Additional Science confusion

[flusteredandtired2]

I'm either confused or getting old or both but can someone in the know please tell me why my local comp has GCSE results for Biology, Physics, Chemistry AND Additional Science? I thought Additional Science was the other three and that you would therefore take a GCSE in Additional Science that included the other three not four separate GCSE's to include Bio,Phy,Chem and Additional Science. The number of entries is different so I know that those taking the three subjects didn't also necessarily take the Additional Sci exam. I am so confused. The pass rate for the Add Sci was really low for a school that apparently has a reputation for its science! Can't we just bring back the 3 original subjects like the good old days, I understood it then.

Core science is 1 GCSE (a bit of all three)

Core plus Additional Science is the equivalent of the Double Award (2 GCSEs a bit more of all 3). Usually Core is done one year and additional the next

Then you go to Physics, Chemistry and Biology 3 separate GCSEs (which some people call Triple Science)

Some students will do Additional Science in Year 11, and others will do Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

It will be lower ability children taking additional science - hence the low pass rate and the higher ability children taking the three separate sciences.

Thanks to everyone that responded, I think I get it now. I wrongly thought that Additional Science WAS the 3 separate subjects but I see now that there's Core then Additional then Bio, Phy and Chem. Thanks everyone.

webwiz at our school that is not the case some of the most able children in the year have done core and additional (my ds was one) to enable them to do more arts/humanities/languages.If you do 3 sciences but want to take no science at A level then doing triple severely limits your options ,some do history ,geography ,RS and a second MFL for example

Flustered just to add in core and additional there are separate exams for bio,physics and chem and they are then aggregated to get the result.My ds had separate teachers for all three subjects

It is complicated and is going to change again but my husband has just launched some apps see www.smartstudy.co.uk/ to help with GCSE science written by Ann Fullick and she has advised us the following;
Core Science done by every child is an element of Biology Physics and Chemistry B1 P1 C1.
Additional Science is B1&B2, P1&P2 & C1&C2
The brightest students can do all three subjects which are Biology B1&B2&B3 Physics P1&P2&P3 and Chemistry C1&C2&C3
What also complicates things is there is four exam boards AQA is the biggest and the specification has just changed so if you buy any resources be careful to check the spec.

Webwiz - my son took science/additional science & is not lower ability. maybe that is the case in some schools but not all. DS was encouraged to take triple science but wanted to use the spare option for DT. DS will be taking Physics A Level next year & was told only yesterday by his Physics teacher, that it made no difference whether you took the double or the triple option, particularly when you are talking about A* pupils.

Not wishing to cause an argument, just stating there are other reasons for choosing one over the other. :-))

Double is certainly not lower ability!

Our school offers- triple to anyone level 6+, double to everyone else apart from very low ability who do BTEC.

A friend who is off to Oxford University in September did double! Because triple takes an extra option block a lot of humanity and arts students do the double, so they can do another GCSE that isn't science. My friend nailed A stars in double and would no doubt have done the same in triple too, but chose Histiry instead and nailed that at A star as well! She is certainly not lower ability!

My son did double, as he wanted to do 2 languages at GCSE and is doing Physics at a RG University now. It didn't make any difference.

I was just presuming it was in the school the OP was talking about as the results for additional science were much lower than the triple sciences - when pupils have to opt in to triple science and give up an option choice then the ability spread taking double will be wider.

Just answering the OP's question