Year 11 GCSE support thread 4 - more exams

DD says that Double Science gives you two GCSEs - core science and additional science and it's only triple science that gives you GCSEs in the specific sciences.

The double and triple if you do badly in chemistry but good in physics and biology like my boys then that balances out.
If you do a totally stand alone science GCSE as only 1 or 2 boys are doing in their year eg just biology and totally separately just chemistry then if you mess up biology there is no averaging with your chemistry. So mine are 3 with their 3 sciences, double award as the bad chemistry in a sense if made better by better results in the other two.

So mine will have two GCSEs for their 3 sciences (and someone would have 3 for triple science). If someone did instead stand alone biology and stand alone chemistry they would also have 2 GCSEs but no averaging of the grades between the two I think.

Anyway they see to be up now and in their revision rooms but I don't interfere. My daughter did GCSEs 13 years ago so we've had quite a lot of years of them.

DD didn't emerge till 9:30 this morning, thinking it was much earlier but that's fine. She's dressed and revising more human geography - she'd estimated it would take her 6 (partial) days but she's ahead of schedule.

Clemency, DD (and I think DS) would have happily given Physics up. Like I did back in the Dark Ages!

DH has apparently dropped DD to school for revision. Not sure what though! I am wading through DMs finances and other chores...

DD is taking triple science snd if she passes it all, will be awarded separate GCSEs for chemistry biology and physics, which have been taught by three separate teachers.

Yes, because that is what triple science gives you - three separate science GCSEs. That's what I said. Double science still involves studying all three sciences with three separate teachers but involves 1 less paper per science and results in only 2 GCSEs.

It's amazing how different all the experiences are depending on the exam board, the subject, the individual schools and even individual teachers. I thought that education these days was supposed to be pretty much the same for everyone.

Ds had 9 exams over the first two weeks and still has 16 to do over the next three weeks so not even halfway yet. Glad to have this break though, they do need a rest.

Well done to your dd BTM

Our school does double or triple science. Double leads to 2 GCSEs and triple to 3.

Yes, it's confusing. My older children all had to do triple science which is 3 GCSEs - physics, chemistry and biology. Miost of my sons' friends do that too but they chose to lighten the load by doing all 3 subjects resulting in only 2 GCSEs and doing half as many exams and basically the same course until about a term ago when the double science lot split into a different group. There is also an option if someone wanted it to do say just biology although I think just about no one is doing that at their school.

There is a huge movemeng amongst parents I think for children to do STEM subjects at A level and at university - science, maths and at university medicine and science or maths subjects and triple science is really necessary for that along with maths of course and that's because of career prospects.

Double Science is taught by 3 different teachers at DCs school 9and every other one I've known.

Basically there used to be: 3 papers for Biology, Chemistry and Physics; B1, B2, and B3, C1 C2 and C3, and P1, P2 and P3. If you sat B1, C1 and P1 you got a qualification in Core Science, for double Science you had to also sit B2, C2 and P2, AQA also offered you further additional if you then did B3, C3 and P3. However if you did B1, B2 and B3 you could instead get Biology GCSE, and C1, C2 and C3 would give you Chemistry, and P1, P2, and P3 would give you Physics. All students (double and triple) learn the information for B1 and B2, C1 and C2, and P1 and P2 - and in all schools I've known these have been taught by separate teachers. The only difference for triple science is learning and sitting the B3, C3 and P3 papers, which is how some schools offer triple Science as an option.

Lots of science teachers only sat double Science and believe it is adequate for A'level study, however there is more of a "gap" between GCSE and A'level if only double has been studied.

You are wrong :) I didn't understand it either.

Double science gives two GCSEs although all three are still studied. Triple science gives three separate GCSEs and is more in depth. There is also single science which, you've guessed it, gives one GCSE.

DS had to explain it to me.

Dingit, that sounds sensible. The DCs and the other local comp do one of the triple sciences in Y10 and the other two in Y11 which is better than all 3 in one go IMHO but only those achieving at least a B in mock at end of Y9 have the option to do triple at the DCs school, which I also think is sensible.

Dd is doing triple science, but took core in year 9, double in year 10. I think and hope this will make it easier.

Clearly revision has messed with dds head. She is making me watch High School musical 2 with her ( my ears are bleeding)

My dd's school they do triple science as standard, but some found the igcse chemistry hard so we're allowed to drop it and just do biol and physics. She finds u3 generally easier to do really well on because it's more calculation and understanding.

She would be half way through at this point if she hadn't done FM as an extra. I think she was revising geog and maybe some computing today but now she's in the garage having half an hour or so on the exercise machines.

DD would also say your DC are wise, Lotus. She very much wishes she had done double and is advising DS (with me right behind her) to do double.

DD says she is revising at home with her besties but as I am at DMs and DH and DS are playing golf/watching footy round at a friends, I have no idea if this is true! But amazing news from her earlier was that she got her first ever A* on a maths paper done for her tutor

Coffeebeanie in new disguise here.

DD has done a history past paper today. Other than that it was a very lazy weekend.

DD hasn't had half of her exams yet. Loads left, and compressed into 2 weeks, plus Further Maths a week after.

Lots still to do here - engineering, English, RE, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Physics.

It often is. I think that was so at one or two of my older children's schools and their cousins. And it's wise. Science subjects are very important.

Triple science is a three line whip at DS school I think.

DD ended up doing it as the top set for science were assumed to want to.

Well most of their class is doing triple science and I suspect they could have managed it but didn't want to do science A levels and took the easy way out. I was quite happy with their choice however as they don't want to be doctors or anything that needs science A levels and of course their marks have always been worst in science so that was a key factor probably will get higher grades in double than they would have done in triple science. We shall see.

Lotus - dd would say your so and sos are not lazy, but wise. She wishes she took double instead of triple. Triple science has completely changed her mind on what A levels she was going to take - she loved science, but the stress of having to learn it all herself has changed that. Not the the other subjects have been 'spoon fed' to her, but they have had the time to go more in depth.

Bob we're the same here - 5 down, 14 to go (3xClassics, 2xHistory, 2xMaths, 2xGerman, 1 each for Geog, Eng Lang and the three sciences) so STACKS to do here ...

Thanks to Spud, DS looked at the weblink and said "oh crap, need to revise this properly" so momentum was supplied in sufficient amounts to get him moving again - thank you Spud! (isn't Geoff Barton nice? His resources are so teenage-friendly!)