Science mandatory for GCSE homeschooled private candidate?

[mamtaberi]

Hi Mums,

My daughter, 14, has chosen homeschooling. She is appearing as private candidate in GCSE exams. She recently scored A* in GCSE Mathematics. Compared to physical sciences, she is really interested and keen in social sciences like Sociology, Psychology and Economics.

Question 1:
Our challenge is regarding subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Not that she is not good at those, but whether any of these is mandatory for her to take at GCSE level. Spending time in these eats away from her time in subjects she is deeply interested in, sports and free play.

We've heard that English Language and Mathematics are mandatory (even if you are a private candidate), but we are not clear about whether the same is true for Sciences.

Question 2:
We've also heard that one should take 5 GCSE subjects at a minimum, if you are a private candidate. Would you know if this is correct? We are going for English Language, Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, and remaining two between Sociology / Psychology / Economics.

GCSEs are not mandatory. Even for maths and English.

No GCSE’s are mandatory, but for pretty much everything she’ll need 5 GCSE’s including English Language and Maths. Doesn’t need science - only matters if she wants to do science A Level.

I think it depends on whether or not your DD intends to do A levels at a college/school or via HS.

At my DD's 6th form college (which probably had the lowest entry requirements in the county) students needed at least 5 GCSEs (including Maths and Eng Lan) grade 4 to do A levels. Individual A levels had their own requirement for e.g. Maths was a minimum grade 7 and Psychology required at least a 4 or 4:4 (combined) in a science.

Psychology A level is quite scientific, involves studying brain structure, scientific methods etc. so I think your DD would be at a disadvantage without at least one science, as I say, at DD's college you wouldn't be allowed to do it without one.

I think a lot of competitive Unis prefer Psychology students to study an A level science (sometimes including Psychology) and obviously without a science GCSE you can't do the science A level although maybe your DD doesn't want to follow that path.

Are you doing GCSEs or IGCSEs?

I have no knowledge of home educating or the guidelines but I would imagine surely that having science subject(s) is pretty core to education up until 16

Also depends on what the child is looking to do later on/career-wise

Surely having as broad an education as possible up to GCSE is the best thing?

depends on what her next steps are. No decent school offering alevels, or decent uni course are going to accept just 5 GCSE’s.

Also when it comes to university, if a child is aiming for a top 10/leading university then having only 5 GCSES is going to put at a distinct disadvantage…it’s the bare minimum you need to get into a decent course/university…unless things have changed massively in the last decade or so

There are other Science type options available for iGCSE that may appeal though.
For example it's possible to study Human Biology instead of ordinary Biology. This would be a good fit with sport.
There is also iGCSE Environmental Management that would be a good fit with social sciences.

People are making a lot of assumptions.

Yes questions might well be raised about a non-SEN child educated in mainstream with only 5 GCSEs.

But there are many different routes taken by people and universities - even Oxbridge - are often very happy to take the unorthodox.

I know kids with places at RG and Oxbridge who have a very strange mix of qualifications, often not taken at the same time.

Kids who have done 2 GCSEs a year since they were 11 and an A level a year since they were 14.

Ones who only have 5/6 in total.

If you are extremely talented/proficient in one particular area, they really don't give a damn if you haven't got GCSE chemistry if everything relevant to the course stacks up.

Think of some of the kids who go to university to study maths at very young ages. They haven't got GCSE history or geography or drama... and nobody cares.

In our area 2 out of three of the secondaries standardly do 10-12 GCSE or GCSE equivalent, although at least one will be taken at a younger year.

That's a lower number than they used to - dd1 who took hers in 2018 had 16 GCSEs.

Personally I think doing 8-9 well is better than doing more, but when they talk to parents they vastly support doing more GCSEs as it broadens what they can do.

Where are you? 16 GCSEs in 2018 is a lot. That was the first year where most GCSEs were sat under the reformed spec, with no CW and all exams (this is in England tho I should clarify). DS did 10 GCSEs in 2019 and he was drowned out with the number of exams – there were two separate weeks where he had nine exams in each week. Someone doing 16 GCSEs must have had at least 40 exams over a five-week period, that's eight a week as a conservative estimate.

I agree definitely better to take 8 well than 12 spread thinly.