So cross WWYD?

[bijou3]

DS has just been told by the school that he can?t do triple science despite coming top in all the midyear exams for all the sciences. He is taking geography and history and the school used this as a reason why they think the double will be better for him, I don?t think this is a valid reason. DS has always scored highly in all exams and is a very able child I don?t think that by doing an extra science would affect his grades for other subjects.
If he was in a state school he would most certainly be doing the triple so why as a fee paying parent don?t I have the option WWYD?

Why are you so cross? Just go and talk to them, they'll probably sort it out.

@word DD1 is doing triple because all the young people do, at her school. There is no option not to, and we knew that when we sent her there. So I'm not complaining - but the fact is, she would have preferred to do Drama rather than chemistry. But life is full of swings and roundabouts, and that was just one of the

DS (different school) will likely have the option to do either triple or double when the time comes and I would guess that he will opt for double, because of the other things he wants to do. I would prefer it if he could do 2 single sciences but that's not the way these days, is it.

meta If all things were equal she would do biology (which she excels in), chemistry (whihc she does fine in) and drop physics.

But you can't can you?

At the mo her options are looking like this: Eng x 2, maths, science x 3, MFL x 2, history and drama. Plus obigatory half courses in ICT and PE.

Actually, I guess the triple as core has worked in her favour, otherwise DH would have been extremely hard to convince about the drama option.

I would do a little after school/weekend work, and single biology, chemistry, and physics IGCSEs as an extracurricular home ed option. It would mean a little extra work, but they would have the three sciences. You can get the courses, and have exams arranged through online schools. Oxford homeschooling covers these courses.

@word Those obligatory half courses are a pain too, aren't they? Luckily DD1 just has obligatory RE and she likes RE, and I can't object to it since (a) we go to mass every week and (b) I did full RE O level (raised by nuns, me. Like being raised by wolves but kinder). She does 2xEng, Maths, French, 3 sciences, music, history, geog and 1/2 RE. The only thing she would change would be swapping chem for drama, since drama will be useful for her planned future career and chem won't. But there you go, plans can change.

OP - talk to your school. I'm sure they will accommodate you.

Forgot about bloody half a GCSE in RE too!!

Why can't you do drama and chemistry?

Dd would have dropped chemistry if she could have- so I'm glad she didn't have the choice. It's good for them to do hard stuff!

Another thing I wonder is why dd's school doesn't make them do an RE or a Citizenship exam and most others seem to. RE is an option- but if you don't want to take it, the requirement appears to be fulfilled bay spending an hour a week eating biscuits and watching a vaguely relevant film.

You can do drama and chemistry. What you can't do is 4 optional subjects. And drama would have been her fourth choice. She doesn't find chemistry hard, she doesn't find anything other than French (and PE) hard, she just would have preferred to do drama.

Sorry,ni now see why you can't do chemistry and drama. Dd dropped geography for Performing Arts- geography seems to be the default dropmin favour of something else subject at her school.

Had a brain lapse and was ready to leap in and complain about timetabling clashes.

At ours, you must do RE - everyone does 'short course' which I think gets you half a GCSE, but you can do twilight 'long course' for a full one if you want. I thought if she was going to spend two years doing RE anyway, she might as well get a GCSE out of it at the end, though!

Yes nit I've had an email suggesting DD might like to upgrade her RE in the evenings. Which makes sense as she came top of the year in the last exams .

But that will make 11 GCSES which I think is an awful lot. Paricularly as she is also actively involved inlots of sports, sings in the choir and does as much drama as she can.

I think dd's school has the right idea about the "short course" RE!

Why on earth should you have to fight for your son to do the triple science GCSE ?

wordfactory what on earth is half a GCSE? Do you get a qualification at the end of it? A GC or an SE ;)?

For the half ones you usually get distinction pass or merit, I think.

half GCSEs are A*, A, B... just the same as the full ones.

I quite like the RE half course. It's exactly what it says it is, half a GCSE. For the full you choose 2 equally weighted exams from a (fairly long) list, and for the half you just do one of them.

bijou, is there an update? Would moving to the school he would like to go to sixth form at now be a possibility? I would be very fed up in your shoes even though I think double is good enough for A-level, an able child who wants to do triple should be allowed to and especially in your case where it will impact choices at 16+.

Is anyone doing triple in your ds's year? Just wondered if they were losing a teacher or something and so making cuts in science teaching.

My appointments next week so Im still on tenderhooks. DS is getting more miserable by the day, he feels that none of the science teachers believe in him :(

I'd be tempted to phone around some other schools before then and see what they can offer him. You will be in a stronger position if you can say x school will take him and can offer him the options he wants and I will move him if you can't do the same.

I received a generic e mail from the school this morning saying that all the timetables are sorted for the next academic year therefore there will be no movement between groups or subjects unless they decide to move a student down after the first term. I?ve not even had my meeting yet. I?m so cross I just cannot believe it. We have a new headmaster this year that is not going down so well with the parents so I think it?s better if I move my DS to another school.

You are paying for this treatment?

Why?

There must be good state sixth forms and sixth form colleges near you.

Ok, calm down.

Yes if your DC is bright they should have the option of triple.

But, core +additional (so double). Does cover all three sciences (this nonsense about 'dropping' chemistry is not allowed anywhere).

Double is perfectly sound preparation for A level and won't bother any university in the slightest.

Triple is a nice stretching option. Not a necessity. And the downside is it does tend to limit breadth of education in other subjects - which is the real priority of the GCSE years

I never understand why people pay and then are unhappy about it! I can see the point if it is better, but not when you are being forced into something that you don't want!