How important is taking triple versus double science at GSCE?

I think using it as an option is the better way of doing it - keeps it open for everyone who enjoys it. Whereas in our DC's school the top half do triple in the same amount of teaching time as the rest do double. I'm sure there are DC doing double who are actually pretty strong at one of the sciences but never get the high grade in it that they deserve.

In our case DD's school was split into two halves for timetabling purposes, so there would have been 5 sets for maths even though it was a 10 form entry.

Having triple science use an extra option means that it is no more difficult than double science as the option would be otherwise used for a different subject such as a language.

My DS did triple and said it wasn't a lot more work than double. He thought it gave him a better overview of science. He didn't do Science for A level but was glad he did the triple. Also he didn't want to do 2 languages and sometimes it's about which blocks the school.puts subjects in.

@shepherdsangeldelight
Ah, sorry, I guess I thought they meant that in most schools there's only one class, so hardly anyone does triple science, my bad 🤦‍♀️

They split the year into two halves which are timetabled completely separately to the end of Y11. (When DS went into Y12 he was suddenly back in class with kids he hadn't seen since Y6 🙂)

There are 5 forms in each half but six science sets. I guess the forms are likely slightly over 30 and the lower science sets smaller, but I don't know exact numbers.

Completely agree re twilight sessions, absolutely zero chance of that at DC's school.

I think the poster you quoted meant "unusual" in the sense that it's not the case in her school or a couple of other schools they know about.

I'd say it's more "usual" for schools to have their own policies. Your own school's policy of linking it to sets is another different way. My DC's non-selective comp allows students to freely choose combined or triple with triple counting as an option. There's about a 55%/45% split. And they don't have any twilight sessions. I'm surprised they are a "thing" at state schools tbh.

(Have to admit I'm confused how a 10 form entry school has only 6 sets for science - are they very large, or do you have multiple of the "same" set?)

That's very unusual. Normally there's only one class per year or per side of year that does it, and they need twilight sessions.

Is it really unusual? At DC's non selective comp there are 6 sets for science, sets 1-3 do triple and sets 4-6 do double. 10 form entry, so that's 150 kids every year doing triple. They do it in the same time as double too so it doesn't use up an option, and there are certainly no twilight sessions. I would say that triple is great if you love science, and useful but definitely not essential if you want to do science A levels.

@mumsneedwine ,

I don’t know about Chemistry but I have checked most of the main boards and there is considerably more important content in triple Physics than Double Award Physics.

Of course, as I said, it is nothing that a bright student couldn’t catch up on but, equally, if you are going down the Maths/Physics type route, triple would definitely be recommended.

I don't know if it's changed but I did dual award and chemistry and biology A levels. With chemistry A level, tbh they seemed to start from a pretty low assumption of previous knowledge and built from the basics up. I loved A level chemistry despite the GCSE teaching I received being pretty crap.

Reading this does make me glad our school offers a good range of options - they get four choices, of which one could be triple science. They do push ebacc fairly hard and DS is picking history and German, but it's not compulsory. So even if doing triple science you still get three other choices

Following with interest as same dilemma here. DS is more interested in humanities/social sciences/essay subjects and I think is very unlikely to take science a-levels. He is academically strong but he has to work much harder to keep his grades up in science than he does in most other subjects. I definitely think he should do double as triple would mean a third of his week would be science which he dislikes! But the science teacher has been trying hard to persuade him and has been telling him how much better the school's triple results are than double. DS has also been doing his own research and found that overall triple science grades are much higher on average than double. I keep trying to persuade him that that is because kids who are good at science tend to opt for triple so obviously get better grades! And there is no reason he can't get good grades in double if he puts the work in.

I do think there is a risk the double classes will be less engaged. It's a 6-form entry inner city comp and they are offering triple science in two option blocks, so a third of the year - prob the most academic third, and including all his friends - are going for triple.

Triple is a 1/3 more content. But some of it is really simple. Biggest difference in chemistry is titration calculations, concentration in moles and in organic topic. Nothing a bright student can't catch up.

@cantkeepawayforever ,

Up until end of last academic year.

Different boards are different but, by definition, the triple is worth 1.5x the amount of grades, so should have significantly more content.

Which board is it that you feel has so little difference? I am curious.

Yup. Combined science now includes bits from old AS levels. Triple even more so, but it's not that much more

The extra catch up work for A levels was certainly significant in the board I taught in Physics. It included momentum (really important), Doppler Red Shift, Charge and Moments.

How recently? If pre-9-1 GCSEs, then the syllabus for Combined is now hugely expanded, while A levels haven’t changed.

