What is the argument for children doing their GCSEs a year or two early?

[Mintyy]

I can't think of any.

[AmberLeaf]

My experience of this isn't great.

My son did some early, being told that it frees up time to concentrate on other subjects, he got passes, but was then told he would be taking them again and the results are 'terminal' which meant they cancelled out the previously attained grade.

Rather a stressful time and it all just seemed so disorganised.

That was at a comp with no sixth form incidently.

[AmberLeaf]

Yrs 10 and 11 were just odd though, I didn't get how taking an exam on a subject that you had been studying for 6 months as opposed to 2 yrs made any sense.

[MissScatterbrain]

Titchy - based on my local town, 2 schools without 6th form have done that and the other 2 with 6th forms haven't. This seems to be a pattern in some towns across the country (e.g one town in Herts comes to mind).

AmberLead - it is odd isn't it. I am frustrated because I am having to consider moving one of my DC for this reason...

[AmberLeaf]

My son has moved on now, but I have a younger one about to pick GCSE options. We have been told it will be different with the next GCSE cohort.

I hope so.

[morethanpotatoprints]

I think its good for dc who could do with spacing them out perhaps they can't manage them all at once. Also they can concentrate on other subjects once a few are out of the way.
If they are at school though I don't think its fair that they are always working towards a test and being taught to the test.
My dd is hoping to take a couple of GCSE's at 13, these are subjects she finds easy and will only take about a year to work towards, but this is 1 to 1 tuition and a bit different.

[creamteas]

The Informed Choices booklet is supposed to make the whole process more transparent as so many schools get it wrong when advising students on their options

Actually the Informed Choices booklet gives a completely wrong impression about entry to RG universities, let alone all the others. Every course, let alone different universities have different entry requirements, and any generic guidance is bound to be wrong. Most RG universities do not follow these 'rules' apart from in a tiny minority of the most competitive courses.

I have never seen any evidence (despite seeing 1000s of UCAS forms) that 'many schools get it wrong'. Yet this statement is repeated over and over again. Of course there are some odd choices, but that is not the same thing.

Personally I think it is politically convenient to blame these imagined schools, it means you don't have to admit that efforts to widen participation have failed.

[creamteas]

I didn't get how taking an exam on a subject that you had been studying for 6 months as opposed to 2 yrs made any sense

Early entry doesn't always mean reducing the time spent studying.

At my DCs school, they all start GCSE in year 9.

Some pupils will take some in year 10. In year 11, if they have achieved their target grades (so not just a C), they can choose more options, but they have twice as many lessons.

So they get the same amount of lesson time, just spread over different years.

[friday16]

Early entry doesn't always mean reducing the time spent studying.

At my DCs school, they all start GCSE in year 9.

So having done a year less in KS3. Very few GCSEs are ab initio, with no content assumed to have been done prior to starting the "GCSE" course.

In year 11, if they have achieved their target grades (so not just a C), they can choose more options

The argument that people wouldn't do better in a given subject, given an extra year's study, is pretty silly, though. Those "target" grades presumably allow for the missing year.

they can choose more options, but they have twice as many lessons.

Fortunately, the best 8 accountability measure will put paid to all this sort of gaming.

[hellsbells99]

1 university my DD is looking at asks for:
8 GCSEs in one sitting required at a minimum grade B, including Mathematics, English Language and 2 science subjects.
www.liv.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/physiotherapy-bsc-hons/entry-requirements/
She is going to email them as she did her maths gcse a year early - hopefully it shouldn't be a problem as she did do a further maths qualification at the end of year 11.
DD2 has also done her maths early and it doing a level 3 Algebra qualification in year 11.

[QueenOfToast]

I think that at my son's (independent) school they are given the chance to to sit for a GCSE at the end of Year 9 in a subject that they are going to drop. For example, if you've done Latin for 3 years and could probably manage a C grade, then why not take the GCSE to have something to show for the work that you've done so far. I agree that it wouldn't really count for anything when it comes to university applications but it's probably good experience, keeps up the momentum and gives young people something to work towards. Otherwise, when they've made their options choices, there's a definite tendency to stop working in the subjects that you know you're dropping.

