Gsce: double or triple science?

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Hi all, may sound like a stupid question, but my DD is to choose her options shortly and we're confused about what the difference are between double and triple science. My DD is very academic and will choose Spanish, geography and history on top of the compulsory English X 2, math, re, pe (non), pshe she's not a great fan of science. Is double science the more "soft" option for kids not that interested in the subject / not very good at it? Looking at the paperwork we got from school it doesn't explain the difference at all and the parent meeting is in over a month.

Triple science is 3 separate GCSE’s, Biology, Chemistry, Physics. 3 full papers. The single science is 1 paper incorporating all 3 sciences so it is ‘easier’ (if science can ever be easy!). I was unaware there was a double science as that’s not an option for our school.

I did double science (years ago) and still managed to do a science alevel and science degree. If she’s not that interested in taking science further than gcse I’d day double is fine. It’s also a combined grade across the 3 subjects so if she’s weaker in one area the other 2 could pull the overall score up.

Traditionally it works like this:

"core" science: biology unit 1, chemistry unit 1, physics unit 1

"additional" science: biology unit 2, chemistry unit 2, physics unit 2

Double science is core and additional, so units 1 and 2 of all three.

Biology GCSE: unit 1, unit 2, unit 3
Chemistry GCSE: unit 1, unit 2, unit 3
Physics GCSE: unit 1, unit 2, unit 3

Some exam boards number is differently... OCR used to have units 1-9, so 1-3 was core, 4-6 additional and 7-9 only studied for separate GCSEs.

Normally double or triple is not a choice. Unit 3 is hard and very few schools will let you choose to do it. Usually the top few sets will do separate sciences in their normal lessons, as they can move quicker through the content and cover the extra unit in the same time.

Allowing students who aren't capable of separate sciences to choose it is not doing anyone any favours. If it is a choice at your child's school, and they aren't in top set, please do contact their Head of Science and have a frank discussion about it.

Note: I've been out of teaching for a few years, but I am pretty sure the GCSEs are structured in the same way, although they are probably labelled differently now.

Current science teacher here, teaching AQA. Separate science awards you a grade in biology, chemistry and physics. There is more content to cover. 2 exam papers sat for each subject (so 6 papers in total) at 1 hr 45 minutes each.

Combined science awards you two grades, which is an average of the three sciences. Some of the more complex concepts have been taken out so there is less to learn across all three sciences. Still 6 papers but they're 1 hr 15 minutes each.

I would say the separate science is a better preparation for A level as the missing topics from Combined Science are more demanding, but you could still access A levels from either route.

@honeysucklejasmine AQAcertsinly used to be structured like that but not any more. I don't think Edexcel or OCR are either.

What honeysuckle said
My Dd is doing double.triple isn't an option for her

Some schools don't offer a choice (so either everyone does double or everyone does triple).

In my experience, where schools do offer a choice, doing triple science means you have one fewer option. Double science tends to be chosen either by those who are lower achievers generally OR by those who are high achievers but want to concentrate on other subjects.

I gather that is not the case in all schools, and in some all children have the same number of science lessons, whether they are taking double or triple. I imagine in those schools it tends to be the more academic children taking triple.

If the OP's daughter is academic and won't lose (or doesn't want) another option choice, she may get as well do triple science, I'd have thought.

sanity I don't mean this in an arsey way, but what's changed other than the names of the modules and paper structure? As what you described sounds pretty much what I said - combined papers of more basic content Vs specialised papers of more detailed content.

I should probably just go and read the specification 😂

The CAU has gone now, hasn't it? Bloody stupid idea. I imagine in an era of tight budgets, some schools are finding practical equipment a bit out of their price range. Kids will miss out.

Triple science at my sons school is only offered to the top few students across the year. He was advised to do double science.

DS's school recommends double unless you need triple eg to do a medical degree. It asks why do triple and get 6-6-6 (for example) when you can do double and get 7-7? It's about thinking ahead to what you need for entry into the A levels you want to do.

Time spent studying science came into it for my girls - both academically capable - one likes science, the other does not.

15 lessons a fortnight for triple science - you have to like science.

