What is the argument for children doing their GCSEs a year or two early?

LaQ, art isn't a "hard" subject like maths or chemistry (although DS would find it waaaaaay harder than them!), and I imagine that most DC that take it are naturally good at it, but it is very, very time-consuming. DD is doing an art GCSE (not early though!). She is predicted an A*, but it takes hours of her time. She loves doing it, but it is hard to fit in enough time with everything else!

I would have thought that taking it early might mean she has more time to devote to her other subjects in Y11.

Art is a hefty whack, LQ, actually. Big portfolio. Not the same as sitting an O level a year early.

M - have emailed you

I think there is a good case for doing one or two GCSEs in year 9/10 e.g Music, Latin or if you are confident of getting an A* in Maths/English.

However, to do the majority of your GCSEs in year 10 with the intention of resitting/doing more in year 11 does not make sense. At the local comp, the additional GCSEs on offer to year 11s are often in non academic subjects such as photography, media etc.

Also it means that students will have been taking public exams every year for 4 years - all that pressure with no respite

Queen, that's a bit like DS's Music GCSE, which if he does it will be taken at the end of Year 10.

A group of particularly good academic and practical musicians are being stretched through GCSE material in Year 9, then will do final parts of the GCSE in Year 10 before being able to drop it if they would like at that point.

Certainly an interesting alternative to those kids who are almost at GCSE standard but not wanting to take up a full GCSE option slot with a subject such as music that is. for most of them, a 'sideline' to their other academic interests. They may not all get As - though they are by and large also top 'academic' students - but, when combined with their Grade 5-8 in their specific instruments, it will indicate a strong 'other' interest for application forms etc. And will not affect their personal 'top 8' GCSEs at the end of Year 11...

I think that at my son's (independent) school they are given the chance to to sit for a GCSE at the end of Year 9 in a subject that they are going to drop. For example, if you've done Latin for 3 years and could probably manage a C grade, then why not take the GCSE to have something to show for the work that you've done so far. I agree that it wouldn't really count for anything when it comes to university applications but it's probably good experience, keeps up the momentum and gives young people something to work towards. Otherwise, when they've made their options choices, there's a definite tendency to stop working in the subjects that you know you're dropping.

1 university my DD is looking at asks for:
8 GCSEs in one sitting required at a minimum grade B, including Mathematics, English Language and 2 science subjects.
www.liv.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/physiotherapy-bsc-hons/entry-requirements/
She is going to email them as she did her maths gcse a year early - hopefully it shouldn't be a problem as she did do a further maths qualification at the end of year 11.
DD2 has also done her maths early and it doing a level 3 Algebra qualification in year 11.

*Early entry doesn't always mean reducing the time spent studying.

At my DCs school, they all start GCSE in year 9.*

So having done a year less in KS3. Very few GCSEs are ab initio, with no content assumed to have been done prior to starting the "GCSE" course.

In year 11, if they have achieved their target grades (so not just a C), they can choose more options

The argument that people wouldn't do better in a given subject, given an extra year's study, is pretty silly, though. Those "target" grades presumably allow for the missing year.

they can choose more options, but they have twice as many lessons.

Fortunately, the best 8 accountability measure will put paid to all this sort of gaming.

I didn't get how taking an exam on a subject that you had been studying for 6 months as opposed to 2 yrs made any sense

Early entry doesn't always mean reducing the time spent studying.

At my DCs school, they all start GCSE in year 9.

Some pupils will take some in year 10. In year 11, if they have achieved their target grades (so not just a C), they can choose more options, but they have twice as many lessons.

So they get the same amount of lesson time, just spread over different years.

The Informed Choices booklet is supposed to make the whole process more transparent as so many schools get it wrong when advising students on their options

Actually the Informed Choices booklet gives a completely wrong impression about entry to RG universities, let alone all the others. Every course, let alone different universities have different entry requirements, and any generic guidance is bound to be wrong. Most RG universities do not follow these 'rules' apart from in a tiny minority of the most competitive courses.

I have never seen any evidence (despite seeing 1000s of UCAS forms) that 'many schools get it wrong'. Yet this statement is repeated over and over again. Of course there are some odd choices, but that is not the same thing.

Personally I think it is politically convenient to blame these imagined schools, it means you don't have to admit that efforts to widen participation have failed.

I think its good for dc who could do with spacing them out perhaps they can't manage them all at once. Also they can concentrate on other subjects once a few are out of the way.
If they are at school though I don't think its fair that they are always working towards a test and being taught to the test.
My dd is hoping to take a couple of GCSE's at 13, these are subjects she finds easy and will only take about a year to work towards, but this is 1 to 1 tuition and a bit different.

My son has moved on now, but I have a younger one about to pick GCSE options. We have been told it will be different with the next GCSE cohort.

I hope so.

Titchy - based on my local town, 2 schools without 6th form have done that and the other 2 with 6th forms haven't. This seems to be a pattern in some towns across the country (e.g one town in Herts comes to mind).

AmberLead - it is odd isn't it. I am frustrated because I am having to consider moving one of my DC for this reason...

Yrs 10 and 11 were just odd though, I didn't get how taking an exam on a subject that you had been studying for 6 months as opposed to 2 yrs made any sense.

My experience of this isn't great.

My son did some early, being told that it frees up time to concentrate on other subjects, he got passes, but was then told he would be taking them again and the results are 'terminal' which meant they cancelled out the previously attained grade.

Rather a stressful time and it all just seemed so disorganised.

That was at a comp with no sixth form incidently.

Miss Scatterbrain - evidence please that schools without 6th forms tend to push kids into early GCSEs.....

You would be surprised Cream. Its not officially published but it does seem to be an unwritten rule (along with others) for some Universities, especially for the more competitive courses.

At GCSE? Name one.

You would be surprised Cream. Its not officially published but it does seem to be an unwritten rule (along with others) for some Universities, especially for the more competitive courses.

The Informed Choices booklet is supposed to make the whole process more transparent as so many schools get it wrong when advising students on their options.

sashh - what if the school does not have provision for AS/A levels? Many comprehensives don't have a 6th form. Yet these are the ones that tend to push those into doing their GCSEs in year 10. Which is not so great for the bright ones as they end doing very little work in year 11 and often get a huge shock when moving into year 12.

In my case (O Levels, I'm old) I 'got rid' of English which I struggled with (teacher didn't believe in dyslexia) and used the time to revise for my other subjects which I probably got better grades in if I hadn't had the extra time.

My history teacher was quite surprised I'd manged to get a C, and so was I.

So I think there are 2 reasons to do GCSEs early

You can already get A/A* and start on an A or AS course.
You can dump a subject that is stressing you out and allow higher grades in other subjects.

Miss Scatterbrain I am a university admissions tutor and, amongst other things, I spend a lot of time reading prospectuses.

If you can find a single university that asks for GCSE all in one sitting I would be astounded. But please do let me know if you find one.