Year 11 GCSE support thread 4 - more exams

[HSMMaCM]

Anyone got English tomorrow ?

My dd's school they do triple science as standard, but some found the igcse chemistry hard so we're allowed to drop it and just do biol and physics. She finds u3 generally easier to do really well on because it's more calculation and understanding.

She would be half way through at this point if she hadn't done FM as an extra. I think she was revising geog and maybe some computing today but now she's in the garage having half an hour or so on the exercise machines.

Clearly revision has messed with dds head. She is making me watch High School musical 2 with her ( my ears are bleeding)

Dd is doing triple science, but took core in year 9, double in year 10. I think and hope this will make it easier.

Dingit, that sounds sensible. The DCs and the other local comp do one of the triple sciences in Y10 and the other two in Y11 which is better than all 3 in one go IMHO but only those achieving at least a B in mock at end of Y9 have the option to do triple at the DCs school, which I also think is sensible.

You are wrong :) I didn't understand it either.

Double science gives two GCSEs although all three are still studied. Triple science gives three separate GCSEs and is more in depth. There is also single science which, you've guessed it, gives one GCSE.

DS had to explain it to me.

That's how most of the schools do it soup, but the sciences can still be taken completely separately. So you can take physics and chemistry and not biology (for example). DD is taking triple science snd if she passes it all, will be awarded separate GCSEs for chemistry biology and physics, which have been taught by three separate teachers, so clemency is right too.

Double Science is taught by 3 different teachers at DCs school 9and every other one I've known.

Basically there used to be: 3 papers for Biology, Chemistry and Physics; B1, B2, and B3, C1 C2 and C3, and P1, P2 and P3. If you sat B1, C1 and P1 you got a qualification in Core Science, for double Science you had to also sit B2, C2 and P2, AQA also offered you further additional if you then did B3, C3 and P3. However if you did B1, B2 and B3 you could instead get Biology GCSE, and C1, C2 and C3 would give you Chemistry, and P1, P2, and P3 would give you Physics. All students (double and triple) learn the information for B1 and B2, C1 and C2, and P1 and P2 - and in all schools I've known these have been taught by separate teachers. The only difference for triple science is learning and sitting the B3, C3 and P3 papers, which is how some schools offer triple Science as an option.

Lots of science teachers only sat double Science and believe it is adequate for A'level study, however there is more of a "gap" between GCSE and A'level if only double has been studied.

Yes, it's confusing. My older children all had to do triple science which is 3 GCSEs - physics, chemistry and biology. Miost of my sons' friends do that too but they chose to lighten the load by doing all 3 subjects resulting in only 2 GCSEs and doing half as many exams and basically the same course until about a term ago when the double science lot split into a different group. There is also an option if someone wanted it to do say just biology although I think just about no one is doing that at their school.

There is a huge movemeng amongst parents I think for children to do STEM subjects at A level and at university - science, maths and at university medicine and science or maths subjects and triple science is really necessary for that along with maths of course and that's because of career prospects.

Our school does double or triple science. Double leads to 2 GCSEs and triple to 3.

It's amazing how different all the experiences are depending on the exam board, the subject, the individual schools and even individual teachers. I thought that education these days was supposed to be pretty much the same for everyone.

Ds had 9 exams over the first two weeks and still has 16 to do over the next three weeks so not even halfway yet. Glad to have this break though, they do need a rest.

Well done to your dd BTM

DD is taking triple science snd if she passes it all, will be awarded separate GCSEs for chemistry biology and physics, which have been taught by three separate teachers.

Yes, because that is what triple science gives you - three separate science GCSEs. That's what I said. Double science still involves studying all three sciences with three separate teachers but involves 1 less paper per science and results in only 2 GCSEs.

Clemency, DD (and I think DS) would have happily given Physics up. Like I did back in the Dark Ages!

DH has apparently dropped DD to school for revision. Not sure what though! I am wading through DMs finances and other chores...

DD didn't emerge till 9:30 this morning, thinking it was much earlier but that's fine. She's dressed and revising more human geography - she'd estimated it would take her 6 (partial) days but she's ahead of schedule.

The double and triple if you do badly in chemistry but good in physics and biology like my boys then that balances out.
If you do a totally stand alone science GCSE as only 1 or 2 boys are doing in their year eg just biology and totally separately just chemistry then if you mess up biology there is no averaging with your chemistry. So mine are 3 with their 3 sciences, double award as the bad chemistry in a sense if made better by better results in the other two.

So mine will have two GCSEs for their 3 sciences (and someone would have 3 for triple science). If someone did instead stand alone biology and stand alone chemistry they would also have 2 GCSEs but no averaging of the grades between the two I think.

Anyway they see to be up now and in their revision rooms but I don't interfere. My daughter did GCSEs 13 years ago so we've had quite a lot of years of them.

DD says that Double Science gives you two GCSEs - core science and additional science and it's only triple science that gives you GCSEs in the specific sciences.

Ds says same as beehappys dd he's doing triple. 3 papers per subject so 9 actual exams resulting in 3 GCSES. Bio, physics and chemistry.

He's done some geography this morning and Now he's gone into town to buy some bits for his Japan trip as they are in the sale.

DD has been doing urban regeneration type stuff. She says human geography somehow manages to be really interesting (in the general ideas) but also really boring (in the details). She's just had a snack break and collared DH to do some German vocab with her. Neither of us knows german but he's better than me at approximating to the accent I think.

Thanks for all your kind comments the other day - no real news on my grandma, it's going to be a long road I think.

DS is doing triple science, he took physics last year so only has Chemistry and Biology this year. He is taking different exams to the double and single science students as the school changed exam boards part way through but left the triples alone as they had already done one (and studied the single science stuff for the other two) already.

He wants to do physics at A Level next year so I think post exams he will have to do a bit of reading to refresh it all for himself.

My sons' maths teacher emailed the boys today to say part 1 iGCSE maths was the hardest paper he has ever seen (but that presumably everyone will have found it hard so don't worry).

Mine were ordering some revision guides today by express delivery which sounds a little late in the day....

That's one of the reasons I'm glad DD's school doesn't do any exams early - presumably they're most likely to do this with subjects the kid is good at and therefore more likely to be wanting to do for A level (or related to A level subjects) so having a year off them seems unhelpful.

Yes, no one does exams early at my children's school either. There are probably pros and cons to it.

DS did maths iGCSE last year and is doing further maths iGCSE this year plus AO maths - that's the only subject his school does early, and only the top sets.

DD did Chemistry (as pat of triple) and RE early. RE is quite an easy one to do early. Top set Maths did Maths early and are doing a further maths exam this year.