Best way to do an extra GCSE outside school ? (Or other options)

[madamweb]

DS is very happy at school and doing very well, but is facing a dilemma when it comes to GCSE options

They are allowed to pick 4 options for GCSEs (so he tells me, am waiting for school to release the info fully to parents, so this is me prepping in the meantime

However he really wants to do

• triple science (this counts as one option)
• advanced maths (he's steaming along at the top of top set maths and loves it)
• history
• geography
• German

He's keen to find a way to do them all, and I am guessing timetabling probably means school can't accommodate that.

So just wondering what options people have used to do an additional GCSE outside of school? I am thinking either using a tutor or an online course??

And which subjects might be best fit for doing that? My instinct is to say he does geography outside school as I have a degree in geography so could support him best (alongside a tutor /online course) . But I don't know how it would work for field work? Is that a component of the GCSE.

Very early days I haven't really begun researching so would welcome info and suggestions

To head off any judgment /questioning (because I just want advice on the practicalities):

He absolutely loves learning and this is his wish not mine, he already does extra "fun" courses outside school (presently he is studying astronomy online, and has a science tutor so they can look at subjects outside the curriculum)

(Nb he also does plenty of sport /hobbies and has a lovely group of friends)

Talk to school. You will need somewhere for him to sit the GCSE and if they know him they might be willing for him to do it with them. (Ie sit the exam in school at their expense) with being taught as a tutor. He could then do fieldwork with the class in school: you would just need to marry up exam boards.

the downside of this (for school) is that he appears on their statistics so they will want to know he can do well!

If you’re going to do this I would do German outside school. Much easier to do languages 1-1 with a tutor. With geography he’ll miss the field work.

I’m surprised your school makes the kids take an option slot for additional maths. At all three of my kids schools it’s just been an add-on for set 1, and they’ve done it during normal lessons. It’s not a whole GCSE either. If your son really likes maths i think the best approach would be to get him into doing the UKMT competitions as an extra, rather than additional maths (because he’ll just be more bored at A Level otherwise). This is really stretching and qualifying and scoring well in olympiads is much better for the UCAS form (and the soul) than the additional maths GCSE:

Yes we would definitely talk to school, this is just me gathering information so I know what questions to ask /what options there are!

Advanced maths may well just be done in normal maths lessons not as an option.

But regardless, it isn't just the learning, it is the exam timetable you need to consider.

Ahh, that's interesting about ad maths! I shall ask. I'm also surprised triple science is an option as when I did it you just did it in the same time as combined science.

He may have got the wrong end of the stick so I will check as soon as the info comes out

Very interesting about alternatives to ad maths though, any tips on best place for me to learn more about that? Do people tend to get tutors to help with that? He has excellent maths teachers at school and so he's just really enjoying it at the moment but we are definitely open to other options. He does like the "classroom learning" /tuition approach though (whether for fun or a qualification)

Yes, that's a fair point.
I guess ultimately he may be happy to study for pleasure and either sit the exam at another time or not at all. He does plenty of learning for pleasure anyway

There us more content in science post reform. You'd have to go at break neck speed to do triple without extra time.

Ahh! That's useful to know and helps explain the change

He's already studying bits of science GCSE with his tutor now (just for fun, although they do lots of off curriculum stuff too). But it is helpful to understand why it's changed to be an option

For the competitive maths, look on the UKMT website for details, past papers and question books. The way in is via the maths challenges - most schools do junior maths challenge / intermediate / senior but if yours doesn’t you should ask the head of maths. The kids that do well enough in the challenges qualify for the next round, which are some really fun challenges for children who like maths and have higher ability in it. If your ds has access to Dr Frost maths there are UKMT questions on there.

If your ds does really really well, there are camps and mentoring schemes. The senior maths challenge leads to the British Maths Olympiad which has two rounds - one for the top 1000 qualifiers then the next one for the top 100 or so. The kids who score highest in this do further training and selection to compete internationally. Even if your ds doesn’t get all the way through this process (which statistically most won’t) it is a very good thing to have on your UCAS form to demonstrate enthusiasm and ability for maths if your ds is headed towards a mathematical subject at university. And it’s great fun.

https://ukmt.org.uk/intermediate-challenges/intermediate-mathematical-challenge

I’d not bother with the advance maths, he can learn that at A Level. But if it’s about doing one outside of school, I’d pick German but not the GCSE route. Instead be assessed under the CEFR as that gives a continual learning and progression, and is more meaningful if he ever wants to use German professionally.

Too many variables until you see the actual offer.

However, purely in terms of logistics, Further Maths is commonly studied in the top Maths set in normal timetabled hours (possibly with an after school 'club') and History doesn't have Field Trips in the way Geography does, so is easier to learn outside the class environment.

They may, if he's a high attainer, be able to support sitting papers at the school if they are sure he is doing well at their subjects as well as at the external one - a professional tutor is more reassuring than a Mum with a Degree - particularly as it can be added to the school progress measures. However, be careful with exam boards - AQA & Edexcel would be easy to facilitate as pretty much all State Schools use them, but not all schools use OCR or EDUQAS - most do for at least one subject, though - and almost all CIE are private school exams because they offer iGCSE (not including CCEA because they aren't accredited outside NI at present).

I think as much as anything he wants to do ad maths because he really enjoys the teacher who teaches it! And he loves learning so doesnt want to drop any of the subjects, it's more a case of which one he does outside of school.

I am not sure he minds that much whether it's a GCSE or something else similar so will look up CEFR. He is more studying for pleasure though than any burning career path at this stage .

It's relatively common for students to do an additional language outside of school.

