DS, Y10 is in a high performing state comp. The science option was either 'normal' double or 'fast-track' triple (same lesson time given over for 3 as for 2 sciences). His end-of-Y9 science teacher suggested he'd be 'in the top double science set', which he was unhappy about. To be fair, this school does have a bit of a reputation for not 'allowing' DC to take subjects they might not get at least an 'A' in; and DS's stronger subjects are science and maths as opposed to arts or humanities- and DS wanted to do triple science. DH and I went in to see the Head of Science who assured us DS would be capable of triple science but should be prepared to 'work hard' to keep up not so much with the level but with the pace of it.
Here we are, 2 terms in, and yes, DS is struggling to effectively self-teach a third of the science curriculum, that being the third there's no time to cover in class. I'd be happy if they sent home work sheets to guide him about what he's supposed to be covering out-of-hours but he appears to be just getting ordinary science homework, which isn't always done to the highest level. I can't help much because I wasn't sitting in the lesson!
He's very much '14' and not yet mature enough to see the implications of not doing as well as he might in his Science.
There don't appear to be many, if any, science GCSE tutors locally; we have the recommended AQA revision guides but I wonder if there's more he could be doing? An on-line course?
I am hoping to be able to persuade the school to allow him to drop one (tech) GCSE in Y11 in order to free up some time in order to do some extra science but he'd still need to know what to study! The school know (as do we following a bit of a lack-lustre report) that DS isn't doing as well as he's capable of but I get that they have 279 other DC to worry about as well.
His fear is that he might not get a good enough mark to be able to do an A level in a science, and he wanted to do 'triple' anyway to lessen that gap between GCSE and A level we're constantly being told about. But 3 low grade science GCSEs will be less use in the long term than 2 better double science- and, bio is his weakest subject so he didn't want a 'lesser grade' in bio to haul down his physics and chem, which theoretically it wouldn't if they were quarantined from each other as in triple, iyswim.
Any thoughts?
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AQA 'fast track' triple science mistake. How to salvage this!
48 replies
Erebus · 20/04/2014 17:02
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