A 38-year-old mother and full-time worker has described sitting her maths GCSE again, 22 years after her first attempt, in a bid to overcome a lifelong fear of the subject. Despite holding a C grade from previous efforts, she enrolled in evening classes and hired a tutor to prepare for the exam.
Her original maths teacher, nicknamed 'Squareroot', was a strict grammar school instructor who would throw test papers at her and announce her low marks aloud, causing weekly humiliation. She achieved an E at 16, later a D, and finally a C after six years of struggle.
This time, she aimed for a B but found the exam unexpectedly difficult. Question 19, described as 'a quadratic equation disguised as a probability question', left her panicked and unable to complete the paper. The second paper also saw time run out on high-mark questions.
She now awaits her results, hoping not to drop a grade. The experience, she says, was driven by a desire not to pass on her fear of maths to her young child.
