Passes maths GCSE 20 years later with the highest grade
PASSING her maths GCSE held particular significance for one student of the Guernsey Institute College of Further Education, since she had failed it 20 years ago.
‘It was very scary this morning,’ said Mim Batiste, 36.
‘And I’m so happy that I passed.’
She had achieved passing grades in all the other GCSEs she sat as a teenager but decided to go to night school to resit maths.
This time she earned a grade 5 – the highest possible in the foundation level course she took. ‘It was a really intense eight-month course, two hours a week,’ she said. ‘But I felt really prepared. The college is amazing.’
She did not know what she was going to do now she had the qualification.
‘I only got it because I felt it was holding me back all this time,’ she said.
Passing City & Guilds level 2 beauty therapy delighted 17-year-old Kristi Murphy, who has worked at the Lavender Rooms since March. ‘I did a level 1 hair and beauty at school and I loved it so much I wanted to do it as a career,’ she said.
She had passed English and maths GCSEs last year but said many of her friends had not and it had been hard studying the subjects during the pandemic.
Kristi now planned to take the level 3 qualification.
‘My end goal is to work full-time as a beauty therapist,’ she said.
College principal Louise Misselke said the students collecting their results were a mix of mature students taking GCSE English and maths and those who had done vocational courses.
‘They’ve done really, really well. We’ve had some smiles and cheers this morning,’ she said.
‘I think students have worked really hard this year, particularly the GCSE English and maths students.’
Programme manager for English and maths Jennifer Long said that while those taking English had done really well, maths was more of a ‘mixed picture’.
‘I know the grade boundaries have gone back to pre-Covid levels across the sector. But I feel our students have done really well and I’m really proud of them.'
