Is 12 GCSEs in one sitting madness?

DS is yr 11 and is doing 9 GCSEs which I'm more than happy with. School have changed their focus from getting lots of GCSEs to getting a smaller number of good quality ones. He did French in year 9, which was something of a waste of time, as he only got a D. The only good thing about it is that it freed up the timetable for him to do computer science which he is excellent at and plans to do at A level.

DD is year 10 and there are no early sittings. She will be doing 9 GCSEs. That was all I did in 1991 and I don't know many that did more than that.

Both my kids do music lessons, two bands after school, DofE, peer supporter/prefect and work on Saturday mornings. I think they've got enough on their plate.

grannytomine I don't think your daughter is typical. She is clearly very bright, not all children are like her.

"All those coming on and saying "well I did x and I was fine" are not really contributing to be honest since anyone old enough to be hanging around on here did GCSEs in a completely different time. The system has changed beyond recognition."

This ^^ with bells on.

I did O levels (yes I am that old). The most subjects you could take at my school was 8. There simply wasn't room on the timetable to take more subjects.

I am not sure of the detail but we have been told that by the time Ds1 sits his GCSEs (he is currently in Year 8) the universities will only actually see the top 8 marks. The application forms will not show any other grades.

If this is correct then there would be no point whatsoever in spreading yourself thinly and doing 12. We have been told that 10 is a sensible number just in case something goes wrong in a couple of exams.

I am qualifying this since I have been told this by a friend who attended the parents evening for her child at the beginning of Year 9 and then passed on this information. I wasn't actually there to hear it first hand. This is at an academically selective independent which is generally very on the ball.

All those coming on and saying "well I did x and I was fine" are not really contributing to be honest since anyone old enough to be hanging around on here did GCSEs in a completely different time. The system has changed beyond recognition.

My DD did 11 in one sitting, she did maths a year early, alongside the 11 she did AS level maths, she also had a Saturday job. The most stressful was drama. She did it as a "fun" thing alongside the maths and science things but it was more stressful than the other 10 put together. I suppose my point is they are all different and it is so hard to predict but if the worst comes to the worst can't she drop something?

Although yeah, mine were old spec

Agree Viva. The new exams are not comparable to the old ones so even last year's experience isn't an especially valuable comparison.

I sat 12 in one go (within the last 7 years) and it was do-able. I had no other option as my school only sat GCSEs in year 11. I put in a lottttt of work but came out with really good grades if your DC are willing to put the work in then they should be fine but it really did need a lot of motivation - I was revising 6-8 hours a day.

Best 8 for universities is spot on. Most subjects have their first exams under their new specs this year and it's much more exam-based, with little/no chance to bank marks with coursework, so I would be wary. It's not like the old system at all so past experiences won't help.
DS1 is taking 11 1/2 including additional maths and it's a lot of work. A very motivated child will probably still love the challenge but I would look very carefully at the demands of each option and what's required to get good grades.

Lemony GCSEs are much harder now, with little or no coursework. I doubt that anyone other than the very bright could do that many now and achieve the top grades.

I did 13, was hard but I was fine

Anyone here who says their dc did it if it was a few years ago you need to remember gcses have changed dramatically this year. Schools here are now doing less GCSEs because of this.

Bubbles is correct. DD is applying for medicine and most medical schools just want your best 8 GCSEs.

It’s not a case of wanting it. It’s s case of not needing it. No-one cares if it’s 11 or 10 or 12. No university thinks 11 is better than 10. It’s too easy to drop a few grades with overload for some children. So if you are not 8/9/A* all the way, do 10 max. That’s good enough for Oxbridge. The new GCSEs are more difficult and few are taking anything early now so that grades are not dropped by not being ready or sufficiently mature.

I think you should let her sit them all... My son did his maths a year early so had to sit extra maths exams (further/advanced and an AS level?). He also did latin & greek so there's another two... He was really worried about the shear amount of exams and wanted to drop some exams but he decided to go for it... He got 11A* and and an A. It is possible if they really want it...

I did 11. It of course was very demanding, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

When I had to choose my A Levels, I wanted to take 5 subjects. One of my friends was at one of the local Grammar Schools, and whilst I didn’t get into a Grammar school, I had achieved better GCSE results than her. She informed me that they were all allowed, and encouraged to take 5 subjects.

I was incredibly envious, and practically begged the Head of Sixth Form and Headteacher at my school to allow me to do the same. I was informed that whilst they believed I could cope, and do very well in all 5, they couldn’t offer this to me due to the way the timetable was organised. I was furious, but settled on doing 4 A Levels - and I gained all 4, I didn’t drop any subjects at AS Level. Most of my peers only wanted to take, or were only allowed to take 3 AS Levels, and take only 2 through to A Level.

I think it depends on how well your Daughter copes with hard work and organisation more than anything. I wish her all the best.

"Timid is self explanatory."

Um, sorry, but not to me. Perhaps I'm being thick, but I don't get it.

DD was quite strategic about her AS exams and dropped one of the subjects she achieved an A in so it will appear as a stand alone subject on her certificate. One of the universities she has applied to are taking AS levels into account.

Dd1 is year 13 so has done some linear and some modular A levels. Now they’re all reformed there’s not the need this year to AS so better to just carry on

Timid is self explanatory.

TheDrsDocMartens the qualifications are also of no numerical value since they don't count towards the A2, of no additional intellectual value as they add nothing to the A2 programme and are of no value in terms of university applications since so many schools have given them up and more and more are following suit, therefore they can't fairly be used as a sifting tool.

The only value is in taking an AS as a one year course to add breadth.

Lonicera education should not only do no harm it should add value.

It loses a couple of weeks teaching while they prepare for the AS/ exam season before settling back to A2.

Why would taking AS exams disrupt the teaching? Is the syllabus significantly different? One of DD's friends has just had an offer to study history at Oxford, and DD scored all As in her A level mocks. They both took AS exams lsst summer. And why the more timid schools?

Lonicera the only conceivable justification for doing an AS in the new reformed world of post GCSE provision is as an additional (usually fourth) subject not then taken onto A2. Lots of timid schools in both sectors tried to cling onto the old system in the first year of the new exams (exam season June 2016), putting pupils in for say history AS when they were continuing history to A2, without giving any weight to the fact that this disrupts the A2 teaching and puts those same students at a disadvantage as compared to pupils who've had a clear two year A2 teaching programme. And they also paid insufficient attention to the fact that the unis by definition had to discount ASs as a tool for assessing applicants which makes the qualification valueless.

It is a lot but I would just see how she goes and adjust accordingly if she wants to. My DD is year 11 now and sitting 10. She has opted out of the extra Maths (although only recently so is still in that class) as she is fine with the standard GCSE stuff was finding the extra confusing. In addition, she is doing dance and music GCSE where the written part of the exam only makes up 40% so therefore less to revise in the summer. To be honest, I feel like this is enough and she has a different reason to have to stay after school every night. She only just fits it all in!

goodbyestranger DD's school did AS levels last year. Why are they considered not co-teachable and unworkable? It doesn't seem to have held anyone back.