GCSE option choices

I did French and German (O levels) and didn't have any problems getting them mixed up, but my children did sometimes mix up French and Spanish which are more similar. Both dropped Spanish at GCSE, but kept on with French.

Oh and re two languages, I did both French and German at GSCE and I was also a natural at languages and did not find it hard to seperate the two languages, never got mixed up etc.

Cant help much on the science aspect, but re Geography I thought I was going to hate the physical side.

But there is lots of variety in physical side and I actually did enjoy most of the module (this is 20 years ago though and at an international school), I actually found a love for biogeography and geomorphology (tectonics etc) very interesting. And re rivers, hydrology was a bit naff but not that hard, esp if she is good at physics. I loathed climatology though!

I may be biased though as I went on to do a degree in Geography

If there is any chance she wants to take science a levels, I would suggest triple science GCSE as she will have covered so much more of each science at GCSE then as a basis for the a level. It is perfectly possible to do a level from a decent double science result, but you have a more solid grounding to go from.

Otherwise, any of her choices are great! Drama does have a lot of controlled assessment and group work, and can take up an awful lot of time...and of course if someone in your group doesn't pull their weight or turn up to your practices etc his can be really annoying, but can also see the argument for a more fun subject.

Sounds like whatever she chooses she has a great selection to stand her in good stead!

Triple science is taking a GCSE worth 3 GCSES (as double is two) Separate sciences are GCSEs in physics, chemistry and biology, studied as discrete subjects

No that's not true. In combined science you study all 3 sciences (two thirds the content of triple) and get awarded 2 GCSE's. In triple science you study all 3 sciences and are awarded a separate GCSE in Physics, Biology & Chemistry. My DC did triple science last year and was awarded all 3 separate sciences.

Triple science and 3 separate sciences (9-1) are the same thing.

But every school I've ever known just does the extra units to top up the double GCSE into triple (because if a kid drops off triple you've still got entry options) but you do still get a grade in each science as PP said. It's often done as an option in order to give the extra time to do the extra units unless the majority of classes will be doing triple, in which case the curriculum is designed to fit within core subjects time without needing the extra.

So it's triple time (this stems back to when there was a single double and triple GCSE, the maths of the teaching hours don't stack up any more) but you're graded in three separate sciences, so both works in terms of general conversation 🙂

Triple science is taking a GCSE worth 3 GCSES (as double is two) Separate sciences are GCSEs in physics, chemistry and biology, studied as discrete subjects.

In both cases you come out with three GCSEs BUT if you are taking separate sciences they can be different exam boards.

So if a school thinks AQA biology is better than Edexcel Biology they can have students sit AQA just for biology.

In double science there can be some grade adjustments if a student is better in one science and not another.

is it triple science or is it three separate sciences
They are the same thing.

BTECs are more coursework than anything else. An advantage of a BEC over GCSE is that often the course work can be completed early, leaving more space to revise for GCSEs.

OP

Your dd has a good range of subjects, one thing, is it triple science or is it three separate sciences?

Given the OPs description I would pick triple science every time.

The more academic children will be doing triple, combined science will have less academic children in the class. The best teachers will be teaching the triple. Will the combined even have specialist teachers for all 3 sciences?

Yes with combined science you can still do any for A-Level but if you are good at science and considering science for A-level / career then the more you learn about all 3 subjects the better (in education and in life). Playing catch up is never a good choice.

They sound incredibly similar. She’s interested in careers in law or psychology. She’s always been interested in arts/crafts but I wouldn’t say she developed a flair until this academic year, and her flair is quite narrow (fine pens and pencils, intricate detail). I wondered if she was suited to architecture but, despite being predicted an 8/9 grade in maths, she has no interest in studying this beyond GCSE.

My concern is that her ability in art is related to whatever she’s interested in at the time (currently Riverdale) rather being a wider interest. Her teacher thinks she’s amazing and has held her work up as an example, which has boosted her confidence and led to her considering art GCSE. She’s much more suited to drama....but it’s a BTEC!

