Would you go for Triple Science or Double in this situation?

The other thing to consider is, if he takes science A Levels, whether the other kids around him are likely to have taken triple science as this will make a difference to the expected background knowledge and where the Teschingen will be more pitched at.

If it’s his school sixth form and most have come from the school, it sounds likely they will have mostly done triple. That may not be the case if he goes to another school or a college.

Precipice - saying only dim kids do combined science is so offensive!

I agree. What a shitty thing to say

In most schools triple science takes up three options, so students aren't cramming more work in the same time that double science students are.

If a student is better at languages and humanities why should they take triple science at the expense of a humanities or language subject?

Loads of very bright students at DD's school took double science and achieved all As and As at GCSE, and all As and As at A level.

Precipice - saying only dim kids do combined science is so offensive! My daughter got 120 for both her maths and English Yr 6 SATs, and passed two different counties 11 plus exams. But she doesn’t like science and will never do it for A level so we are advising her to do combined science as it will be easier for her to get better grades in it.
For the op - I agree with others if he likes science it might make more sense to do all three if he wants do do science at A levels but if he doesn’t want to do all three than just do the combined. Some schools only offer the combined and these kids still go on to do A level science.

They cover all the same topics in combined as they do in triple but in less depth. There are also more practicals in triple. If your DS is taking one or more sciences at A level then triple would be the best option. Otherwise double. There's no need to take triple if then taking humanities or arts for A level.

DD's school only offered triple as an option to those who were doing well in science when she moved into Y10 which was lucky as she's doing two sciences for A level.

The step up from Chemistry at gcse to Chemistry A level in particular is sometimes underestimated so if it is highly likely that he would do science A levels he is giving himself the best shot at A levels by doing triple especially if he is an 8/9 student anyway.

If he's best in the year at the other subject, then the teacher may well want him to do it, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's in your DSs best interests. And if it's something he could learn by reading about but probably wouldn't ... yeah. I think that tells you something!

Is the other subject something he can learn about (or do, if creative /tech) in some other way rather than as a gcse?

The A level will be easier if he takes triple

He needs to love it though - triple is usually 8 lessons a week (vs 5 for double)
If you check the coursework books, the pages are marked for the extra triple content, so you can see the difference

Both will mean 6 exam papers (2 each on Biology, Chemistry & Physics) but on triple they will be approx 45 mins longer each

At DC's school you can only do triple if invited, but dd turned it down as wanted to do History & Geography as well as German

Is the subject he would have to drop a favourite/best at one?

The new, reformed GCSE’s have a lot more content, hence it is entirely sensible to timetable 1 option slot per GCSE.

I agree. At DD's school triple science took up three subjects slots, double science took up two.

Rubbish.. dd did double science

It isn't rubbish for some students @Embracelife. Clearly your DD is very bright if she is at medical school, but the step up to A level from double science is bigger than from triple science because more content is covered in triple science. Why would you make A levels harder than they need to be?

If your DS wants to do science A levels OP, it makes sense to take triple science.

Of course you can do A level having done double (not least bc some schools don't offer triple).

The "clever kids do triple" thing comes from schools where triple is taught faster, in the same time as double, to the top sets, and is not in the options process at all.

But plenty of schools offer triple as an option - such as the OP's.

I would say OP if he wants to do A level in any science, then triple is a good shout. Am I correct in inferring that his other option would get him 8/9 whereas science will get him a lower grade? Seems unlikely if he is top set.

DS2 did triple (his school does the top set to triple in same number of lessons thing) and got 7/8/9; he does the 9 subject for A level.

What is the other subject your DS is thinking of? Is it one he would want to do for A level? Is it something (like drama or art) e could still pursue out of school?

My DD is doing double science and is working at grade 8/9 level. She is perfectly capable of doing triple but wanted to do computer science as well so she chose double. OP if your son wants to do science Alevel then he may need to do a bit of work over the Summer between GCSE and A levels to cover any missed content but doing double science should not be a block at all to future progress. At GCSE level tell him to do what he loves the most

My dd did Combined and is now doing Biology at A-level. If she could go back in time she would have done triple but she didn't know she was interested in Biology until later.
A-level sciences are harder if you do combined but not impossible. In your case OP I would encourage him to pick triple.

dd did double science

then bio and chem for A level and now at med school.

At my children's school triple is compulsory for all except the bottom set, but they do get quite a lot of pupils from other schools coming into 6th form, some of whom have done double science. My son who is in year 13 says he thinks that those who have done double find A levels a bit harder going initially but catch up pretty quickly. Obviously that's only his perception of his class, but it largely makes sense to me.
I have a vague feeling that they might ask for higher grades to do science A levels in our 6th form if the GCSE is double though. It might be worth having a quick look at the 6th form prospectus at your school to see what the entry requirements are before you decide.
If it makes no difference, I would just let him opt for whatever he thinks he would enjoy more I think. Have you had a parents' evening yet? I'd also take his teacher's views into consideration - particularly the ones that teach the A levels he is ultimately hoping to do.

At my school, only the dim kids did double science

^

Aren't you a charmer? I got the top 1st in my subject at Oxford and have 13 O levels - only one is a science as I thought there were a lot of other subjects on offer that were far more interesting. I guess that makes me one of the dim kids.

My dd is studying performing arts and always knew she would study that at degree level. However for GCSE she wanted to study triple science.

triple was in the same option block as drama. She did choose triple, but if it had been in the same block as music she’d have taken double.

Personally I think it’s better for a child to get 3 grade 5’s in single science than take double science and end up with a grade 3 in an essay subject if they struggle with essay subjects.

The new, reformed GCSE’s have a lot more content, hence it is entirely sensible to timetable 1 option slot per GCSE.

At my school, only the dim kids did double science

Oh give over!

IVE known some incredibly clever children take double science because they wanted to take a creative or arts or essay subject instead

Yes. No point forcing kids into science subjects if that's not where they want to be.

Anyway, irrelevant rant.

Does his school require triple as an entry requirement for a level sciences? If so, take it. If not, branch out a bit.

At my school, only the dim kids did double science

Loads of intelligent people aren’t academic! How rude.