Education policy in England requires full-time students aged 16–18 who have not achieved grade 4 or higher in GCSE Mathematics to continue studying maths. Those who achieve grade 3 in GCSE Mathematics at age 16 are required to continue to study towards GCSE Mathematics post-16. Those who achieve GCSE grade 2 or below can either study towards GCSE or towards Functional Skills Mathematics level 2.

Functional Skills Mathematics qualifications, which range from Entry level 1 through to level 2, may be taken as stepping stones towards GCSE Mathematics.

We think there should be a new maths GCSE that’s more suitable for students who didn’t achieve grade 4 or higher in GCSE Mathematics by age 16; find out more about our work in this area.