Gsce: double or triple science?

You can be good at something, without liking it. Ds is predicted 9 for RS, but dislikes it a lot.

I am slightly confused about a "very academic" child not liking science much. Usually being "very academic" means you are very academic at everything at this age and are top set for everything, so triple would be the norm.

If she doesn't like science, then do double.
You don't get any kudos for doing triple unless you are using it for the next stage, which your DD won't be since she doesn't like it.

Some schools restrict triple to the top set who may want to do something science related later. Other schools only have the bottom set to double.
Just do what makes sense for your DD. It's better to get 7-7 than 3 sixes.

Most pupils at our school do Triple Science. The few that do Double have to take another GCSE (so have 10 in total) and many are finding that that is overall more work and more time consuming.

If your dd enjoys Science I would definitely recommend she takes Triple Sciences!

Aqa here too, our comp decides after y10 exams who does triple and double, it is,then officially decided after mocks.

I am sure someone said on here recently that for triple science, they did 15 hours over 2 weeks on those lessons. 15 hours is an awful lot for somebody if they're not than keen on the subject

Yes it was AQA triple science but not sure which set of papers

Hi Spa , was this the same AQA second set of triple science specimen papers ? My DS said they were really tricky .

Hopeful646 - we're in the same boat as you. School very disappointed by mocks and considering moving pupils from triple to double.

DS doing triple, double is not an option in his school. Thankfully he loves science.

At my son's school, double is done within timetable. Students doing triple have 1 extra lesson after school per fortnight. They do their GCSE courses over 3 years from yr 9. So triple science is an extra, no need to drop any other options. It is hard so is only offered to top Science set students.

Does your school cram the triple science into the same timetable slots as the double science? If you don't know, it would be worth finding out before making a decision as you will need to decide if your DC will be able to cope well with the faster (and sometimes harder) work?

My son is in Year 11 and is doing triple science . They've just sat the second set of specimen papers released by AQA for mocks . They all found them really difficult , resulting in disappointing marks. The teachers are now considering moving some students down to combined .
I think my son may be one to move down . How much easier is combined and could a good biology grade be pulled down by not being as strong in Chemistry and physics ? Thanks in advance

They have to do core practicals which the Teacher signs off on.

Exam questions are based on similar practicals, but not the same ones. They are looking at the application of knowledge, not regurgitation.

@honeysucklejasmine I agree the old Core Science was so dull and boring! That's completely gone now and both papers are now a mixture of the old Additional content, Separates content with lots more A-level thrown in too. Much more challenging for everyone including the teachers!

Thank you Biscay, Cuckoo. Sounds like I need to butt out regarding exam structure from now on - lots has changed! Really interesting chatting about it though, I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

Edexcel has six papers whether it’s combine or separate, 2 x biology, 2 x chemistry and 2 x physics. Paper length is 1h10 for combined and 1h45 for separate.

I don’t think separate is worth losing a GCSE option in itself. But you may need to consider whether the more able and better behave students are creamed off into triple, with more low level disruption in the combined sets.

My son is doing double. He is at a selective grammar. I was informed the double covers less content but to the same depth. It is not at all an easier / dumbed down version but does gives him the option to pursue another GCSE subject. If he has a change of heart wants to go on and do one of those sciences at A level ( which he won't) he could study the topics missed in the double over the summer so nothing lost. I would say to your daughter do the double.

Thanks Cuckoo, that makes sense. Hopefully it's a bit more interesting too. I used to hate teaching C1, it was so bloody dull because they were avoiding atoms etc, and then when they did put it in it was so half arsed it was frustrating to just skim the surface. I'd find myself needing to go in to more detail to help students actually understand the "headline" concepts they were expected to cover, then get ticked off for doing so because it wasn't examinable content.

@honeysucklejasmine

I'm I science teacher and @sanityisamyth is correct - the structure of new GCSE has completely changed from your description which is obviously important to understand when choosing which route to follow.

However, the difference in challenge between double award and triple award is now much more pronounced than before. Triple award is harder than it was ESPECIALLY when you consider that there is no coursework now to push the grade up.

OP, if your DD would like to study Science at A-Level or degree level then I would recommend triple award to give her a better foundation for this and may give her the edge when applying to uni.

Otherwise, it will be much easier to get a higher grade by doing double award.

Good luck to her whatever she chooses!

honeysuckle I've see some long answers that are something like "how would you design an experiment to investigate X? Based on a required practical so they should have actually done the experiment themselves (if your school has the equipment!).

Dd did double science last year and got a B in core and an A in additional.

She’s now doing A level biology in an academic sixth form (new school) where half the kids in her A level class did triple and half did double. She’s top of the class in tests so only doing double hasn’t held her back, but biology was always her favourite.

Her head of year in year 9 said kids who weren’t interested in science would be in the core science class rather than additional science because I was honest I was concerned she would be in a class with people who were either going to mess about or be struggling with the basics but teacher said not to worry. At the time dd wasn’t considering science for a levels and HOY said unless dd had science aspirations beyond gcse then no need to triple unless she wanted to.

Another difference with the new double is you can get two different grades if you're borderline, eg can get 4-5 if you are between 4-4 and 5-5 as I understand it. So it's a bit more sensitive.

Thanks Carrie. So, when you say "basis of exam questions" is it "what would you observe..." and "how would you test..." sort of thing?

I used to teach in an international school. Students from India and China especially would be absolutely brilliant at theoretical stuff but completely useless at practical. They could tell you the results you'd expect to observe, but faced with the actual equipment they had no idea how to set it up, let alone use it. Bit sad when you're teaching a sixth former how to light a Bunsen burner.

Sorry for derail, OP.