I was going to start exactly the same thread but I found a lot of useful advice reading this. I hadn’t considered that the double science class might attract less academic students to the extent that it might become a mixed ability class. Hopefully there would be three sets at least?

My DD is also an all rounder with no desire for a science based career. She also does a lot of drama outside school hours. The question I was going to ask was about the fact that our school has changed from gcse drama to a BTEC. I’m concerned that BTEC drama with double science wouldn’t look good. She’s predicted top grades across the board. Doesn’t much like physics. Is choosing French, history and geography. Has to choose between gcse art and BTEC drama. Any thoughts? And sorry to hijack!

Definitely check the requirements to do science a levels for the colleges, in my DD school they require you to have done all three sciences at GCSE to study a science at a level.

Regarding geography, I know your DD has a preference for human geo(as does my DD) and might be a little put off by the physical topics, however I'd tell her about what you actually do in each topic to reassure her; for example, in the Rivers and glaciers topic you do some human case studies on how countries deal with the economic opportunities and challenges of these natural processes. So even though it is a physical topic, there are human geography elements scattered throughout it so the whole course is definitely more human than physical in my DD's experience.

And there's one interesting extra observation-geography has barely got a mention but she has flair for languages and science, you could be down to two choices just from that OP 😀

Might also be worth finding out the proportion of pupils who do double vs triple at her school. In some schools, they strongly encourage triple, and only those who struggle with science end up doing double, which can make for a challenging learning environment in those classes, and a student who would otherwise get As might not be able to as easily. In other schools, double or triple is up to the student, and uses up an option block, so it tends to be more mixed ability or setted in all the double classes, as there are many good students in them. Or if the school chooses the small number who are allowed to take triple and does it in the same number of periods as double, it can be very hard and is suitable for those who really want to do science and can work very fast through the material, whereas if the triple takes up an option and has more time allocated to it, then a pupil who enjoys science but wants a slightly slower pace might be fine. So lots of things to find out about how it operates at individual schools.

And as someone else said, certainly find out about the sixth form intake and the split between double and triple, as that will affect the level of teaching for the A-levels.

Does she like group work? Drama has more than some, and it can be off-putting for some students, depending on how groups are chosen, and how easy it is to arrange to meet up.

Sometimes the creative subjects can be more subjective and harder to determine what will get the top grades, which can be a problem if she is aiming for the top universities that need entirely A-stars and As. But it could be a fun one if it's something she really enjoys.

Has she looked in depth at the curriculum for all the ones she is interested in? Worth finding out the board and the paper, and then looking up the specification online, to find out what is covered, how it's assessed, and so on. A pupil who thinks drama is all about acting, for example, might be surprised. Or the history courses vary hugely in content. It might give her a better feel for what is actually involved - you could also look at revision guides in the bookstore and get a sense that way.

You've got to really want to do triple science to do well at it IYSWIM. It's a lot of hours of science with core + option so if she's not got her heart set on a scientific career I would say leave off and do double- top grades t double should get her into any science Al level if she has excellent maths in particular to go with it. I did triple myself and have taught all of it, it's brilliant if you really love science but it's not for everyone.

Let her do drama- every kid needs a break and it'll teach her confidence and other useful skills as well as getting her a qualification. I'd be wary of doing Spanish and French GCSE but only because I did French at school but also spoke Spanish through family and I sometimes got myself in a middle as words are similar but not the same in many cases! Plenty of people manage speaking several languages though so more likely me just being a plonker and French did end up being my best GCSE.

I was going to say the same as Bionic. That’s what my dd is doing. And she istill does all of the school plays as well, even though she doesn’t do drama as a subject.

At my dd’s school, the dc were advised as to whether they should do double or triple science, based on what the teachers thought they were capable of.

Not what you asked I know but has she thought of joining a local drama group and not doing it at school? If she enjoys the acting element instead of doing it as a gcse then she could take geography which apparently is one of the most useful subjects for covering lots of bases