GCSEs, time flies. :(

[Conor]

I know everyone has answered already, but as someone else from NI who hated maths and is now doing a media & production degree, I can probably help, and the answer is kinda that it depends on the situation. If you're going to BMC next year then if you fail maths, they will make you take an additional class alongside the production course until you get a maths certificate. I'm not sure what happens if you fail that as well.

O yea, I also really struggled with maths, but managed to scrape a C, and that was enough to get me into uni to do the course that I wanted (and that you will be basically doing next year) Theres no way around the fact tho that 99% of the time you'll have to pass english/maths eventually to get anywhere beyond cleaning or retail jobs.

[Jords]

For job application success yes, unless you climb further up the education ladder then no GCSE really matters, although you need to obtain a C to do that so yeah... try hard and good luck.