How many GCSEs?

My ds went to a grammar school where they did 11 subjects (and the top Maths set did Further Maths too) - but a third of the year did double instead of triple science, making it 10 GCSEs. My ds has ADHD and had got quite behind in year 10 due to lockdowns, so we requested that in addition to only doing double science, could he drop his two lowest grade subjects, which the school agreed to. He did this early in year 11 and it definitely paid off for him. Some of his friends who were similar ability to him got the same range of higher grades, plus a couple of 5s and I think his results look better by comparison. He wasn't the only boy to drop a subject or two, so at his school the number of GSCEs taken ranged from 8 to 12.

My dd went to a private school where 10 was standard, 11 with further Maths for those who chose it, and some did Astronomy as an extra subject in lunchtimes. She was struggling with Latin in year 10 and was allowed to drop it early in year 11 too, so ended up with 9. Other girls ended up with 8 or 7 GCSEs. It doesn't seem to have affected anyone's progression.

Dd did 9 and coped with A Levels fine (got 2 As and an A*) - to be honest, I think she worked less in sixth form than did for her GCSEs. Ds is currently in year 12 having done 8 GCSEs and is also coping fine and doing very little visible work! So I'm not sure it matters how many GCSEs you do...

*Non selective state school.

State school. 11 GCSEs plus another in her own time, so 12 in total.
The extra 12th one was started in Year 11 and will be taken in year 12 (first year of A levels).

DD's school do 10 as standard including 1 taken in Y10, but will facilitate you doing as many as you want (sometimes have children doing 16 or 18 subjects).

DD has severe dyslexia so she is taking 8 GCSEs plus a BTEC

@MrsBennetsPoorNerves It is. Lots of very academic kids thrive off pressure and a high workload. Its difficult to see A Levels as that when you're not doing 11 subjects but 3 or 4. There's no constant bouncing around. Spending 3hrs on Biology doesn't really feel quite as fulfilling as finishing homework in 5 different subjects in 3hrs.
If your daughter wants to go into Medicine, this is a great lesson for her to learn now, so in a way it's great she found the transition quite difficult s I'm sure it meant she had to really look into study habits and stamina.

Yes, she is very bright and found the GCSE content pretty easy - she was definitely able to coast through with minimal effort and still get top grades. A-levels have definitely required more work!

Interesting how different kids struggle at different points in the journey. I can definitely see why some kids would find it easier not to have to juggle quite so many subjects.

Both DC did nine (which was the maximim) at an outstanding state comp, including triple science. Both got great results and both got five offers from RG unis. One is there now and one goes September. Can't see what doing more than that would have achieved really.

DD doing 10 incl triple science and further maths.

The year below her are only doing 9 as school have decided it works out a better average to sell the school if they only do 8/ 9.

Seems to be all sorts of manipulation going on as regards this - including bottom set English this year not taking Literature, and next year's English will be iGCSE for all sets, music, food tech and something else all dropped and engineering added in. Glad we're moving for 6th form (sorry about the moan)

I looked it up some time ago and think that the average number of GCSEs passed in 2022 for 16 year olds was something like 7.75 per student. FWIW, my DC did 10 last year.

Required to do:
English lit
English lang
Maths
Chemistry
Biology
Physics
MFL

Then four options, some of which are school assessed courses rather than GCSEs (eg drama, history of art, creative technologies) and can be anything from four more languages to history, RE, geography etc.

And most of them do Add Maths.

So 11-12 GCSE equivalents. It’s an academically selective school.

DS is doing 10 at his state comp.
They do Ebacc.

He is doing triple Science. Predicted 7s and 8s. He doesnt want to aim for 9s. he would rather get good passes in all his subjects.

DD's school do 10 if taking triple and 9 if taking combined science.

12 at our Welsh comp which includes mandatory Welsh and Welsh Bacc skills challenge certificate.

9 is the minimum at my child's school. 10 if they are taking triple science. 11 if they are also taking further maths. 12 if also taking statistics.

@MrsBennetsPoorNerves That's really interesting. It sounds like your daughter is clever and found secondary school a breeze. People always hit a ceiling though and this is often in sixth form for the clever kids. Up until that point they never really had to study so they don't know how.
When I tutored dyslexic children, a lot of them found A Levels much more manageable than GCSEs and many only took 7 of them but spent a lot of time learning how to revise, apply knowledge and remember. That serves you well in A Levels as a lot of it is a significant amount of content, but in 3 subjects, so you're not jumping from topic to topic like you do in GCSEs. People often choose A Levels that kind of go with each other too, so there's some overlap in knowledge.

I guess it's different for everyone.

DD didn't find the focus on fewer subjects boring or repetitive. She really enjoyed her other GCSE subjects but welcomed the opportunity to go into much greater depth at A- level. It helps that she really likes her chosen subjects, I'm sure!

It was mainly the increase in workload which hit her at the start of Year 12. She coasted through GCSEs quite easily and didn't find it particularly challenging, whereas A-levels required more consistent effort.

I agree that the jump between gcse and A-levels is too big. And you might be right about some degree courses, though from everything we have heard about dd's chosen path (medicine), A-levels might be the easy bit!!

@MrsBennetsPoorNerves Not sure the amount of GCSEs is a good indicator of how well they do at A Level. I think the shock with A Level is how in depth you have to go into for a particular subject. It can be a little boring and repetitive. If anything I think doing less GCSEs but getting used to spending more time on them is better preparation.
However, it's a bit depressing that the jump between GCSE and A Level still hasn't been sorted even with this curriculum change. It's madness and not fair on the kids. Many agree their degrees are easier than A Levels.

We did 8 GCSE's at a grammar back in the day - only the very top students did 9. There was another post a few days ago about choices and that was for 11. No one needs 11 GCSE's. I'd be interested to know the number of teaching hours per subject in schools depending on how many are taken. Much like it's better to focus on getting the best grades possible for 3 A levels rather than 4, surely it's better to concentrate on 9 than spread teaching more thinly across 11. Triple science & more than one language (for example) would be so many exam papers never mind all the other subjects.

It would be a more level playing field if the number was standardised across all schools tbh. Or if there were at least standardised pathways for pupils with different levels of ability. The system doesn't seem that fair as it stands.

Ours can do 8 as a minimum (not sure about SEN though). They also offer a small range of optionals to bump it up to 9 (classes after school hours). Then top set science do the triple. A few do further maths. So 8, 9, 10 or 11!

High performing private school:

• You can do between 8 and 11 GCSEs
• The great majority do 9
• Outside maths, English x2 and science, the choice of the other four (or three if doing separate sciences) is totally free

The school do this as

1. Even Oxbridge only look at your top 8 GCSE results

2. They would rather you got 9 grade 9s than 10 grade 8s

3. You are more likely to do better in subjects you enjoy than being forced into choosing a language, a humanity and a creative subject

Seems totally sensible to me!!!

I agree - the difference between 8 and 11 is substantial!

Can't help but feel that the switch into A-levels after only 8 GCSEs would be a bit of a shock to the system? DD found it quite a bit increase in workload after doing 10 GCSEs plus FSMQ!

I did 10 in the 90s. The students at the state school I teach at do 8.