separate sciences or combined science

Can only speak from personal experience. Twins - one having done separate sciences (so 3 GCSEs) and one having done trilogy (so 2 GCSEs).

Advice was that you can pick separate science A levels regardless of which option you choose, but you might have to work harder to start with to pick up some topics that weren't covered in so much depth / at all on trilogy science.

As for grades - knowing DC and their friends, it seems much easier to achieve the higher grades in trilogy - so nearly all got 8-8/8-9/9-9 whereas the girls taking separate sciences got a range of 7s, 8s and 9s even though they are generally brighter.

I'm a science teacher, it makes no difference to A level choices whether you do separate or combined sciences. Not all schools offer separate so which you do has no bearing on uni offers. The grades are much more important than the choice.

About a third of my A level chemists did combined and some of them are the strongest students in the class. In terms of differences, separates don't really go into greater depth they just cover some additional topics or parts of topics. These will all be re-covered if needed at A level. In chemistry it's mainly a maths topic that is missing bits, but as long as the student has a good grasp of maths they pick it up quickly at A level.

Incidentally maths is very important for A level sciences, so any aspiring scientists should ensure they work hard in GCSE maths - I could give a fairly good prediction for A level chemistry grade based off their GCSE maths grade alone.

The advice we received was that grade profile is sometimes more important than what the individual subjects are, so she should take the subjects that she is likely to get the best grades in. An 88 in Combined Science (with a high grade in another option that she wouldn't otherwise be able to take) would be better than, say 8,7,6 in separate sciences, with lower grades due to the increased content and/or one of her sciences being weaker than the others. In combined, the stronger science/s can pull up the weaker overall. So, it depends where her strengths lie.

I took double science as that was the only option at high school. At college I took biology and chemistry and I must admit I felt behind when compared to the kids that had taken triple science. If she is taking science at a level I would recommend triple science (you don’t need any extra work/stress when jumping from GCSE to A level!)

My sister and I both took combined GCSE science at our comprehensive school. She took Biology and Chemistry A-Level, I took Chemistry and Physics A-Level. She went on to study medicine at Cambridge, I did a PhD in a STEM subject. Your DD will be fine!

FWIW I was not a fan of DD taking drama GCSE but I am very glad that she did, as it was a life-saver for her during KS4.

I'm very glad indeed that dd did GCSE drama. It was a lot of work, actually, but really valuable to have a subject like that in the mix. Plus there was a real sense of community in her drama group that she didn't get from any of her other subjects!

Ds1 did combined and got 9,9 took Physics A level and like most in the group managed perfectly fine. Most of them "only" had the combined. .

Ds2 is in year 10 they have been told that if they are now going to do the triple, the combined science group moves onto revision for year 11 as they have accelerated the course, the triple group will instead do more work and still have to attend a 1 hour session after school. Ds has said why would I not take the easier combined, get the 9,9 and spend more time on the grades I have to pull up like English!

This isn't about your Dh this is about what is best for your DD. Lots of secondary schools only offer the combined. Ds1 was still in the top set for combined science so not really a mixed ability class.

Yes some really good points here. I would find out if it is in fact the case that the majority of able students take triple - as this would mean, as others say, a weaker cohort in the combined class.

Your DD has to be the driver here tho - she is the one doing the GCSEs, not your DH. If she does triple and then only has three options and wants to do (say) MFL and humanity, that leaves one slot for PE/music/RS/food tech/D&T/textiles/art/drama/computer science/the other humanity/another MFL - this might really feel like a squeeze for her.

FWIW I was not a fan of DD taking drama GCSE but I am very glad that she did, as it was a life-saver for her during KS4. What does your DD want to do?

In the Combined Science 9-1 qualifications you do study all the topics but in slightly less depth than for the 3 separate Sciences.
The level of difficulty is the same as for separate Sciences.
The main disadvantage of Combined Science is that if you have one subject where you perform less well e.g. you are good at Biology and Chemistry but poor at Physics, it can lower your average grade. Whereas if you study all 3 Sciences, they are marked totally independently of each other.
Some factors depend on the school. At dds school they had a top set for Combined Science so she wasn't with low ability pupils.