For many students this is a home or heritage language where they already speak it at home or have family in that country.

Schools are usually reasonably happy to facilitate this.

German would be a relatively easy option to do outside school,

As others have said, additional maths is not normally an option but top set are often allowed to take it without any extra timetabled lessons. This varies from school to school - some schools offer an extra lesson a week a bit like a club. Either way it's usually only offered to top set students and won't be part of the options process.

Anything with coursework is a nightmare for doing at home.

My friend's DC did Further Maths GCSE outside of school, actually self taught rather than tutors. The school were happy to host the GCSE and he did very well, he really loves maths. It would be unusual for additional maths to actually count as an option though. I know at my DC's school it's just done for the top set in the regular maths classes as they expect them to be able to cope with the pace. Same as triple science is just timetabled in the same space as individuals and offered to the higher sets.

I also know plenty who have done an additional language, again usually sitting it at school. Although that's probably usually a language they already speak at home, but schools were happy to host them sitting it.

Another vote for German via the CEFR route, assuming he's unlikely to want to take it for A Level.

Does he know what he wants to do post 16 and later? He seems like he might have a particular interest in STEM? I work in engineering and German is actually becoming quite sought after (although English is still very much the dominant language, in our sector at least). Employers generally want at least a B1 which is somewhere between GCSE and A Level.

School can enter him as an external candidate. You will likely have to pay exam costs.

I agree with a PP that most schools only offer Further Maths to the top set(s), as Further Maths builds on knowledge from GCSE Maths so they need to finish that syllabus first. It’s not usually one of the options they pick. They finish the GCSE Maths syllabus early and move onto the Further Maths subjects. It is timetabled when the other sets have maths classes. Is the GCSE options guide from previous years on the school website?

The options are usually in groups and you pick 1 subject from each group so you will have to wait for them to know if the combination he has chosen is possible. It’s not usually a free choice of any 4 subjects out of all the subjects on offer. That will largely determine which subject he would have to take outside of school. It will be a choice between the 2 subjects that are in the same group.

To answer your question though, maths and languages are easier to study independently (with some tutoring) because they are “right or wrong”. There are more resources for practicing maths and languages online and getting reliable immediate feedback.

Further Maths (with a tutor) would probably be easiest as I believe there is less new content to cover IYSWIM.

My DC are at a standard non selective state school. The top set kids can do the subjects on your list as standard within the school timetable. This is achieved by :

Starting science GCSE course in Y9 and going faster through the content so they cover everything and take the separate GCSEs

Finishing GCSE maths in Y10 (but not sitting the exam til Y11). Add Maths in Y11 plus a few extra classes with the teacher after school

Four other options in the normal options list. You can do all of the subjects on your list.

Your school may well be the same but your DS hasn't got all the info yet.

But if not, I would just ditch one of history or geog and read books outside school instead.

I think CEFR is better for recreational purposes too as it is a clear progression and about improving and learning more, not one and done like a GCSE is.

At DDs school further maths is done after school one night a week until 5pm, it is done remotely with lots of other schools in he area and a maths teacher supervising adthen they do the paperwork with assistance from the teacher.

German - I'd do Duolingo if he isn't interested in taking it at A level and look at conversational class at local college or uni, our local uni does evening ones from 14+.

Triple science will be tricky because of the practicals and is not necessary to take Science A levels.

I'd look into other things that can incorporate his interests like DoE or volunteering to learn work skills D start volunteering at a charity shop at 14 and I pay her £5 an hour

Hi, I would check if he school will take him as a external candidate and the exam boards they use. Schools do not have to offer you a space as a private candidate and do not offer you any teaching, marking of coursework etc on the subject. Also please be aware some GCSES are not accessible to private candidates e.g. GCSE Geography due to the fieldwork element, languages can also be an issue due to the spoken elements. If you take history you will need to align to the topics the school cover.

That's helpful,. I think it's useful to know which ones he can sit separately.
I will definitely be speaking to school it's just useful to work out which options are worth exploring further. He just gets real enjoyment from all these subjects so I don't want him to feel he has to drop one of them

Duolingo is fine for revision /consolidation but no use for actually getting good at a language on its own in my opinion.

He does plenty of other stuff for skills, he has heaps of hobbies both sporting and otherwise - I very much agree they need a rounded mix of experiences. But he really enjoys these subjects and he enjoys studying and is bright enough to manage the workload comfortably

Yes we realise triple science definitely is one he will need to do in school.

Will check the info again about advanced maths, but this was the impression he got from their assembly on options

I think he is likely to be fine. He might even need to pick one more subject. You are also likely to be able to find info on the school's website now even if they haven't launched it yet for your son's year group.
I think it is a national curriculum requirement that all children do science at GCSE and they either do single sciences (so three separate GCSEs) or dual award which covers all three sciences and counts as two GCSEs. At both the grammar and the non-grammar school where we live the pupils get very little say in which they do single sciences or dual award as it depends which set you are in. Only if you are at the very bottom of the set doing single sciences or the top of the set doing dual award might you be able to switch sets and therefore switch courses. Therefore, his science probably won't count as an option.
They also don't get a choice as to which maths they do as it depends on set. At the grammar, some so maths, some do add maths and some do further maths. At the non-grammar school, they either do the basic maths or the standard maths with the top set doing an additional qualification (and I can't remember now whether that is add maths or further maths). At neither school does maths count as an option. The non-grammar does offer statistics as a separate GCSE and that is an option.
At the grammar, a language is compulsory and they can choose to do a second language as an option. At the non-grammar, languages aren't compulsory and very few choose two languages as that uses up two of their four options. Depending on your school's approach, German may or may not use up an option.