Options: no geography or history, is that a problem

@Snid
You tell about not wanting triple science snd saying that humanities/arts DC don’t need them. I do think that’s true. However your DC is looking at dropping meaningful humanities too. Only one MFL and loads of art. GCSEs are meant to be broad. My DC chose A levels based on a broad portfolio and history, for example, can be grouped with politics at A level. Theology is very very narrow. So is music. These are specialist subjects which are replacing general ones that keep
optioms open. Art keeps loads open. DD did Art and Photography A levels when she specialised at A level. DC really should not over specialise at GCSE. Doesn’t your school fine details on what music gcse entails? We had a lot of details in a booklet and online. Have you read it for music?

What is her standard and experience in music currently?

I think the thing is that if your child is already involved in music, the requirements are straightforward, much more straightforward than other gcses in many ways.

They will already play an instrument and have pieces at the required standard (and have a 1:1 teacher who can coach them). They may already perform with others in school, city or county grouos that can be recorded for the ensemble element. Although they may not gave done composition, they will have heard and performed plenty of repertoire, and be able to read and write musical notation. So the only ‘learning’ to be done is the appraisal / knowledge side, which is not a huge percentage compared with eg the History curriculum.

OTOH, for a non-musician, ALL of these elements are new and hard. This is why there is no ‘specified grade’ in the exam board overview specs, but everyone informally says ‘should be at least Grade 3 and preferably above at the start of Y 10’ - because if you are not already at that level it is SO much harder.

Sorry, lax wording there. The composition has to be recorded. If it is an instrumental or vocal piece, that means it has to be performed for recording (and it is the recording alongside the written form that was assessed internally / externally / for moderation). If it is e.g. a wholly electronic composition, or one looping different samples etc, it can be recorded via the software rather than performed by a human. I am genuinely not sure whether eg ds could have ‘recorded’ his composition from the score using electronic substitutes for the wind instruments. Part of the point was he wrote it for a specific group of musicians so the question didn’t arise.

I think this:

Difficulty Levels booklet is the one you need to look at for info on performance levels.

Oh, and iirc, the composition has to be performed. Ok if it is a solo piece. Ds’s wind quintet was recorded in my sitting room one Sunday for logistical reasons (no bassoonist of the right standard in his school, and the oboist was in a different year)….

For music, extracurricular time is likely to be a) individual rehearsal of her own performance pieces as well as technique development so she can offer the right difficulty; b) ensemble rehearsal (part of performance must be in an ensemble) and c) composition. Lesson tome will be given to ensemble and composition work, but like Art lessons not being anywhere near enough to complete a portfolio, rehearsals and composition tend to exceed normal lesson limits. Ensemble time is often the trickiest, because other ensemble members will usually have existing commitments to lessons, choirs, orchestras, bands etc that have to be worked round.

There was a thread recently where the op was being encouraged to move their child’s school because it didn’t offer triple science! Nobody ever judges a school because it doesn’t allow 2 languages at gcse, or forces a choice between geography and history, thus offering only 1 humanity, or allows only art or a design subject, not both. All of those are potentially MUCH more restrictive for A-levels and degree courses.

Double science teaches all 3 sciences, to a standard easily sufficient for A level in any or all. It does so while also allowing timetable time for 2 languages or 2 humanities or 2 arts subjects or music and drama. A school that allows this should be lauded, not avoided…..

Interestingly, when I looked into double vs triple for ds, as a worried ex-Oxbridge scientist, my old college said 50% of their scientists /medics / engineers had typically done double science even then (pre 9-1 reforms) because at 16 they had a breadth of interests that double science allowed.

I think MFL should be a requirement for all students except in unusual circumstances (eg, dyslexia, etc)

I think learning a foreign language to some level isn't just important in and of itself, but will hopefully remind students as they grow up that learning a second language is both difficult and admirable, so not to be arseholes when on holiday in countries where other languages are spoken or interacting with people who have moved to the UK from elsewhere where there English isn't great yet.

Other countries are great about teaching additional languages. We should not be treating ourselves as the exception to this rule because of the accompanying attitude problems it often creates.

Yes, there should be some automatic warning that pops up when someone says double science won't be good enough for A Level!

RS should not be compulsory. My kids were able to opt out of it. I would encourage your dd to do either history or geography depending which she enjoys more. Obviously rs is a worghwhikr subject but I wouldn’t be happy with my child doing it as their only humanity. I would also only encourage your dd to do two practical subjects as they are time consuming especially dt.

s she good at science, double science isn't great for going into A level, so she's narrowing down her choices there.

