How many GCSEs and A levels do your dcs have to do in their secondary schools?

bojorojo

Yes, sorry dd school's music specialist, tbh whatever your academic background as long as you have music as your main subjects you will be pretty much ok.
Music is a compulsory GCSE and A level, and some do A level Music Technology as the second one.
Some squeeze an extra one but they are really clever because there isn't really the time.

But looking at the website for the school her dd goes to it says they do Music A level plus one or two other subjects (most do 3)

New life's dds school will be preparing them for entry to conservatoire degree courses.

My dds school too obit offer two A levels but the diploma they do alongside can be topped up to a degree by a further year distance learning.

Normally 10 GCSES with some adding add maths. Pupils admitted to 6th form will normally start 4 (5 if further maths picked) and with the expectation of taking them all the way through. Some optimisation might follow later though in the light of offers. I fully support their policy.

NewLife - 2 A levels is not enough for university. Surely you mean 3?

DS2 doing 11 GCSE, currently in Y11. Same as DS1 did. Although ranked in the top 100 nationally for A level results now restricts to 3 A levels as standard, the main exception for a fourth being FM. The "3" restriction includes those subjects that will not have gone linear at A level yet - so still AS in Y12 and A2 in yr 13. If the subject has already gone linear the AS is not available. Heavily push the EPQ option

Dd started doing 9.5. She is now doing 8 because she dropped French and did short course RE in Y10.

8 GCSE"s 3/4 AS and no more than 2 A levels allowed.

Music is compulsory at all levels as core subject with Maths, English, one science

Then choice of Humanity, Art/ Drama, language, and either another language or another science.

Dd1 is doing 11 old style + ICT qualification and dd2 is doing 10 new style +ICT and one external.

DS2 y11 Grammar, 13+Further Maths if able, the ICT is a short course though. A levels are 4 A2s from now, no ASs available, can do 5 if mad enough. It's too many but in reality he couldn't narrow his options down even further for GCSE and has been happy with the workload. We'll see come August.

He's aiming for physics, maths, history and government & politics/computing or further maths at a level definitely only 4 though apparently the novelty of lots of work has finally worn off.

GCSEs, DS school: 7-10 DD school: 8-13.

Ranges because 1 BTEC = 2 GCSE slots, plus bottom sets get a support option instead of GCSE. DD struggled to choose so many.

How would you know which subjects are best fit your dcs' abilities and interest?

DC choose. I just point facts out about their choices. They seem to know what suits them best.

Does your school have a website with letters on it?
If you look at the section for the current y9s you may get more of an idea how your school goes about it.

2 terms is 40% of your DD's existing secondary time again, and she will have more idea by then.

At our school options are decided spring term y9.

• You will need to look at her levels.
• Look at her interests.
• Look at the options open and what choices she needs to make.
• Try to make it as academically strong as she can cope with, whilst paying attention to her interests.
• Try to keep options open for the future, whilst considering her strengths, weaknesses and interests.

DD had 4 choices. She had 2 she was very keen on, and 1 other also keen. Quite a lot of subjects were 'no way, wouldn't touch with a barge pole'. So it only left one choice between 2 subjects. We talked through the pros and cons and steered her to the better option.

I suggest you ignore (ie don't worry about) this until year 9.

Dd did 12 GCSEs and 3 A2s. Her school really wanted her to do 4A2s but we stood firm and 3 was fine. DS will do 14 GCSEs in total (3 of them taken in years prior to Y11) and his school insist on 4 A2S which I think is mad unless they are doing further maths etc. DD did humanities as will DS.

9 GCSEs or equivalent at DDs' school (Yr 9 so just choosing now) but those 9 include the English bacc.

I think there's also the possibility of doing Statistics and/or Further Maths later on by invitation only.

The 6th formers seem to be doing 3 or 4 A-levels.

My eldest is in Y11 now and just at the stage of picking A Level options. They have to choose 4 subjects, and for GCSE they do 12. This seems like an awful lot to me - at my school most pupils did 8 GCSEs, the exceptionally bright ones were allowed to do 9. For A Level, everybody did 3 + General Studies (don't think that even exists now does it??) again, the brighter girls could also do an AS Level (old style = half an A Level) in a fourth subject but never four full A Levels.
It's meant that at GCSE, the only things my ds really dropped were subjects like music, art, DT and PE. He is doing pretty much every other academic subject available!
And for A Level, He's struggling to decide on a fourth subject

11 GCSEs, but one 'should' be a creative & triple science compulsory.

3As & EPQ for yr11. Current yr13 did 4AS then dropped to 3 for A2 unless double maths/bilingual. A few did 5As & dropped to 4 but it wasn't encouraged & usually involved double maths.

At DD's comp they don't do 'pathways'. But e.g. the science department have to agree for you to do triple science, and there are some level 1 BTECs which only the least academic can do.
There is an options evening where you can talk to staff about courses, plus a general presentation. And a related parents evening.

So we were able to ask the individual staff 'would DD get at least a C in this' and also ask the deputy head in charge of academics 'given DD's current attainment profile would she cope with this list'.

Ds - academic selective school - 9 GCSE (option of an extra curricular one in drama or Comp Science)
Currently 4 A levels dropping to 3 (unless further maths in which case 4 - optional EPQ

Dd (vocationally selective school) 9 GCSE & 2 A levels plus Level 4 diploma in vocational subject.

His school is 11-16 so no A levels.

I did 8 at my state grammar school, if you did Maths a year early you could get 9.

DS is at state comprehensive and it is either 9 or 10 depending on whether you do triple (ie three individual) or double science.

At dds school the standard number of GCSEs taken is 9 with some vocational options for lower ability pupils.
For some some subjects e.g. Triple Science, Computer Science or to take a second MFL there was some selection according to ability (i.e. test results for Y9).
For new subjects (i.e. those not taught below GCSE) there was some indication on links with other subjects done in KS3 e.g media studies may be suitable if good at English and IT or Economics would be suitable if you like Geography etc.
At A level most pupils take 4 subjects in Y12 and this is reduced to 3 for Y13. Pupils who only just make the minimum entry grade for 6th form may be limited to 3 subjects. The school offers taster sessions for subjects they teach at A level but not GCSE.

11 (can include BTECs). I think it's far too many.