How many GCSEs?

RE is not woolly. Its really interesting. Think of as philosophy and ethics!

She's aiming for good grades, a levels and a good uni.

Dd is taking 9, double science, maths, English x 2, Spanish, RE, classics and drama.

My DD won't excel in it - she isn't that great at essay writing, which is why it would've been dropped it as a subject if she was able to do so.

It's also why she switched her choice of History GCSE (loves the subject) to Geography, on advice of her History teacher - as she said Geography is more factual writing.

Dd excels in it. There is no way on earth ds would ever pass it.

Can I just say that RE is most definately not a wooly subject. Dd took it at GCSE and achieved Grade 9 and is taking it at A level. It is a challenging course requiring good essay skills to be able to construct philosphical arguments.

I don’t mind my DD going to RE lessons, I just want to reduce the number of exams she has to take... especially in a woolly subject like RE (and PSHE).

I think 9 or 10 is about right. DS will be doing 11 as he’s doing triple science (they do it in the same amount of time as double award science)

Yes, some children who do more art subjects will take double science instead of triple. But it would be good not to be restricted to, or pushed towards, double science from the very start. Best for the student to make up their own mind.

I know many DC who comfortably took 10 or 11 GCSEs this year and achieved good grades, moving on to take A levels in the subjects they excel at. I also know of some DC who took 8 GCSEs in a different school and many did not achieve good grades. Those students were "advised" by the school which subjects to take at BTEC and A level. It really depends on the school, the quality of and the retention of teachers.

If you remove your DC from RE they may not be given another subject in place. They may just be given study time. It is not hard to get a reasonable grade in RE.

I always think end your child where they will be happy.

School is about more than GCSEs. Also with the changes the numbers taken may go up or down at any school as the teachers get used to new grades and predicting grades.

Also how long will it take her to get to each school? If it's an hour a day on transport that's an hour she could be using for sleep, study or clubs.

Students can also, sometimes take a GCSE with another provider eg an FE college. Where I am the local girls' school teaches Japanese, boys who want to learn attend evening classes.

If someone wants to do triple science then it comes out of one of their option blocks.

I hope that's the case at my DD's school, because I agree that 11-13 GCSEs are too much... my DD is bright, but lazy. So, I need her to be able to use her time wisely. Quality over quantity.

If RE is compulsory as a GCSE you could always use your right to withdraw. Schools have to teach RE nothing to say how often or that it has to be examined.

Is this true...? How do I go about withdrawing?
My DD's school just presented a list of mandatory subjects (Maths, Eng Lit, Eng Lang, Sci x 2, RE, PSHE, RE, Info tech, 1 x humanities, 1 x MFL), plus 2 option blocks.
No info was given on the possibility of withdrawing from RE - this was only available for PE

FYI - we chose options were chosen in Year 8 - my DD has just started year 9

"At dd's school several top set children only chose double becasue they wanted to do an extra arts subject instead"

Same at my DD's school as well.

Triple science is a completely free choice at both my children's schools. So if a child is interested in science they choose triple whether they are predicted a Grade 4 or a Grade 8. (If a child was not good at science and chose triple rather than choose a subject they stodd a chance of getting a higher grade at then a conversation would be had.) At dd's school several top set children only chose double becasue they wanted to do an extra arts subject instead.

The IB is a much broader qualificatin and from what I gather childrenstudy more subjects for longer. yes, its the A levels that count for university applicatins but in order to access the A level courses (and remember at this point our young people only choose 3-4 subjects in total) you need certain GCSE's at certain grades. So if a child attends a school with not many options and so can't take a broad range of GCSE's they cut off many options for A level.

OP. The triple science option is important.

Triple = 3 GCSEs awarded, one each in Physics, Biology and Chemistry
Double = 2 GCSEs awarded across the subjects studied: Physics, Biology and Chemistry

The more academic children would normally take the Triple. Ask the 8 GCSE school what the options are for science. If too many of their students are taking the double I would be concerned.

Gushpanka. Your case is different as you are coming from abroad and your child will be taking the IB. Yes, GCSEs do count. Doing certain subjects at GCSE will allow the student to access certain subjects at A level. For instance, at my local school a student wishing to take Physics A level must achieve a grade 7 Physics GCSE (from Triple science) and also a grade 7 maths. Carrying that on, certain A level subjects will allow access to certain careers. If your child has a long held interest in a career or area of interest it would be sensible to keep all the option doors open by researching early on.

My daughter has just started Year 10 and she has 11 GCSEs to take, they also don’t start until year 10.

About 60 students took triple science when DD took it. I think they were right to give more it more timetable time at her school.

If she is academic you should I think retain the option to take triple science - and it is one of the subjects its hard to do as ‘an extra’ through self study/online learning due to practicals. Check facts though as it sounds few.

That’s madness. There is so much content in the new science GCSE’s

In my sons school, the triple is only offered to about 20 kids I think. They get the 10 hours per fortnight and have been told it will be quite fast paced and work at home will be needed. Time will tell I guess. However I have looked through the revision guides and they have covered a fair bit of it last year, some topics are new but others theres just a bit more detail than what has been taught already.

Schools have to teach RE nothing to say how often or that it has to be examined and I don’t think it should take up a slot if the number of subjects your DC can do is only 8.
There's zero guarantee RE fits a block with other options subjects, in fact it's highly unlikely as most schools it has less curriculum time than options subjects.

The vast majority of the time opting to withdraw from RE wouldn't free up space to take whatever option you'd rather take. Do people think a new class is going to be created to fit the timetable? Extra costs associated with staffing to do a random option? What if 6 people all decide they want to withdraw from RE but all 6 want different options? 6 extra staff teaching single students an option subject? It's not viable.

When GCSE students drop subjects the vast majority of the time it's because they've gone onto a split timetable with a vocational provider or they do supervised independent study for those periods to work on other subjects. The timetable doesn't shift around them. It wouldn't shift around a parent saying they wish to withdraw from RE either.

Do the gcses really make that much difference? Surely it's the A levels which count? My dd will be applying to universities in the uk with zero gcses as we're aboad and her school does ib throughout. Surely 8 good grades is better and anymore doesnt really add much?

That’s madness. There is so much content in the new science GCSE’s.

Do the students doing triple science cover the content in the same amount of time as the double science students?

Yes, my son is taking triple science and will have 10 hours per fortnight of science lessons. They are expected to cover the triple content in the same time as the double.

"although if they do triple science they get 9."

I don't understand how this works. Do the students doing triple science cover the content in the same amount of time as the double science students?

When DD took her GCSEs the triple science students had three other options to choose from, and the double science students had four other options, so the triple science students had 15 hours of science a fortnight instead of 10 hours a fortnight.

If RE is compulsory as a GCSE you could always use your right to withdraw. Schools have to teach RE nothing to say how often or that it has to be examined and I don’t think it should take up a slot if the number of subjects your DC can do is only 8.