Kicked off Triple science into Double science in Yr11

[Moleen]

Hello this is my first post so please excuse my ignorance :) My DS completed his first round of Triple science GCSEs in the summer achieving A - Chem, B - Biology and B - Physics .. everyone was happy, however, he has just completed his mocks and got C,C,D in the above subjects. The school have hooked him out of the Triple class and put him in the Double without any consultation, the problem we have is he is planning to take A level Chem and Biology next year as he wants to be a physiotherapist

We are stressing as I can only assume this will hinder his A levels as he wont have the same ground knowlege as a Triple award student. The school arent very receptive to any change regardless of the individuals needs and I dont know how far to push it! DS is begining to doubt himself "maybe the schools right, they must know something" being more of a sceptic I think it is more to do with the schools overall grades and not my DS.

Any advice would be great, thanks

Moleen

You can still study A level Science subject with Double award, it is the norm in most schools to only offer double award

I would try to discuss with HOD and ask for another opportunity to prove himself. C grades are passes afterall

I would contact school for more information and get under the exact reason for the move. I thought mocks were for kicking kids up the backside as much as anything.

I know my daughters friend has just been moved from double to Btec and my daughter who is D,D target (but may manage to scrape a C on core given borderline module grades) hasn't. It didn't affect us, but did seem a strange move considering how many modules they have already done and how far through year 11 we are.

Thanks for your replies, I'm waiting for the school to get back to me. We feel the same that he should be given a chance to prove himself and the mocks are a kick up the backside :)

Hmm.. A couple of things:

A lad I knew last year got As for the two 'dual award' modules in all 3 sciences, but fared more poorly in the final 'triple' modules, so ended up with lower grades overall. This will affect his Uni applications, and he would have been in a stronger position with two A than AAB.

Anecdotally, someone I know teaches Physics at sixth form, at a college where they get good results for Physics. She says the differentiating factor between students is their interest and passion for the subject; and their GCSE grades. She can't identify who did triple and who did dual award without referring to the records. It certainly isn't clear from their performance in class or in exams at A level.

Some students have told me it's 'easier' to do A level having done triple, because you've covered more ground already. But it's by no means essential.

He will need Bs in his chosen sciences or additional science in order to get on the A-level course anyway. So if he's got C/D on his mocks then without a serious kick up the backside he wouldn't end up on the courses he wanted anyway. The modules get harder, the Y10 core science modules are the easiest followed by the additional science and extension components.

Was he warned of the consequences of not achieving in his mocks? The school could be protecting him getting onto his chosen A-levels by dropping him to double as a previous poster said. Physiotherapy is a very difficult degree to get onto so he will need to be very motivated with good grades and substantial work experience so perhaps this is the wake up call he needs?

I would say it was a sensible route considering he only has CCD in his modules so far. He's better off getting B's in the 2 gcse's than C's in the triple.

However, it may be to do with the school's results as they only count towards the science pass rate if they get both 2 science grades if they are doing double and if doing triple they must pass all 3. If they only pass two out of 3 of the triple science it doesn't count towards the science pass rate. Damn silly really.

However I still would say its in his interest to drop and just do the double award and wont hinder his progress onto A level.

What happened in his mocks to give him these low results? Does that reflect what YOU think he'll achieve?

If so, he might not only have to rethink not only his A levels but his career too - he'll need AAB in relevant subjects at A level to do physiotherapy. Best way to that is with single subject GSCEs as a grounding...

Does his school let him do A level sciences with only a dual award? Many don't .... (if he's moving on to 6th form college, that would be different and would give him more options)

Quite often the A level Chemistry students I teach have only done double, and often outperform the triple students. It's not a barrier.

Not a barrier. And probably the right choice. But it's a big drop in a short time, and I'd want to know what was going on with him.

I don't think there is much point in studying separate sciences unless you are going to get A/A. It is much better to focus on Additional and get an A alongside an A/A at core, rather than come away with BCC in Triple.

It might be useful if the school took you through his actual module grades and then you can see for yourself how they all fit together.

reading This thread with interest. My DC so far has A in Physics A in Biology and A in Chemistry sat in summer whilst in Y9 . Is now in Y10 and yesterday sat another 3 papers in Physics, Biology and Chemistry. DC does not like science and says will not want to do science at A levels but because of results and aptitude will be put in for 3 seperate sciences(DC is in top set of top set IYSWIM) My question is would DC not be better off doing Additional Science rather than 3 seperate sciences? Then would be able to concentrate more on A/A 's in subjects likely to do be studying when doing A Levels

The trouble is they so rarely know what they want to do in Year 10 that it's best to keep their options open. If your child is bright and coping well with triple science then it's probably best to leave them. They may decide in a year's time they want to become a Dr!

Thankyou Kritur I know it makes sense to keep all options open and you are right she doesnt know what she wants to do yet other than on Monday night it was definitely not science! But she came in yesterday a lot happier saying papers were fine although thought Chemistry was "rock hard"!