I have to admit that the new real-life course that our beloved government is investing huge sums of tax payers money looks like a really good idea, but that is as far as it goes. Let's face it who are in need of this course? Is it really the few who manage to get the holy grail of grades and gets their "C" who don't go on to A'level maths or is it those students that can't get that grade "C" in the first place.
I'd really love to spend the hours of lesson planning and delivering for those students that need access to maths that they will come across in life. Surely these are the students that would benefit the most from a course based on real-life maths with a heavy emphasis on personal finance and the ability to get through life and past the people that try to rob them of their money at every hurdle. The number of supermarkets that put up these special offers that are special for them and not the customer is appalling and these things are part of the course that students really need rather than looking at area of trapeziums and compound shapes.
Surely with the freedom independent schools and academies have to either follow the curriculum or not it wouldn't take too much money for an exam board to offer a course that was worth an equivalent to a grade "c" at GCSE rather than perpetuating an ideology that everyone can attain it.
I hope that all the kids I teach get either the grade "C" or aim for the "A*" grade that they can attain but really a lot of the kids I teach would get more out of a money and finance course than not knowing the difference between averages and the reason for having them.