[teacherwith2kids]

Queen, that's a bit like DS's Music GCSE, which if he does it will be taken at the end of Year 10.

A group of particularly good academic and practical musicians are being stretched through GCSE material in Year 9, then will do final parts of the GCSE in Year 10 before being able to drop it if they would like at that point.

Certainly an interesting alternative to those kids who are almost at GCSE standard but not wanting to take up a full GCSE option slot with a subject such as music that is. for most of them, a 'sideline' to their other academic interests. They may not all get As - though they are by and large also top 'academic' students - but, when combined with their Grade 5-8 in their specific instruments, it will indicate a strong 'other' interest for application forms etc. And will not affect their personal 'top 8' GCSEs at the end of Year 11...

[MissScatterbrain]

I think there is a good case for doing one or two GCSEs in year 9/10 e.g Music, Latin or if you are confident of getting an A* in Maths/English.

However, to do the majority of your GCSEs in year 10 with the intention of resitting/doing more in year 11 does not make sense. At the local comp, the additional GCSEs on offer to year 11s are often in non academic subjects such as photography, media etc.

Also it means that students will have been taking public exams every year for 4 years - all that pressure with no respite

[Mintyy]

My Yr 8 dd has been invited to do gifted and talented art but if she agrees then she must commit to taking her gcse at least one year early. Thanks for all the comments on this thread ... but I still don't really understand how this benefits her and she is the only person I am concerned about. She already does lots of extra curricular activity related to her g&t banding within the school. Plus ballet, saxophone and swimming for pleasure. I don't want her to feel under pressure to do gcses early!

[motherinferior]

M - have emailed you

[motherinferior]

Art is a hefty whack, LQ, actually. Big portfolio. Not the same as sitting an O level a year early.

[bigTillyMint]

LaQ, art isn't a "hard" subject like maths or chemistry (although DS would find it waaaaaay harder than them!), and I imagine that most DC that take it are naturally good at it, but it is very, very time-consuming. DD is doing an art GCSE (not early though!). She is predicted an A*, but it takes hours of her time. She loves doing it, but it is hard to fit in enough time with everything else!

I would have thought that taking it early might mean she has more time to devote to her other subjects in Y11.

[Mintyy]

Yes, I have heard that Art gcse is no soft option. Infact, I am sure I remember reading a thread about it on here.

[motherinferior]

Perhaps I am enormously thick, but I didn't find doing my O levels at the appropriate time left me madly unchallenged and kicking my heels . Granted, I didn't get As in them all, but then it was back in the Jurassic age.

[bigTillyMint]

No it isn't a soft option. There is a lot of research involved and everything has to be presented beautifully as well as the actual artwork.

[Mintyy]

I guess I'm not of the mindset where it is vital to push your child at school in every subject. I want her to enjoy school and have enough time for fun outside of school.

[Talkinpeace]

Mintyy
My DD is in year 11 doing her GCSEs, among them "textiles" as her fluffy option.
Good grief no. Written exams about sustainability and ethical sourcing and all that guff
the actual work with textiles and costing up her projects is a teeny bit of the whole thing
its such a shame because the "relaxing" exam is the most of a chore

if your DD is going to do Art early, be VERY VERY sure what is entailed

[MaddAddam]

I would consider Art and Maths GCSEs taken early as quite different issues. My yr9 dd is v good at Art, she might do an AS level instead of the GCSE at her school, but if they did suggest Art GCSE a year early it wouldn't bother me as in the end, as an academic type, I don't think an Art GCSE grade is that crucial. Dd1 spends a large portion of her free time on arty stuff so I think she'd enjoy it and could just give it up if she didn't.

But I'm a bit concerned (back from yr9 parents' evening yesterday) at the idea they might do maths GCSE a year early. DD1 is good at maths but not amazing - so she's on track for an A or possibly A if she did it in yr 11, but a B if she did it in yr 10. I can't see why this will be good for her at all. It seems a bit of a disaster to get a B at maths, which is such a crucial subject and important for university entry right across the sciences, if you could get an A. So I might just refuse to let her take it early (not sure yet if you can do that). They do a Further Maths qualification in yr 11 if they do the GCSE; that might be fine for the students who'd get A easily anyway but not the more marginal ones like dd1.