A course at New College Swindon has been abruptly cancelled, much to the surprise of students and their parents.

In October, Kerry Edds' 16-year-old son was advised to take a functional skills Maths course because he was struggling with his GCSE Maths lessons.

Then, just a few weeks later, the Taw Hill family received an email saying that the course would no longer be going ahead and that all students would have to sit GCSE Maths at the end of the year.

Kerry fears that the sudden change will add more stress and pressure to her son's school year and lead to him having to re-sit the harder exam.

New College explained that this decision gives students a better chance of a positive outcome.

Kerry said: "None of the parents or students were consulted about this, even his maths teacher seemed unaware, it just happened.

"He finds maths really hard but was starting to build his confidence again on the functional skills course and was on target to pass.

"The college says the Maths GCSE offers more chances for everyone to pass but anything below a certain grade is seen as a fail in the eyes of the government.

"It seems to me like the college is happy for the students to retake the GCSE over and over.

"They should support students with special educational needs who learn differently, it's not fair.

"It's wrong that children should be made to feel like failures and have to sit exams that will be too hard for them."

A New College spokesman said that the Functional Skills course is strictly pass or fail, but the grading system for the Maths GCSE, which offers a higher chance to pass.

All students were advised by an email sent on November 30, and then spoken to about any queries or concerns they had.

The spokesperson added: "We feel strongly that these students are more likely to achieve a pass at GCSE than a pass at Functional Skills, boosting their confidence to progress on to further study.

"The work the students have been doing developing their mathematical skills on their functional skills course is equally relevant to the GCSE exams they will take in the summer. 

"The students will still receive support from the same lecturers and the course delivered in the same working environment. 

"The same skills are taught across both courses and we hope by giving the students this opportunity to sit the Maths GCSE, the prospects available to them for progression will be better."