Controlled assessments have gone for most subjects, the government felt they were too open to abuse. In science there are now required practicals which are the basis for ~25% of exam questions. For combined science (often being referred to as double science) all six papers have to be sat as there is no ‘single’ science (I.e. no single grade) available for a combination of the three sciences (you were able to just gain a core or additional science grade).
It’s quite different from the old options.

honeysuckle The new doubles are no longer core and additional. Both papers are equally demanding.
Separates have extra content in each unit rather than extra units.

op you say your dd is not a great fan of science so she should do double. Otherwise she's just making more work for herself that she won't enjoy. Double will not hold her back if decides on science in the future. Bright kids still take a higher paper in double award so it's not necessarily easier, as in less demanding concepts, there's just less content iyswim. I'm a science teacher btw. My school let anyone who wants to take triple choose it. A mistake IMO.

Sound like your school doesn't use up an option block for triple, so it's just an extra GCSE on top of all the others. No need to overload herself. There's enough to do with out adding to the load.

TL;DR
Academic and love science - take triple
Academic but don't love science - take double

Thanks Carrie. So, when you say "basis of exam questions" is it "what would you observe..." and "how would you test..." sort of thing?

I used to teach in an international school. Students from India and China especially would be absolutely brilliant at theoretical stuff but completely useless at practical. They could tell you the results you'd expect to observe, but faced with the actual equipment they had no idea how to set it up, let alone use it. Bit sad when you're teaching a sixth former how to light a Bunsen burner.

Sorry for derail, OP.

Another difference with the new double is you can get two different grades if you're borderline, eg can get 4-5 if you are between 4-4 and 5-5 as I understand it. So it's a bit more sensitive.

Dd did double science last year and got a B in core and an A in additional.

She’s now doing A level biology in an academic sixth form (new school) where half the kids in her A level class did triple and half did double. She’s top of the class in tests so only doing double hasn’t held her back, but biology was always her favourite.

Her head of year in year 9 said kids who weren’t interested in science would be in the core science class rather than additional science because I was honest I was concerned she would be in a class with people who were either going to mess about or be struggling with the basics but teacher said not to worry. At the time dd wasn’t considering science for a levels and HOY said unless dd had science aspirations beyond gcse then no need to triple unless she wanted to.

honeysuckle I've see some long answers that are something like "how would you design an experiment to investigate X? Based on a required practical so they should have actually done the experiment themselves (if your school has the equipment!).

@honeysucklejasmine

I'm I science teacher and @sanityisamyth is correct - the structure of new GCSE has completely changed from your description which is obviously important to understand when choosing which route to follow.

However, the difference in challenge between double award and triple award is now much more pronounced than before. Triple award is harder than it was ESPECIALLY when you consider that there is no coursework now to push the grade up.

OP, if your DD would like to study Science at A-Level or degree level then I would recommend triple award to give her a better foundation for this and may give her the edge when applying to uni.

Otherwise, it will be much easier to get a higher grade by doing double award.

Good luck to her whatever she chooses!

Thanks Cuckoo, that makes sense. Hopefully it's a bit more interesting too. I used to hate teaching C1, it was so bloody dull because they were avoiding atoms etc, and then when they did put it in it was so half arsed it was frustrating to just skim the surface. I'd find myself needing to go in to more detail to help students actually understand the "headline" concepts they were expected to cover, then get ticked off for doing so because it wasn't examinable content.

My son is doing double. He is at a selective grammar. I was informed the double covers less content but to the same depth. It is not at all an easier / dumbed down version but does gives him the option to pursue another GCSE subject. If he has a change of heart wants to go on and do one of those sciences at A level ( which he won't) he could study the topics missed in the double over the summer so nothing lost. I would say to your daughter do the double.

Edexcel has six papers whether it’s combine or separate, 2 x biology, 2 x chemistry and 2 x physics. Paper length is 1h10 for combined and 1h45 for separate.

I don’t think separate is worth losing a GCSE option in itself. But you may need to consider whether the more able and better behave students are creamed off into triple, with more low level disruption in the combined sets.

Thank you Biscay, Cuckoo. Sounds like I need to butt out regarding exam structure from now on - lots has changed! Really interesting chatting about it though, I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

@honeysucklejasmine I agree the old Core Science was so dull and boring! That's completely gone now and both papers are now a mixture of the old Additional content, Separates content with lots more A-level thrown in too. Much more challenging for everyone including the teachers!

They have to do core practicals which the Teacher signs off on.

Exam questions are based on similar practicals, but not the same ones. They are looking at the application of knowledge, not regurgitation.