No Uni is going to have an issue with double for any subject. Including medicine.

My combined classes are 32-34 students at the top end. Most will get 7-7 or higher. Last year we had 19 9-9. All went in to do A level. Not all the triples did.

A few things to add.

Behavour can be an issue in double sets, but that will totally depend on the school.

The extra catch up work for A levels was certainly significant in the board I taught in Physics. It included momentum (really important), Doppler Red Shift, Charge and Moments.

But, again, when A levels are taught, they start from first principles, so it isn’t a disaster.

I do think, though, that if A level sciences are a serious consideration, you should be doing triple. As well as the extra content, the pace of teaching gives you an idea of whether you will cope at A levels (although A levels are still a lot harder).

And more importantly, I'd hate to think that if 60% of the year did double, we are saying they're all disengaged, naughty and not going to amount to much grade wise!

I flagged this as a possible issue - not everyone by any means but maybe some disruption. But check out how it’s done, is it streamed within double?

wrt psych degree - no uni is going to have any kind of issue with double at GCSE. For Psych tho it is a good idea to take a science for A level. This would include maths as well.

o wow, this is my actual son!
Mine (Y10) did combined, said he could not bear extra time with the science teachers.
He is smart enough for triple but wanted to do another option (triple is an option at DC school rather than accelerated in the timetable) instead of more science. He is in a higher "top set" combined class and the behaviour is fine. I don't know if he has made the right choice, so far so good, no desire to do a science A Level, though considering psychology alongside maths.

OP... you could do what we did & take triple through Y9 (if your school starts in Y9) & Y10 when they learn the same content as Combined then switch to Combined IF he doesn't want to continue with the full content at the beginning of Y11.
We are in Y11 and made the switch after the January mocks. It's meant DS has had the benefit of learning in a highly motivated & well behaved class for 2 years but now has the pressure release just as he needs it in time for the final approach to the GCSEs. If your DS gets to Y11 and loves Triple then continue with it.
I've had moments of thinking we should have switched earlier but actually it's working well right now...I may eat my words come August!

Thank you all so much! I came back to find a ton of considered, helpful responses. Lots to think about.

The set-up at DS's school (I believe) is that out of approx 300 students in the year, 40% are offered the chance to do triple.

He used to love science, but doesn't like this teacher this year at all and it's really soured his enthusiasm. He's very bright and able, but he's also not a grafter - at the moment - preferring to do as little as possible to get by. But he's also really competitive! And he's already started to say he'll feel like he's not clever if he's not chosen (even though I don't fully think the triple is right for him).

My only concern is that he has talked about being interested in psychology - along with being a world class footballer, so who knows how long this interest will last. But thinking ahead, I know this is already a very oversubscribed course at uni. I wouldn't want a double to lessen his chances.

And more importantly, I'd hate to think that if 60% of the year did double, we are saying they're all disengaged, naughty and not going to amount to much grade wise! A) I don't think that's true B) I assume the 60% will be streamed

The other point here is that for combined science you have to take either Foundation or Higher for all sciences. For triple science you can mix and match, so you could take Biology and Chemistry at Foundation and Physics at Higher level (for example). If taking combined science you would have to opt for one or the other tier.

Not that this should affect you taking triple science, if you don't want to :)

This was the point I made.
My friend's son got 9 and 8 in physics and chemistry and a 5 in biology.
This was his only 9 and he was thrilled with it. If he had done double he may have had two more mediocre grades.
Not sure this is a reason to do triple, but he was very set on a physics A Level and this helped his confidence a lot.

Haven't read all the responses but are they good at all 3 sciences? DS did very well at Chemistry and Physics but struggled with Biology. He did Triple, but got 2/3 grades higher for Chem and Physics than he did in Biology. Not sure how much the Biology grade would have dragged him down in Double Science? He did Physics for A Level and I know along with Maths, it had the highest grade requirement (I think both were 8s at his college). He did History and only needed a 5.

Unless people are schools inspectors or something, I don't know how they can claim their school makeup is "not unusual". Like (I would think) most parents, my knowledge of school organisation is based on my own DC's school, some other local ones, and a couple of schools my friends' children go to that aren't local.

My DC's school has 10/11 combined and 6/7 triple classes. other than the school that only allows top set children to take triple, I'd say that was "not unusual".
(The school has 480 children in a year, the classes - not sets until Year 11 - are not small).

DS has a conditional offer for one of the best sixth form colleges in the country, one of his A-level choices is physics. He's doing double, it hasn't hindered him at all, if anything he's relieved as the handful that are doing triple at his school are struggling with the extra work.