Tell me about Citizenship GCSE. Which is apparently compulsory at my DD's school. She doesn't want to do it.

I'm sorry if you think I was being nasty.

I was trying to point out that there are other things your dd could give up so she has room to take the academic subjects you said she should be taking rather than Citizenship. The fact is, if she does the gcses she wants, plus one single English gcse, which I am presuming is English Language, these are not academic choices. This is why some schools let able pupils down - by not steering them down an academic route at gcse level. Her choices at gcse and a single English gcse will hold her back more than Citizenship Gcse!

3 separate sciences are compulsory for GCSE at my children's state school Ginfordinner apart from for the lowest set who do double science. It's not that unusual is it? I can only think of one school in our area that offers solely double science.

If you are interested in knowing what's involved in GCSE Citizenship I imagine checking the school website will give you the exam board they use. You can then download the spec from there which will allow you to see what is covered and required.

My DS is at a school where Business Studies was compulsory. They didn't want to do that, either. Nor the French he was forced to take.

It is what it is.

At state schools double science still covers biology, chemistry and physics, but less content than triple science.

*National Curriculum, not May

In short, I would push back to school on your child's preferences.

DD making her options choices at the moment - it's usual in her school for the three sciences to be considered compulsory, but there is apparently lee- way for someone who feels strongly and wants to drop a science in favour of another subject. So for example she could request to drop Physics for another option subject - a second language perhaps. This flexibility is not widely understood, but there nonetheless. If your daughter feels strongly about a subject, could she not put her preferences forward? It's a timetabling thing - doable in a larger school? Never heard of Citizenship as a GCSE - it's not May Curriculum in UK, is it?

So only english language, Citizenship, business studies and dt gcses? This is not sounding like the cv of an academic child.

How can English be 1 GCSE

Ours only offers Lit if you pass Eng Lang. They sit language early. It pissed me off as I really feel English benefits from maturity and having a summer born child sitting it early is a disadvantage.

Wait what? They don't offer English lit GCSE? And you are worrying about citizenship?

I would be amazed if that's true actually op, so I would certainly check. If they don't offer Eng lit I would certainly look at moving. No English lit GCSE totally closes the door to Eng A level, and I would argue it makes MFL A level much harder too.

OP, at the school my children go to, they offer some GCSEs with classes after school to enable those that want to to take an extra gcse or squeeze in another subject that can't be fitted into their timetable. They may offer this at your DDs school so she could, say, do the triple science in regular school time and something like History or Economics as the after school option.

I’m very aware the thread will have moved on but I still can’t get over someone saying

titchy is a well respected poster, no need to be rude to her.

🤣🤣🤣🤣 Fucking hell ! It’s a bloody forum.

They should be doing PSHE anyway and so should not be losing curriculum time.

Citizenship is not RE!

If the school really does only offer English language I would seriously consider moving schools.

I wouldn’t bother with business studies.

The curriculum for citizenship sounds really interesting.

The more you say bellinisurge the more I think I would be looking at another school.
Is only English language being offered? That, along with limited options for Science and not having a choice of which MFL to study would bother me far more than the Citizenship issue.
What is the 6th form provision like? Are there similar limitations around A level choices? I know it would be quite disruptive to change schools at this point, but if you have other possibilities locally it might be worth at least exploring them.

‘English’ is two separate GCSEs at all English schools- it’s just that schools almost always call it ‘English’ on their timetables in Yrs 9-11, rather than using the separate subject-titles. Since 2017 and the reformed GCSEs in England, virtually all students have taken GCSEs in both because of the Progress 8 parameters and how the league tables are constructed.

I'd be outraged about English being one too. We have a minority that only do language, for their benefit tbh! Academic students should definitely be doing both.