Choosing Options this year?

[gillybeanz]

Just thought I'd start a thread to share opinions and ask questions/ advice on option choices.
Hoping it gets more than the few responses that individuals get.

Mine has to choose hers in April, I believe and will take 8

Compulsory: Music, Maths, Eng x 2, single Science, German or French, and a choice of History/ Geography or Art/Drama/Citizenship

and an extra subject of either French, or Double Science.

[Piggywaspushed]

Errmmmm... I'm not confused.. I do agree a broad education is good for many(but back in the day the sciences were kept apart and on one made anyone do all three..) but there are lots of ways to define 'broad' and EBacc is an academic definition of board. (ie rigorous, which is not the same!)

In the 70s there were fewer people who went to uni and fewer subject - by far- to choose from. Now that students do fewer GCSEs on the whole than they did five or so years ago, the option choices are being distinctly narrowed for many children. It's already had a knock on effect in a lot of schools, killing off some GCSEs.

[Piggywaspushed]

Oh, and by the way, it's still government policy! One of the less brief ones, as evidenced by the number of DCs on this thread who are being forced/ encouraged. cajoled down that route!

[AlexanderHamilton]

The thing is - ebacc is too narrow. Their definition of what counts as a humanities subject for example. Dd isn’t doing ebac because she’s chosen RS instead of history or geography. I don’t feel her subject choices are any less rounded.

Ds’s school is unusual in that it is not offering combined (double) science but all students have to take at least two out of the three single sciences. That suits him as he has a huge thing against billy loft (he’s autistic) but I worry it forces others into Triple thus restricting their other options.

[Piggywaspushed]

I am not a science teacher so live in constant confusion but I genuinely didn't think you could choose individual sciences any more (that became triple science, didn't it?). Even the now - pretty much mothballed- single science covered all three sciences??

We need a science teacher on the thread!

[AlexanderHamilton]

I was very surprised piggy & even spoke to the science department to clarify but yes, it is allowed however it’s very unusual for a school to offer it in this way.

[AlexanderHamilton]

Triple science isn’t actually a qualification in the same way that double (combined) science is. It’s simply a shorthand way of saying someone is taking three separate GCSE’s in Biology, Physics & Chemistry so there is no reason a school can’t allow a child to only take two of those subjects.
Whether that’s good or bad educationally is a whole other debate.

[Piggywaspushed]

No ,this is true : they get separate science GCSEs: like you, I have just never heard (outside of a few private schools) of them being offered in this way, guessing because it's tricky to staff and timetable. I think your DS is lucky!

[Taffeta]

DS is at a state school and doing separate Biology, Physics & Chemistry GCSE. It’s compulsory.

[AlexanderHamilton]

I think he is lucky. He can’t cope with certain aspects of human biology in a very extreme way which would have affected his grade in a combined science qualification.

[Piggywaspushed]

Yes Taffetta but all three : which most schools call triple science. Combined science is fewer exams, but also all three sciences!

I was expressing surprise at schools offering students two or one of the sciences as a standalone.

[Taffeta]

Ah I see sorry misunderstood.

[spacecadet48]

We had IGCSE options discussion today. We had a long chat about the impact for uni choices in the future. My DD has to do- math's, English language, English literature, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and has to choose a language which is Spanish.

She has three choices and she has chosen Music, Geography and Religious Studies.

Good luck!

[gillybeanz]

spacecadet

Is there not a separate pathway for those not very good at Science, is it compulsory for everyone?
My dd would be worried sick as she will just manage single combined and her teachers think she might just scrape the old C whatever that number is. 3 separate ones would mean either 3 very low results or even failing one or all of them.

[BubblesBuddy]

What happened to the combined double award? One grade awared but worth double. All three sciences covered but with less papers and learning than the triple, separate, sciences? Has it died out?

[gillybeanz]

Bubbles

They take this at my dd school if they are good at science and want to take A level.
If they aren't so good like my dd they take the single combined, it covers the same, but not as indepth, you can't go onto A level from the single.

[bittern79]

DD has

Compulsory:
Maths
English language and lit
Triple science

Options
humanity - geography
creative - food tech
extra - history

They will also do PE and RE but not take exams.

[bittern79]

Forgot the language - Spanish

[Piggywaspushed]

bubbles : double is what my DS is doing.

[Killybashangel]

@Piggywaspushed Our school is doing the same re have to do geog or hist but not mfl. (Not the same school as we've already had our options evening.) I'm not sure what the reasoning is. They didn't explain. Not an issue forus as dc wants to do french and hist

[Killybashangel]

I suppose the knock on effect though will be that there will be more kids in the geog and hist lessons that would have been happier doing other subjects

[Piggywaspushed]

Yes, that's what I thought too! It is very odd. I like to chew the fat with the head there he is terrified of me so I will ask him why!

According to DS, history are upset because the vast majority have opted for geography. I told him this was probably a good thing for him.

[gillybeanz]

soursprout
I think it's usually after Easter, when schools have had chance to work out the timetabling. I'm sure our older dc found out soon after choosing.
As dd has to have hers approved by several people I don't think she'll find out much before end of term in July, but it's not that important for her.

[gillybeanz]

I'm not sure Soursprout,

I did wonder this myself as she doesn't struggle with learning languages like she does with some other subjects.
I wouldn't say it comes easy for her, but nothing does really, she does work at it though.
She found out that she'd need to take language classes right up to post grad studies, obviously through music though iyswim.
I wasn't too keen that she dropped all Humanities at the end of Y8, but she could still choose them at GCSE if she wanted, but she preferred the two languages school offer and studying Italian herself.
I think her choices are wise for her, but wouldn't recommend a narrow choice for someone who wasn't sure what they wanted to do.