Dear Aunty Sprout,
I am in a Welsh-speaking school. I am having trouble with mathematics. Can I sit this paper in English rather than Welsh?
TheSprout has teamed up with Meic – the national information, advice and advocacy helpline for children and young people in Wales – which has posted as Aunty Sprout below!
If you have any advice to offer, please leave your comments below (it’s free and quick to comment but we recommend keeping posts Sprouty and anonymous!).
Aunty Sprout’s response
Hello! Thanks for your query about your school allowing you to take your Maths GCSE in English.
If you haven’t already, you might want to have a chat with your Maths teacher to see if the school would be willing to submit an entry for an English Maths paper. If your teacher and/or head teacher do not appear to be willing to allow this, it might be a good idea for your parent(s) to ask for a meeting with them to discuss it further.
We contacted the Welsh Examination Board (WJEC) and were advised that it is possible to sit the exam in English, but your school would need to be in agreement. If they are happy for you to do this, they would need to submit an entry for you to sit the Maths GCSE in English.
If, for some reason, the school decides not to submit an entry for a Maths paper in English, another possibility would be to approach another school or centre about taking Maths in English, however, your parents might have to pay for this. The cost of a GCSE is about £28.
If for any reason you’re not happy with the outcome of any discussions with your school, you could consider ringing the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ office.
We hope the above is useful. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need any further info, advice or advocacy. Take care for now.
Meic is the national information, advice and advocacy helpline for 0-25s in Wales. You can contact Meic by phone (080880 23456), text (84001), and instant message (www.meic.cymru) between 8am and midnight.
Ask your own question to Aunty Sprout…
If you have a problem or question that you would like some advice on, why not share it with TheSprout community? Here’s what’s been asked before on the new Sprout and here’s the Aunty Sprout archive on the old site.
Your entry will be posted anonymously, as we’ll change the name on it. Also, remember to have a look at the Info section. You can of course always contact Meic directly – www.meic.cymru.
Related:
Archive: Aunty Sprout: Maths Muddle
Archive: Aunty Sprout: Exam Or Homework?
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