Particularly since reformed GCSEs (9-1), but tbh even beforehand, this isn’t true. Dd did double science in a school that only offered double, and ended up with an A* in Physics in a sixth form where most had done triple science.

The ‘new’ double has so much content that building A level on it is straightforward. The only caveat would be if double in ONLY done by the lowest attainers, where the curriculum may be covered incompletely or in less detail, but the complete double curriculum is perfectly good preparation even for the very highest attainers at A level.

Just done a bit more Googling. ‘Standard’ music grade level for Pearson is Grade 4. 3 or lower is ‘less difficult’ - lower cap, while Grade 5 and above performance pieces are regarded as ‘more difficult’ so highest percentages available. Note again that those grades don’t have to have been taken, but the music performed myst be of that standard of difficulty.

Similar information is available for other boards - I can find out if you give me a specific board for your school.

Double science is perfectly ok for most DC.

I think it is important to understand how the ‘performance’ marks at gcse interact with ‘music grades’.

Essentially, the ‘level of difficulty’ of the music performed sets the maximum marks available for this component. So someone who is performing eg a Grade 1-level piece (regardless of whether they have taken the grade exam or not) has a cap on the amount of narks they can get, whereas someone performing a Grade 5 level piece has a higher cap. Even at A-level, Grade 8 isn’t needed for the cap to be set at the highest level, but someone performing at less than Grade 3 level (note - whether they have taken exams or not) will have the cap set at a level that may make the highest gcse results unattainable.

Similarly, Grade 5 theory isn’t needed. However, both for the composition and appraisal parts of the qualification, not being able to read or write some type of standard musical notation or understand technical terms is going to be a real disadvantage.

Your school music teacher will be able to advise at what level your child’s current performance could be set (against the board’s descriptors, as they have not taken exams), and would also be able to say whether their understanding of music theory is strong enough to access the course at the necessary pace.

At the end of the day, it also depends how your child might do in another subject - if your child’s performance level is such that eg their highest possible grade is likely to be a 6, with extra homework devoted to rehearsal etc, then that only really matters if their grade in an alternative gcse is likely to be equal or higher with the same amount if work, or whether the extra work outside class will negatively impact other gcse subjects.

OP i am a form tutor ( as well as teacher) in a comprehensive school. I would strongly discourage even the most able artists/ musicians/ whatever from doing music as well as 2 arts/dt type subjects. As others have said, and I really don’t think you have taken this on board yet, the coursework load is very high, and your dc can’t be in 2 places at once at lunchtime and after school. ( All of my own dc also did art GCSE, and 2 did art A level so i have seen it from a parents perspective as well).
it isn’t really about her learning to balance stuff at this age, it just will make it really hard for her to do well, and not feel very overwhelmed with the amount of work outstanding.

Music GCSE is 30% performance and she needs to be playing/singing to at least grade 3 standard to get a decent mark. As she's not, I'd just scrap that one.

Is she good at science, double science isn't great for going into A level, so she's narrowing down her choices there.

2 coursework based GCSEs are full on. DS's friend did DT and Art and it was really full on, especially around the time that he was trying to study for his mocks. He said too that he'd have got a better mark in either, if he'd just concentrated on one of them.

I do not know a musical child who doesn’t play an instrument or sing. It’s funded by schools if you are on fsm. I know plenty of very ordinary parents who pay for school music lessons and see it as vital because Dc have talent. It’s like not doing sport if you are sporty.

OP, please don't think the standard required for PP's school is normal - although not unknown for selective or private education. Yes, you are right, Grade 5 (or any) theory is not a requirement of the exam board, this is a hoop put in by the school. Also, it is not standard that 'most' are at Grade 8 in 'at least 1 instrument'. At our 'normal' comp only 1 or 2 are. Many are considerably lower and the markscheme is written to reflect a much lower level of achievement. Obviously if you are at a higher level to start with the performance part is easier.

DD had no choice but take MFL and either geography or history. I actually preferred it as I find the GCSE too narrowing at that age.

Do keep in mind that arts and music are very time consuming subjects, two of DD's friends do arts and they have to build large portfolios. Similar with textilen and design, DD's school actually talks individual with children choosing only these kind of options and discuss the impact in details and also let them talk to Y11s to get a better picture of the workload.