Building Bridges, Not Barriers: A Brief Study of Developing Mathematical Resilience in FE GCSE Mathematics Resit Students

Abstract

Mathematics anxiety remains a significant barrier for a large proportion of GCSE resit students in Further Education (FE) in UK, often leading to disengagement, low confidence, disruptive behaviour, and avoidance of challenge. Resit pass levels are also very low ( Boli & Golding, 2024 ). This practitioner study explored the use of the Mathematical Resilience toolkit ( Johnston-Wilder et al., 2020 ), including the Growth Zone Model, the Hand Model of the Brain, the Ladder Model, and the Relaxation Response, to address emotional barriers and support resit students in developing more positive relationships with mathematics. A small group of students also engaged in one-to-one online coaching sessions, offering safe spaces to express anxieties and practise self-regulation while doing mathematics. Findings indicate that addressing mathematics anxiety explicitly enhanced emotional awareness, attendance, attainment and classroom participation, with coaching proving particularly transformative for high-anxiety students. Challenges remained in managing large mixed-ability classes and limited access to specialist support, but overall, the study highlights the value of embedding the Mathematical Resilience toolkit as a core pedagogical approach in FE. Future research with larger and more diverse cohorts is recommended to examine the long-term impact of these interventions.