How would you feel with this GCSE policy?

What are the school's extra curriculars like?

If they have a great program of sports, arts, drama, music etc. then it wouldn't bother me that my DC couldn't take a GCSE in one of these subjects. In fact, I'd prefer them to specialise in academics for GCSE and do the creative stuff as extra curricular.

I think in this (private) school the OP is saying only option is the single sciences – but you don’t have to do all three. But they are saying they woud prefer the option of yes, double science, ie studying all three but only using up two GCSE slots. But this school does not offer that. So you either do all three sciences and have only two choices from history/geog/MFL/music/drama/CS/DT/food/textiles/art (etc) or you choose three of those but drop one science altogether.

Hang on - isn’t all three sciences “double science” so it’s only two slots? That’s quite common . But agree with those saying English is usually two slots too (lang and lit)

We are in Wales so Welsh is compulsory.

The gcses have been revamped- with some of the new courses starting in Sept 2025 and other starting in following years.

May vary a bit in some schools but some changes are a default with the new qualifications offered.

Maths is maths and numeracy- double award
English is language and literature combined - double award.

i think there is the option for schools to pick a single award if needed, but double is the default.

Science covers biology, chemistry and physics as a double award. In our school to take a separate gcse in all three, them one was selected as an option.

For our school either RE or equality and diversity are compulsory. We weren't given a choice and level 2 in equality and diversity was allocated.

They were allowed to choose three options and a back up. There were no requirements to select one from different sections, or a humanities/language etc, but they asked for indications in advance to help prepare timetables and which options were in which pathway.

In total dc will be
2 maths
2 English
2 Science
1 Welsh
3 options ( gcse and btech level 2 were offered depending on subject).
Dc is taking an extra one that was being offered after school.
Total 8 subjects ( counting Science as 1), but potentially 11 grades plus a level 2 in equality and diversity.

It is a state school, with a higher than average number of children in free school meals.

In some ways it feels a lot - but because some are double awards, in other ways it doesn't feel as much.

I did gcses in 1990. We had maths, English lang and English lit, then 6 columns to pick from. One column only had the three sciences, general science or human biology.
Another only had creative options.
Two had mainly humanities, language and other science options.
You then had to choose 2 from a box of vocational subjects, or 2 from two other columns of humanities/science/languages etc. Those colums had things such as sociology, economics etc in. Basically couldn't do more than 9 - had more options, but had to do at least one science, one humanities and one practical. Although encouraged a language wasn't compulsory ( I chose not to do one).

Not in England but it’s similar here where Welsh is compulsory. DD had 3 choices and opted to do an extra one from home on top.

Compulsory subjects take up 7 slots, plus 3 choices and one extra from home. They do the exams across 2 years though, not all in year 11.

@Talipesmum @clary I agree, Double Science would be preferable to wholly dropping one but I'm not completely married to the idea. If I had a child whose strengths lie elsewhere I wouldn't mind them dropping a science. But it is not ideal.

@DecisionParalysis Are music, drama and sport well covered by extracurriculars? That may relieve some pressure on options as well.

Tbf I only took two sciences (didn’t do physics) as I wanted to do a whole load of languages (well, three in my normal option list).

I do feel tho that double science covering all three in less detail (and still allowing German and Latin) would have been a better option for me. I do sometimes feel my lack of physics knowledge so I see where the op is coming from.

Ah yes good point, I had completely missed that. But I do agree with the OP that you’d need a really good reason to wholly drop one science.

@Talipesmum The OP says in the first post that doing all three sciences isn't compulsory at this school. So they are allowed to drop a science (maybe even two?). It is not allowed at state schools but it is allowed in some private schools.

But this isn’t an option at all. They have to do all three sciences, no option to drop one.

I don’t think anyone can drop a science in England anyway. I did see on here a while ago someone saying that their child could drop one science, but I’m not sure where they were based. Maybe Scotland?

Maybe look upon the third science as an option. Then you have: 2 English, Maths, 2 Sciences, RS and 3 full options.

Only people who love science would choose the third science as an option. People who don't like science could do a second humanity and two languages or two creative subjects or even two additional humanities and a language. So I think most pupils would be able to play to their strengths with this policy.

I agree with you that Double Science would be a much better core than only two of the three, but if you let go of the idea that everybody should study all three sciences then I think it is actually not so bad.

I'd actually welcome compulsory RE - it's so useful for everything from reading Shakespeare to understanding world politics to knowing that party bags at your kids' parties need to be halal. The ethics section would be interesting too.
9 GCSEs is pretty normal.
Triple science would depend on the kid. It wouldn't be a issue for one of my kids, might be for the other.

