To those with DC in year 11 studying AQA Business Studies...

[WishfulThanking]

We have been told that it will be marked with letter grades rather than the new 9-1 system, but I am not sure whether to trust this. Huge back story with an incompetent teacher who mysteriously has disappeared so we have had practically no info on what is happening with Business Studies. All their coursework is being redone because the teacher cocked up somehow, but no idea what the real story is. We haven't had a teacher to discuss this subject with at Parents Evening since...well, I can't remember when. It's appalling actually.

Anyway, gone off on a tangent there, the reason I am asking what is happening with the Business Studies syllabus is I want to buy one of those CGP AQA revision guides and there are two versions of the book, the new 9-1 specification and an older one, and don't know which to get.

Current year 11s are the last year group that will get the A*-U grades. Our Y10s are now on the reformed spec.

My Ds is current year 11 and doing AQA syllabuses (syllabi??) (not Business studies though) and all his subjects are new 9-1.

I ordered a few AQA revision guides over the summer and they dont match the course books though, not sure what is going on there.

DS has been told he will receive 9-1 in all subjects except Business Studies and Computer Science where it will be the letters system. I wonder why its different between ours, Gin and Sunny's schools .

That's worrying about the revision guides. I got the GCP 9-1 revision books for AQA which were around £5-6 for quite a few subjects earlier in the year but today have seen they've brought out bigger and better ones for about £18 . I don't know whether to get these as well.

I was going to stick with my revision guides and buy exam papers as theyre more useful to my DS (who thinks he knows it all!) - but just realised they wont have old exam papers

Sunny's DS doesn't seem to be doing Business but Business GCSE is one of the last to reform. The first 9-1 exams in Business are definitely June 2019.

Link to the new spec

www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/business-subjects/gcse/business-8132

Link to the previous spec

www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/business-subjects/gcse/business-subjects-and-economics-4130

All GCSEs taken in 2018 will be marked 9-1. If you've been told Business and computing are the only A* -G ones the school are using then they must be iGCSEs.

titchy

There are some GCSEs which will only be 9-1 from 2019.

Oh just seen Manchesters link - how peculiar I thought everything was changing for 2018...

Apologies!

GCSE Business in 2018 is definitely A*-G - whilst the subject was in the first round of reforms for A level, its last round for GCSE (how's that for fairness )

It will depend on the board your child is taking and the subject. Some boards have an overlap where the school could have chosen to be the last year of one syllabus which overlaps with the first year of a different syllabus for the same subject (just to confuse it further).

Subsequently DS is taking 6 that will be A-Gs and 5 which are 9-1. He is a bit gutted that his 2 best subjects (and ones he think he might have gotten 9s for) are still graded A-G!

DS has been told he will receive 9-1 in all subjects except Business Studies and Computer Science where it will be the letters system.

Yes-my DS has been told the same-he is doing business and computer science. I believe his friend at another school is also doing PE gcse which will be graded in letters as well.

I didn't think they were iGCSEs though?!

There are three "phases" of reform, English and maths changing to 9-1 grades this year, other E Bacc subjects next year and everything else 2019. Everything 9-1 by 2019.

I used to work in policy for an awarding body and we spent years trying to get everyone to internalise this but it was so hard!

DS has been told he will receive 9-1 in all subjects except Business Studies and Computer Science where it will be the letters system.

100% NOT true on the Computer Science front. This year's Year 11s are doing the new 9-1 syllabus with a 20 hour NEA worth 20%. Unless he is doing another qualification on it is just being called Computer Science, which happens often. Every year I get students saying they have done a Computing GCSE and it's turned out to be the Cambridge Technical or iMedia or similar.

Definitely get that confirmed!!

I wish schools would make it clear exactly what the kids are studying

In my experience, we do. There are usually options evenings separate to parents evening to explain and every school I know produces options booklets. That and it's easier than ever to check online. However, so many skim read options booklets, don't come to options evenings or don't look into the courses offered-just go by the name of the subject (certainly not all but a decent amount do)
I had even had a Year 11 tell me he was going to miss his "ICT NEA" with me yesterday due to an appointment and how I was exasperated at the fact he is not doing ICT but Computer Science, which is plastered everywhere and said by me frequently, means we can't win!

Sorry-my mistake, it's not computer science, it's graphics that's still in A-G!
DC's computer science is 1-9.

DS is doing ICT GCSE which I understand will be a letter grade.

Correct ragged. Your DS if current Year 11, will be the last ever year to do the GCSE in ICT in the summer of 2018 and will be letter grades, as a result of the qualification not being renewed under the exam changes brought in by Gove.