It’s never too late to learn, or get your GCSE Maths!
It’s never too late to learn, or get your GCSE Maths!
On GCSE Results Day a few weeks ago, David Clarry came in to collect his results from Rotherham College for his Maths GCSE. You may think this does not seem anything out of the ordinary, but when you note that David looks four to five times older than our usual GCSE learner, it becomes something extraordinary.
David is nearly 78 years old and gained a 6 (missing out on a 7 – an A in old money – by only 11 marks!) in his Higher Paper Maths GCSE, one of the RNN Group’s best grades.
We asked David what drove him to do this, and so here is his story:
David was born in Swallownest in 1947 and attended the old Primary School on Lodge Lane.
“We sat on long bench-desks in those days, writing on a ‘Slate’ and progressing onto liquid-ink and nib pens which stained our fingers black.”
David sat his 11+ exams (for entry into the local Grammar school) in 1959 and failed. However, he did not let this stop him.
He said, “During 1962, while in my 3rd year (now year 9), we were informed that the Rotherham LEA was to trial a Comprehensive Education system and that Swallownest Secondary School was to link with Woodhouse Grammar School for this.”
He continued, “Two forms from my year were transferred to the Grammar School, but coming from a Secondary School we were told that as we had not covered sufficient material compared to our counterparts from the Grammar School we were restricted in the number of subjects we were allowed to take at ‘O’ Level …. including Maths.”
At first, returning to formal study was challenging, but with Kerrie’s help, I now have a GCSE in Maths in my 8th decade!
David Clarry
David left school in 1964 with 5 ‘O’ Levels but started a five-year Indentured Engineering Apprenticeship with Davy United at Darnall, attending Granville College and Sheffield Polytechnic. He gained several engineering qualifications during his time there and helped to set up a Computerised Production Control system.
In the early 1990s, David decided to have a change of scene and moved into teaching within Design Technology at secondary level before retiring in 2012.
Unfortunately, David’s wife of 49 years passed away after a period of illness in 2023.
“February 2023 was a low point in my life. The past two and a half years have not been easy. Coping without my soul-mate has been hard. It would have been easy just to sit and do nothing, but I have forced myself to be active and I try to maintain good health by exercise and running.”
“Mentally, I needed a challenge and years ago I completed several Open University units towards gaining a degree which I thought I would try and complete, but because I have been removed from their active files and the completed units were no longer valid, that option was out.”
I would say to any adult learner worried about returning to education, just go for it! Don’t be afraid of the challenge.
David Clarry
“Although I have completed several qualifications that are considered higher than GCSE, including the OU, I hadn’t actually got a GCSE in Maths and I wanted to address this issue so I enrolled at Rotherham College (I had done a photography course here a few years ago in 2023/24 which I enjoyed) and took Maths evening classes with the supportive Kerrie Hector.”
“At first, returning to formal study was challenging, but with Kerrie’s help, I now have a GCSE in Maths in my 8th decade!
“I would say to any adult learner worried about returning to education just go for it! Don’t be afraid of the challenge. It won’t be easy – I certainly did not – but when you open that envelope on Results Day or learn that result you will be and should be proud of your achievement, whatever the grade!”