It would definitely put me off as well. I've got a bit of an all-rounder so options choices were bad enough once you'd had triple science take up one of them - at least it was his choice! It feels like it really narrows them only to have two actual choices.

It would put me off. It’s far too narrow at gcse. RE is bonkers if it means only 2 options left as dc cannot choose an art, a more desirable humanity and a technology subject or sport. It’s all about results and not about a broad education. It’s saying they only care about scientists.

I wouldn't be keen on compulsory RE or triple science, but it wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker for me. It would depend on what the alternatives were not just in terms of GCSE offer, but the school overall.

All the state schools I am familiar with place some restrictions beyond the Science, Maths and English core. I think a totally free choice is rare. The nearest catholic school insists on RE GCSE. They all require one of history, geography or a MFL, with some insisting on both a MFL and a humanity for average or above average attainers. Maybe free choice is more common in the private sector?
At DD's fairly average comprehensive students can opt to take further maths or triple science as a 10th if they attend after school sessions. Triple science can also be taken as a standard option. I think for the vast majority of young people 10 is too many, but the option is there.

Where I live there is little/no choice unless you afford private and/or are a baptised catholic who can afford significant transport fees (£900+/year). We just accepted what was offered. In your situation where you have a choice, I would look at state and private options carefully. The GCSE offering is one factor, but there is also ethos, religous character, behaviour policies, journey time, sport and PE, enrichment etc. If you are considering private cost is also a consideration. I'd look at the whole picture and decide whether the positives you see in the school outweigh the GCSE restrictions.

I'm with you.

In my experience, a lot of schools offer double or triple science, with the triple option meaning you're taking an extra GCSE.

I'm a raging atheist but actually think RE is important. I like that my child learns more about the different cultures they're surrounded by. There's a chunk of the syllabus that covers stuff like ethics too.

But I agree about not limiting options. Of my child's three choices, one was an afterthought and late switch (from practical but boring IT). But it has become an absolute passion which they now want to specialise in.

You’re right, I can’t count!!!

I wouldn’t be happy with it. Would have been fine for my daughter who chose triple science & RE but for my very unsciency son who struggled with writing & the concepts of RE but excelled in the arts it would have been disastrous.

This would definitely put me off, OP. Mine have recently done / currently going through GCSEs and it’s really hard narrowing down the choices.

Like you say it’s the double whammy of max 9, with only two real option slots because of the RE. Doesn’t leave any room for much interest based options eg wanting to do art, music, try out business or keep DT going, yet still do eg history and a language, or geography and computer science.

If there were no other good schools at all I guess we’d have to suck it up, but I would be seriously put off by this. 9 great GCSEs is plenty to get you where you want to go, but it’s so focussed so early on, it doesn’t seem right.

Even if taking eng lit and lang that still leaves two spots surely? Eng x 2, maths x 1, science x 3, RE = 7; two spots left. I don't dispute that's limiting but for me RE ticks the humanity box so unless hist or geog is a passion, there's still the possibility of (say) MFL and art (or whatever).

Interesting @user1471530109 about three sciences being compulsory. I did wonder as the only school I know of where DC can just take two single sciences is a private school.

RE short course has been withdrawn by some boards so I am not sure it is as common as it was, but I agree it’s worth asking if it actually counts as one of the nine. If the short course (half a GCSE) is offered then it may not.

ETA: x posted with your update @DecisionParalysis if it is a private school that explains the science aspect. Is it the best private school available to you? I must say if I were paying £££ that might colour my view a bit. It also depends heavily on what your DC is keen on (which I appreciate you cannot fully know in year 5).

OP, if your DC is science-focussed, it’s a great advantage. I really wouldn’t worry about it.

Have you double checked that the RE that is required is the full 2-year GCSE and not the short course normally sat in year 10? A good portion of schools that require a religious studies GCSE actually only require the latter (usually with the full course being an option) and don't count the short course towards the options slots allowed.

Beyond that, this wouldn't be an automatic deal-breaker for me if the school is a top choice for other reasons, but I would consider whether it's a fit for your particular DC. It's pretty typical now that a student taking triple science and a humanity (albeit in this case it's required to be RE) will only have 2 options remaining, but if triple science and a humanity wouldn't be your DC's likely path otherwise this may end up feeling limiting.

Only offering standalone sciences has pros and cons. For students who would have taken triple anyways it's a bit of a moot point and it can serve students with spiky profiles or those who are struggling to get enough passes really well. But I think it does overlook the bright but non-STEM focused students a bit - the ones who would be aiming for top dual-science marks but don't plan to pursue STEM beyond GCSE and would prefer to free up an option block for a humanity or practical subject.