GCSEs advice pls from teachers/mums who've been there before!....

[christine34]

Hi, my DD (year 9) came home with a letter to say that she should attend a trip out in July which would incorporate some of things they're learning in Science. It said it's important to attend as it entails areas which will be in GCSE which will be taken in year 10 (???). I obviously don't understand the system (thought I did!) as I thought GCSEs were taken at the end of year 11? Can anyone throw any light on this? Are they taken again in year 11? Is it the same for all 3 core subjects (and any of the others?). If it's relevant(?), DD is in set 1 for all 3 core subjects. Thanks so much.

They take them in modules. Dd who is in Yr 9 has just taken her first (out of two) chemistry module (she is doing double sciences, not triple); but I believe not all schools start quite so early.

Christine, you'll find that GCSE work is spread right through years 10 and 11 (and it seems to be spreading downwards to year 9, as Cory says, as well in some schools). They do coursework and module exams in both years, and there's often the possibility of re-taking module exams in the hope of getting a higher mark the second time (the final result is made up of all the highest marks achieved in each element). It's often the case that by the time they get to those final exams in the summer of year 11 a big chunk of the final mark is already in the bag.

All very different from the Dark Ages when I was taking school exams, when it was all or nothing on the exams at the end of two years of study! Re-taking meant taking the whole set of exams again.

As already said, GCSEs are done in modules, normally across Y10 and Y11. They can retake modules they do badly on and, in many schools, they start early and can even take modules in Year 9 (this is true of Science where I live).

Yes, science GCSEs are completely crazy. Modules taken and retaken over 2 years (3 years now, by the sound of it). Some modules are just multiple choice! Learn a bit, take an exam. I'm amazed that anyone gets lower than an A.

Thanks, Cory - that is early to start!
Thanks, LondonMother - it's good to know that they often get a chance to re-take them in the hope of a higher mark as it's not that I don't think she can achieve a good mark, more the fact that I don't want her to feel pressured, i.e. less revision time essentially?! Yes, agree is all very different now - was good old CSEs and O levels in my day and all it all hung on one exam!!! Thank you.

With the new science GCSE, at least 50% of the mark has to be earned/submitted in the summer of Year 11.

Actually I am surprised that 1 out of 2 modules has been done in year 9. If its only two modules that means its double not triple science.

And as Amerryscot says 50% of marks need to come from the sitting when certification takes place, that can be ISA/controlled assessments, as well as exam papers as such. There will also be fewer resits, and I think the latest mark (whether higher or lower) is the one that counts. GCSEs are constantly changing!

However OP this trip could either be some kind o Biology ISA/Controlled assessment. Or more likely good preparation for part of the syllabus. I don't think a compulsary field trip is still part of Biology GCSE.

You do have to be prepared that from quite early in year 10 your child will be doing work in various subjects that count towards their GCSE.

Thanks for advice, much appreciated (particularly merryscot, I seem to recall some good advice from you on a previous post)!! thanks.

You're welcome, Christine :)

If you are entered for foundation and taught only that part of the syllabus you cannot get an A, maximum C.

Sorry, careless writing, mummytime; it's not the first module dd has done; it's the first half of the chemistry part of the double sciences. My bad.

The GCSE is changing, my son is in year 10 and did 3 1/2 modules last year, another 3 already this, and will do two big ones this summer, as well as at least a couple of ISAs. However the rules change for next year, in fact the final syllabuses are only just being agreed.

BTW the paper 3s are much harder and more indepth than the 2s, and build on that knowledge. Which is why those with double science find the jump to A level harder.

Some students don't get it, because a lot of them don't really expect to work themselves to pass the exams. However the paper 3s are harder conceptually.

mummytime in our experience the 'paper 3s' were not harder than the 2s. They were smaller in content but required more conceptual thinking which tends to come naturally to some children in any case (most often those who will choose separate sciences to start with) and so for them the paper 3s are not harder.

You have to be very careful when interpreting the statistic that children who have done separate sciences fare better at A level - it's not necessarily that they have been better prepared for A level, there is almost certainly an element of those children being more suited to science A level being more likely to have chosen/been encouraged to take separate sciences to start with.

I think science GCSEs are easy for children who are scientifically inclined, but when thinking all children should easily get A grades you have to remember some do not find science easy and will struggle to get top grades even if they work hard in many cases.

At our school you cannot do separate science unless you have a level 6+ at KS2. So, automatically, as Mummytime says, there is a greater chance that those who do separate sciences are going to do - on average - better at A level than those who do double award.

I also think, admittedly from observation of one student. That if you have only done double, and so haven't been introduced to that conceptual thinking, you find the transition to A'level harder. Although I also know a lot of science teachers who only did double, as that is all their schools offered.

You may be right mummytime! My sample size is similarly small and unrepresentative, but the necessary A level conceptual thinking was already there before taking even core science GCSEs, let alone module 2 or 3. It wouldn't have made any difference if he'd done double or triple. It just makes me wonder to what extent these skills are learned and to what extent they are there already (I'm fairly sure there is an element of both).

DS is sitting his GCSE's this Summer (Yr11) and they haven't let them sit ANY Maths or science modules yet - they all sit all of them in one go (like we used to).

Only Coursework and one latin set text have been taken so far, which does put pressure on them, but then they also learn & revise the whole syllabus, not just learn & forget each module at a time.

Must work, his school is a highly rated grammar.

Interesting post, Milliways...! As you said, it must work! I just assumed (obviously wrongly), that GCSEs were taken at the end of year 11 - I realise there are modules involved,but didn't realise parts of the GCSE were actually taken in year 10 and onwards.... you live and learn.

Exactly what they take when now depends very much on the choices made by the school and the teachers - you will have to get more detail from the school on exactly what your DD is doing when, and if she can retake any modules. It might be worth you asking if retakes can be done, how many are free, as you might be expected to pay for multiple retakes.

Kez100, I think you mean level 6 at Key Stage 3 - otherwise triple science entrants would be few and far between!

Some schools now complete all GCSE's in Year 10.

Hi, so this is my first post !! and I thought I would add what I have been told about the GCSE modules - I don't know if anyone knows the answer but is it true that if they take modules it shows up, and as such Universities are using both marks in the application process . That it can be a negative thing to take retakes and that the students that are getting high grades on the 1st go do better in the application process. To be honest I don't agree with the system as I don't think it shows a true reflection of the student, I know that my daughter has not tried as hard because she thinks she has a safetynet, how ever much I nag her - and it costs each time - it has cost me quite alot over the last two years.

I think the only times modules count is for A levels when UMS marks for modules are entered on Cambridge Entrance papers (most other Uni's don't ask). Never heard of GSE module marks being released.