AQA Triple Science- Have Y10 done 'the practical' already? Or was that just the 'C1' prac??

[Tansie]

Still a bit confused about double and triple! It was my understanding that if DS opted for triple science, he'd sit 9 exams next summer (Y11), which I thought would be P1, 2 & 3; C1, 2 & 3 and B1, 2 & 3... which beggars the question why don't they do the '1's along with the Double Science pupils right now (who are doing Core)? Are they the same exam??

Then DS trips home announcing they've been told that the whole class has 'done well' in a prac- good-oh, says I, which prac? Presumably an end-of-Y10 internal exam? But no. Apparently it goes towards his actual presumably Chemistry GCSE mark- which he allegedly sits next summer.

I don't geddit!

Anyone?!

I should add that there's no swapping between double and triple as the syllabi are apparently different, despite all being AQA..

From what I understand people who are doing Core and Additional science will do the same exams as those doing triple.

Core Science is B1, C1, P1. Additional is Core and B2, C2, P2. Triple is Additional and B3, C3, P3. They do some of the same modules, it just happens that triple will do more.

At DD's school the children doing triple have done the Chemistry ISA and the GCSE Chemistry exam this summer - the rest is next year. AQA

At her friend's school, they have done the Biology ISA and the GCSE Biology exam this summer.

The double Science students at DD's school did the Chemistry ISA (a different one, AFAIK) and C1, B1, P1 which if they pass gets them Core science and then they go on to take C2, B2 and P2 next summer.

If he's doing triple science, the three GCSEs have to have all exams in one session at end of the two year course, ie linear. As Core and Additional are discrete GCSEs, they can be examined at the end of Year 10 and Year 11, respectively. In the two year triple science courses, he will have one ISA for each GCSE that will count (the school can do three I think for each science, and choose the best if they have time to do so). The B1, C1 and P1 exams he sits next year will be the same as Core Science (and B2, C2 and P2 the same as Additional Science ones). So he will have nine exams at end of year 11, if the timetable stays the same as this and previous years, the 2 and 3 exams will be on the same day.

As fuckweasel says.

We can thank Mr Gove for this. It's apparently to stop kids resitting exams in an attempt to finally get a 'C' grade.

Wot's an ISA? Independently something'ed Assessment?

Tilly so at your DD's school, have the Triple DC finished chemistry GCSE altogether?

Still, therefore can't get why the triple science DC can't insure against 'failure' by also doing double as well? If it's possibly the same exams?

X posted with newfie- (Canadian??!)- ah- I might have known.

I wonder, will our DC be the ones who in years hence will talk about their education as being 'Goved'? Like some DC of the 70s can categorised their education as being victim to say the phonetics of the day? So they can't spell to save themselves?

ISA = Investigative Skills Assignment.
Students cannot be double entered for Core+Additional AND a separate science as insurance. The exam papers for C1, C2 etc for triple science are definitely the same, sat in the same sitting as Core and Additional students. Some schools (as above) will do one science (eg Chemistry) in one year, as long as the papers are sat and the ISA is submitted in the same session, that's fine. To further complicate things, an option to do Core + Additional + Further Science equates to three separate GCSEs, with the same content as triple science. I don't think many schools do this option though.

Oh, and in answer to your thread title; if it's Chemistry GCSE then the ISA will be from either C2 or C3 topics, not C1!

At DS's school they don't decide who is doing Triple until they have sat their Core exams at the end of Y10.
So DS has just done (I believe) P1, C1 and B1. He has also done ISAs in all of these.

Then in Y11 the Double Science lot will sit P2, B2 and C2 (along with any ISAs if there are any) So these pupils will come out with Core and Additional Science (double)
And the Triple Science lot will sit P2, B2, C2, P3, B3, C3 (along with any relevant ISAs) These pupils will come out with Core, Additional and Further Additional Science (triple)

Ds is predicted to get B in B1, a C in C1 and an A* in P1. That will not be enough for Triple Science I fear..

"The exam papers for C1, C2 etc for triple science are definitely the same, sat in the same sitting as Core and Additional students." But DS, in Y10 isn't taking C1, 2 etc with the double pupils (The Y10 doubles only take the '1's this year). Will next year's Y10 be taking them (the level '1's) with him, as a Y11 as part of his triple?

And how can numbernine's DC be allowed to make a decision about double versus triple after Y10?? If what you say, fuck is true (and I do not doubt you!).

Is that because they follow the core/additional/further syllabus? Which our school dropped as they felt or recognised that FE and employers only recognised triple-as-three-discrete-subjects? So what fuck describes is only applicable if your school is one of the dwindling number who still do the three as 3 science GCSEs as opposed to P,C and B?

Sadly, ds does not get to decide, Triple Science is offered to the 60 students who perform highest in their Core Science exams at the end of Y10. Then in Y11 those 60 pupils study Triple Science and they are expected to cover all that material (double and triple course syllabus) the same amount of lesson time as the remaining 140 who are doing Double.

Yes, he will sit his unit 1 papers next year with the Year 10 Core students. The decision to change from Core + Additional to 'triple' (as in Core + Additional + Further NOT B/C/P) can only be taken if they follow this route from start of course. My previous school discounted the Core + Additional + Further route for the reasons you state.

To sum it up, all current Science GCSEs have only terminal assessment. I suspect the Core + Additional route will change and Gove will bring in 'Dual Award' again, so the equivalent to Core + Additional in one double GCSE sat at end of Year 11 only.

Feel free to ask more! (Disclaimer: my knowledge as a recently ex-Science GCSE co-ordinator goes up to end of last year as I have thankfully left the English education system! But should still be ok for current Year 10).

numbernine- so yours do Triple via the core/additional/further syllabus? Not C,B, & P route?

Tansie yes, I think so! "Just" physics and biology next year, unless it's a disaster and they want to resit!
Just to be clear, at their school they start the science GCSE course in Y9 and decide at the start of Y10 who is double/triple.

We do core, additional and further additional as it gives us more flexibility so my triple class in year 10 have just sat the core exams so only have 6 exams next summer. We thought it was better than doing the bio, chem and physics route as that ties them into triple.
I have 2 students who have decided to opt out of triple and will be joining the double class next year. This wouldn't have been possible doing the exams the other way.

Sounds very much like your DS has just done his Chemistry ISA as they released the material for it a couple of week ago for 2015 entries. If the practical is either temperature and rates or something to do with soft/hard water then it definitely is.

Tansie, yes, it looks like it. He sat three separate exams, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and these are called Core, so yes, it appears we are doing Core, Additional, Further. Sorry if I confused the issue earlier on...

Shame for ds really, he does not get on with Chemistry at all but loves Biology and Physics, it would have been nice if he could have concentrated just on those??

Thanks very much every one for the explanations! I am definitely 'the wiser'! I must say one reason DS 'chose' triple was because he's a lot less keen on Bio but doing Triple (as in P/C/B) his Bio won't drag his other 2 subjects' mark down. He, too, is doing 'fast pace (studying all 3 in the same time slots as the others are doing double) which is a pity as he'd be far better off doing it 'normal pace' but the school don't offer that. God knows why they think the DC need 11 GCSEs, but that's another topic! They select who can do triple at the end of Y9 and tbf, the vast majority get A or A* so I guess they know what they're doing! But we did have a wobble a term ago where we investigated him dropping back to double but it isn't possible.