Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

What subjects are needed for an EBacc, what are the benefits & options?

29 replies

Lottie4 · 22/01/2015 14:43

Options will be out soon, and school have been getting them prepared. She's interested in the EBacc, but at the moment they haven't gone into this in detail at school, so I'd be interested to know what subjects she would need, what sorts of grades and what the benefit in the future would be.

Her initial choices and reasons are:

Textiles - she likes being creative, thinks this may help if see did interior design
Something RE/Philosophy/Ethics related, she's just been assessed at 7.25 in Ethics which I suspect is reasonably good, so I guess this has spurred her on with this choice
Music - she adores playing an instrument, practices for hours and would possibly like to teach
French - she is being fast tracked for GCSE higher French, she has to do a second language afterwards, so will hopefully have two language GCSEs.

She can choose two more options, with another as a reserve (sounds a lot to me!). She's thinks she should choose history or geography.

She can do triple science if she wants, but is considering double. She's always felt she's noticeably at the bottom of the top set and would rather put that time into another subject.

OP posts:
TeenAndTween · 22/01/2015 15:00

Ebac

English Lang, Maths, Double science, an MFL (or latin or greek?), History or Geography all passed at grade C or above.

The making of a well rounded academic set at GCSE.
RE is also an essay subject but for some reason was omitted from Ebac.

I don't think the 'Ebacc' as such is of any great consequence, but doing the range of subjects it covers, and developing related skills is, I think, worthwhile for kids that are able to do them.

Lottie4 · 22/01/2015 14:58

Obviously we have to see it on paper, but this is what she understands from the school. I think that's why she only wants to do double science as it will be one less subject!

She is already being fast tracked for French, so will do that in Year 10, so that's one less in Year 11. It's compulsory for their set to do this. She has questioned this and the response was, why not when you are capable of A* in both subjects. Even if she slips back, it sounds like she will pass these which is positive.

OP posts:
Leeds2 · 22/01/2015 14:55

To get the Ebacc, your DD would need Maths, English Language, at least Double Science, a Foreign Language and a Humanity at Grades A* - C. So, to qualify for the Ebacc, she would need to choose History or Geography from the options you give, as I don't think RS counts. It didn't when my DD did GCSEs, although that might have changed.

I don't think having Ebacc gives any advantage at all.

TheFirstOfHerName · 22/01/2015 14:49

Maths
English language
English literature
Double Science
French
2nd MFL
RS / Philosophy & Ethics
Music
Textiles
History or Geography
Other option

That's 12 GCSEs. My concern would be that it seems to be quite a big workload.