Most good ideas start with wine and this one is no different. I’ve been at the TSM conference which has been a brilliant place to meet interesting people. Early on I found a group of kindred spirits, we formed the naughty table, started making balloon models and getting overexcited by silly things (mostly maths things). It turns out we all work in sixth forms or FE so during the conference dinner we talked about the difficulties and rewards of teaching GCSE resit students.

I love teaching GCSE resits and helping students not only make progress towards the magic grade C that opens so many doors but also breaking down the barriers they often have about not being able to do maths. So much of what I do is the second part of that, trying to improve student’s confidence and show them how lovely maths really is. Give me a chance and I’ll talk about this all day so it was great to meet people who are as enthusiastic.

Just before Christmas last year information came out with pass rates for GCSE maths resits. It’s around 22% (I need to find the link for this!) which is a pretty bleak picture. At Longley we are way above that which is great but it does show the difficulties inherent in teaching GCSE resit. What we are doing is working well right now and we are happy to share. Things are tough right now and in the next few years are set to get even tougher. The best response I can see to that is working together and sharing ideas.

So far there is a small group of teachers who want to share ideas and plan together. We’re hoping to meet up towards the end of August and find some online ways to keep in touch. If you’re interested in being part of that email or tweet me. Ms.Steel.13@googlemail.com @MsSteel_Maths

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