I have a PhD in chemistry. I ‘only’ have double award science (was all my school offered). Had I been given the option I would have almost certainly jumped at the chance to do separate sciences, but that’s because I really love science. I did 3 science A levels.

I think for most people, if it’s not your burning passion, doing the double award is a perfectly good choice. It doesn’t stop you picking up more science later if you want to.

If triple science takes an option, I think the main point to decide is whether the option is better used elsewhere. My DD opted for combined science despite being predicted good grades, because she wasn't sufficiently enamoured of science to want to study it for 6.5 hours a week (more than a whole school day), and she had other subjects she wanted to fit in. The "are all the able students taking triple" was a concern to us, but actually (in a school where around 40-45% do take triple) DD has ended up in a top combined science set which is full of other very able scientists who didn't want to take triple for similar reasons to her. But you may wish to ask how this works out at your school. If only the top set are allowed to take triple, you'll clearly end up with a lot of very good scientists taking combined.

There’s a shortage of stem grads, so if there isn’t anything else she wants to do particularly, I’d do them separately as it’s better prep for A levels. However if she really wants to do other subjects and double science gives her that option then do that.

The chances are that most (although not all) of the most able at science will do triple science. As a result the triple science class will be working, on average, at a higher level.

This is definitely how things worked out at dd's school, and it definitely made a difference. Her (very able) friend did combined science and found it a bit of a shock going from a set 1 group in Year 9 to a very different group in Year 10. She ended up wishing that she had done triple just so that she could have been in a different group.

At our school triple did not take up an option slot; that group were expected to work at higher pace and intensity. Both my DDs did it and found the move to A levels easier as a result. But the love has to be there - if your DD doesn't really enjoy the sciences, combined is going to be better for her as she can then choose an option she has a passion for. There isn't a right answer - except for not making the choice based on pressure from a parent.

The chances are that most (although not all) of the most able at science will do triple science. As a result the triple science class will be working, on average, at a higher level. It is a lot easier to get a high grade if you are in a class where the average grade is high than to get a high grade on your own.

(I have A grades in both maths and physics A level. Maths was set and 16 out of 22 of us got an A. Physics wasn’t and 14 out of 18 got a C or lower. My A in maths very much felt like “turn up, do the work set, gossip with my friends, collect my A”. The A in physics was really really hard as the teacher stated openly that the class work set was only going up to a B.)

Triple Science takes one of the options out at my DD's school too, it's only available by invitation (no chance of separate sciences).

bonfire Lots of schools make P&E/RE mandatory at least to short course as it has to be taught in KS4, but it doesn't necessarily take up a whole option slot in terms of time.

Don't let your DH railroad her into doing triple unless she really wants to.

I agree with this. She needs to make her own choices.

It's interesting to see how different schools do options. At DD school they all have to do Philosophy & Ethics as one of their options, so have less options to choose from.

At DD's school, combined was 10hrs per fortnight (ie 1 per day) and triple was 14hrs per fortnight. It is a lot of science.
Triple appears to me to be more topics at the same depth, not harder or more detailed. (DD switched from combined to just Biology - don't ask).

Personally I'd wait until how the options are being run is announced. Don't let your DH railroad her into doing triple unless she really wants to.

DD is also at a school where they do 9 and if you do triple science you then have 3 options not 4.

She chose combined science. Her science teachers suggested triple but didn't push it strongly. Try to help your daughter not 'please' the teachers on these choices but a subject teacher won't see the whole picture for a child. For instance the language teachers wanted DD to take 2 language gcses... which she also didn't do.

Perhaps the focus should be, finding out if there are other subjects that she wants to do more than the extra science? No point making the space for the options if she's not sufficiently inspired by other subjects.

In my son's case I don't think there would be enough other subjects he's gagging to do more than science.

Ah, the medicine myth.

My son goes to a superselective grammar school. At his options evening the headteacher spoke at length about this. Combined science doesn't preclude a level science or a career in medicine (according to her, around 50% of the students they send to medical school each year did combined science).

Most of the children who took combined did so because they wanted the 3rd option available to them.

My son, despite adoring science did combined to allow him that 3rd option. He is taking chemistry a level (at the schools sixth form) with no issue.