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Original poster

How many GCSEs does your child's school allow them to take?

115 replies

ArcherQueen · 01/10/2016 22:13

My son's non-selective independent school is restricting all pupils to 9 GCSEs. My son is very bright and while I do not have an issue with the number, it does mean he has to give up French, which is is really good at and is likely to get a top grade in. I don't want to list all the subjects he wants to take but French will have to go as it is the only one he is definitely not going to take at A'level. He has a pretty good idea what he wants to do but wants to keep his options open in case he changes his plans.My son takes his options at the end of this academic year (9) and is gutted at the prospect of not studying French after that. I know the GCSEs are going to be more rigorous and "harder" than in recent years but I also know he is more than capable of this type of study. I certainly don't think adding an extra one is necessarily going to adversely affect his grades.Basically his only option would be to take it outside of school which quite frankly is not going to appeal to him and I don't blame him.

I don't really want a debate on whether 9 is enough, that may or may not be the case for a very bright child, but what I would like to know from other parents is: does your child's secondary school restrict the number of GCSEs in the same way? Our school insists that all schools do this but I cannot find any information on websites. I guess with the changes they are all still deciding what to do.I feel the school may be doing this for their own convenience, i.e. timetabling, as it meets the needs of the majority of their students, and there are not enough outliers to justify having to accomodate them. I would really like to know if other schools are doing the same.

OP posts:
Peaceandl0ve · 01/10/2016 22:52

DS will be doing 9 (year 10) and the welsh bacc, plus some mandarin twilight qualification. My DD, his DS did 11 at the same school 2 years ago. I dont know if the change is money or results driven

Balletgirlmum · 01/10/2016 22:50

Ds's selective independent allows 9 unless they take drama or computer studies as an after school club which makes 10.

Dds school is 9.

LooseAtTheSeams · 01/10/2016 22:49

10 at our comprehensive if you do triple science, otherwise it's 9, plus a half GCSE in RE. However they started syllabus for GCSE sciences and maths in year 9.
DS is doing 1 extra outside school.

titchy · 01/10/2016 22:42

10 is standard. Triple science kids get 1 extra. Twilight Latin and Add Maths also offered, so max of 13.

7 is too low. Progress 8 will change that without a doubt.

Cocolepew · 01/10/2016 22:37

7, 5 compulsory ones, its a high school.
DD1 did 7 at the same school and has just started a RG university.

DayToDayGlobalShit · 01/10/2016 22:35

When you speak of 12 Gcse, or even more sometimes, are these all individual different subjects? I have heard of people getting 16 Gcse's before. How can this be? Are they meaning a subject which counts for 2 Gcse's for example.

It sounds crazy!

Couchpotato3 · 01/10/2016 22:34

DS's independent school offers 9 as standard, but he will take 13 this year (plus two half courses done in year 10). Another local independent is also going for 9, although you are right that schools have been quite cagey - waiting to see what everyone else does before committing themselves.
If you are happy with your son's school in every other way, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Universities take into account contextual data, so if every other child at his school is doing 9, they won't expect any more from him. As I understand it, they are only really interested in the top 8 grades. I guess the thinking is that if you can get decent grades on that many, doing more only reflects how much time and opportunity you have, rather than saying any more about your ability.
Have you actually spoken to the school to find out if they are prepared to make an exception for your son? You may find that they will accommodate a request for lessons off-timetable (although you might have to pay extra).
Good luck!

Coconutty · 01/10/2016 22:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

magbob · 01/10/2016 22:26
  1. Won't affect uni applications. It meant he was thoroughly prepared for the exams and had a sound knowledge of the make -up of each exam. The only disadvantage was that he chose to take double science instead of triple science because he felt otherwise he would not have enough variation of subjects.
Pythonesque · 01/10/2016 22:25

The schools we've looked at seem to be sticking at 10 GCSEs, and it's worried me a little that my children are going to have difficulty dropping subjects. (My eldest is year 9). I think that they will both do additional maths though which would take it up to 11. I'm wondering about discussing whether doing music GCSE early is viable if either of them want to do that! By the time you count 2x English, Maths and triple Science that doesn't leave many subjects to provide breadth.

fatbottomgirl67 · 01/10/2016 22:24

Dd1 at as grammar did 12 Dd2 at local comp doing 11

loveyouradvice · 01/10/2016 22:23

Hi ... local state does up to 12 - though that's for most academic as they are allowed 2 extra .... private DC at:
Core of 5-7 (i.e. if 1 or 2 maths and 2 or 3 sciences)
Plus 4 extra
So yes 9 ... or 11....

DayToDayGlobalShit · 01/10/2016 22:22

8 non selective independent

Hassled · 01/10/2016 22:21

Yes, our (state) secondary is restricting numbers - I think it's 9 now. This is actually pretty sensible - the new-look GCSE Maths and English are apparently way more content-heavy and quite different to previous years, and their view was that there just wouldn't be the timetable space to do them justice if the pupils had more options. Schools are bound to cautious around the changes in the first few years, and obviously getting those decent Maths/English grades will be the priority.

DustyMaiden · 01/10/2016 22:17

9 plus Latin studied extracurricular , SS Grammar. Had thought it would be more but due to funds it has been restricted. I think it is enough though.

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