3 year GCSE/BTEC in science

[lloydjam]

Hello

I would be grateful for some information please. I have just seen that my daughter (currently in year 9) is studying this 3 year course. Please can someone let me know what this is and please be honest with me as to how this is percieved. Is this just one GCSE etc??

I was hoping she would go on to study triple science and so this doesnt seem right to me.

Any info would be grateful please before I speak to the school.

I think you need to be clear about which qualification she is taking. Is it GCSE? Or BTEC? Don't think it can be both. In my DSs' school, practically everyone took triple, anyone who did double was looked down upon. But practically, double can be fine, especially if you don't want to do science A levels (it's one module less in phys, chem and biol) and I know people who have gone on to medicine and vetting with double. Don't know anything about BTEC but I perceive it is less well thought of. Good luck sorting it out.

yes, Double does not close any doors at all and, in many schools, is all that they offer if the school finds it hard to shoe horn the extra work into the curriculum. Both courses are equally difficult but triple covers more work.

I have enjoyed teaching BTEC science and it has great value if done well. It is a vocational qualification, based in the work place rather than the academic. As a result, you cannot follow on to A level sciences from it. It has been roundly trashed and fiddled with by the exam boards because it does suffer from an image problem (not completed fairly)

Is your dd doing a one year BTEC in year 9, followed by a GCSE in years 10 and 11? I have heard of this but am not sure of the merits (other than killing time until year 10)

Btw, if she is doing this then she will end up with two GCSE grades in Science and will be following double science from year 10 onwards