How many GCSEs?

[m0therofdragons]

Dd goes to secondary next year. She's very academic. We have 2 school options but one has £1000 a year transportation cost and she's not certain if gaining a space.

School one: can walk but only allows dc to take 8 GCSEs

School two: needs bus and allows up to 11 GCSEs

I took 11 but I went to a grammar school which isn't an option here. Can anyone advise if it matters? Seems a big difference to me.

Lonicera, if we were able to choose I would’ve definitely dropped RE and PSHE.

At my dc’s school, most take ten. Maths, Eng Lang, Eng Lit, triple Science, a modern foreign language and a free choice for the three others. About a quarter who struggle with science take the dual award so they end up with nine. Ten is quite a lot of work and another one would have been onerous.

That's really useful. I'll ask if 9 is an option. I would be happier with 9. They start their options at the beginning of year 9 so choices are made April in year 8.

So they only do 8 subjects for three years? That’s not what I would call an education. It’s about time that start of GCSEs was y10 for everyone unless lower ability. Universities ought to know it takes some children three years to do 8 subjects when others do 10 in two years. Also no child should do a subject early unless they are gifted and will get a 8/9. A year’s extra teaching could make all the difference and who wants a 4/5 when they could have achieved a better grade with more time?

Op: if your DD is bright will she not be utterly bored with 8 subjects over three years? Such a waste of her potential and not remotely a broad education. It’s very sad schools do this.

With no AS exams at the end of year 12 universities will be looking at the GCSE grades as well as A level grade predictions. If 8 is the max a school will allow that seems very low. As you say your child is "very academic", I would question whether this school will be able to stretch and challenge her. Find out where their year 13 leavers go, how many to university and which type of courses do they take. It may feel strange to be looking at the other end of the school when you are not in year 7 yet but it could change the path of her higher education or career. Research the travel arrangements for the more academic school again. Do you know other parents there who drive in?

Rather than thinking purely in terms of eight or 11, thinking about how many hours of teaching a week each subject would get at each school may help to sway your decision. My nearest school do 5x1hour lessons per day, so 25 lessons per week. A student doing 8 would average out at three hours per week plus one extra hour on maths. A student doing 11 subjects would get just two hours per week per subject plus one extra hour of perhaps maths, English and science! Could your child succeed on two hours teaching per week?

If one school has a bigger selection of clubs, excellent Pastoral support, stricter policy on mobile phones, trips to interesting places or any number of other factors things this surely would be a better way to make your decision then how many GCSE exams your child may be able to take in five years time

Sorry LucyFox, you are assuming the two schools have days of the same length. Schools I have known to only allow 8 were the ones who finished by 2.30pm.

DD's best friend went to an independent school and she had 6 x 1 hour lessons a day. DD had 5 x 1 hour lessons a day. DD did 10 GCSEs, but the school used to do 2 short, fat GCSEs at the end of year 10 and 2 short, fat ones at the end of year 11, along with the other 8 subjects. This was before they reformed the GCSEs. Her friend took her GCSEs this year and took 9. Round here the independent schools tend to do 9 rather than 10.

Typical at schools I've worked in is 9 GCSEs
Maths
English Language
English Literature
Double Science
4 options:

• MFL or Technology option
• 3 options

If someone wants to do triple science then it comes out of one of their option blocks.

With the new specifications doing 9 is more than enough even for our top end. We focus on quality over quantity. Much better to have 9 higher grades than 13 not so good.

Most schools around here encourage 10 GCSEs plus possibly Add Maths FSMQ.

At ds' high performing comprehensive school they do 8 GCSEs, although if they do triple science they get 9.

They also offer a couple of subjects after school (optional) so it is possible to get 10.

I think 11 is too many with the new GCSEs. They are much harder. Did anyone do 11 O levels? I think the norm was 8-9 wasn't it?

If RE is compulsory as a GCSE you could always use your right to withdraw. Schools have to teach RE nothing to say how often or that it has to be examined and I don’t think it should take up a slot if the number of subjects your DC can do is only 8.

"although if they do triple science they get 9."

I don't understand how this works. Do the students doing triple science cover the content in the same amount of time as the double science students?

When DD took her GCSEs the triple science students had three other options to choose from, and the double science students had four other options, so the triple science students had 15 hours of science a fortnight instead of 10 hours a fortnight.

Do the students doing triple science cover the content in the same amount of time as the double science students?

Yes, my son is taking triple science and will have 10 hours per fortnight of science lessons. They are expected to cover the triple content in the same time as the double.

That’s madness. There is so much content in the new science GCSE’s.

Do the gcses really make that much difference? Surely it's the A levels which count? My dd will be applying to universities in the uk with zero gcses as we're aboad and her school does ib throughout. Surely 8 good grades is better and anymore doesnt really add much?

Schools have to teach RE nothing to say how often or that it has to be examined and I don’t think it should take up a slot if the number of subjects your DC can do is only 8.
There's zero guarantee RE fits a block with other options subjects, in fact it's highly unlikely as most schools it has less curriculum time than options subjects.

The vast majority of the time opting to withdraw from RE wouldn't free up space to take whatever option you'd rather take. Do people think a new class is going to be created to fit the timetable? Extra costs associated with staffing to do a random option? What if 6 people all decide they want to withdraw from RE but all 6 want different options? 6 extra staff teaching single students an option subject? It's not viable.

When GCSE students drop subjects the vast majority of the time it's because they've gone onto a split timetable with a vocational provider or they do supervised independent study for those periods to work on other subjects. The timetable doesn't shift around them. It wouldn't shift around a parent saying they wish to withdraw from RE either.

That’s madness. There is so much content in the new science GCSE’s

In my sons school, the triple is only offered to about 20 kids I think. They get the 10 hours per fortnight and have been told it will be quite fast paced and work at home will be needed. Time will tell I guess. However I have looked through the revision guides and they have covered a fair bit of it last year, some topics are new but others theres just a bit more detail than what has been taught already.

If she is academic you should I think retain the option to take triple science - and it is one of the subjects its hard to do as ‘an extra’ through self study/online learning due to practicals. Check facts though as it sounds few.

About 60 students took triple science when DD took it. I think they were right to give more it more timetable time at her school.

My daughter has just started Year 10 and she has 11 GCSEs to take, they also don’t start until year 10.

OP. The triple science option is important.

Triple = 3 GCSEs awarded, one each in Physics, Biology and Chemistry
Double = 2 GCSEs awarded across the subjects studied: Physics, Biology and Chemistry

The more academic children would normally take the Triple. Ask the 8 GCSE school what the options are for science. If too many of their students are taking the double I would be concerned.

Gushpanka. Your case is different as you are coming from abroad and your child will be taking the IB. Yes, GCSEs do count. Doing certain subjects at GCSE will allow the student to access certain subjects at A level. For instance, at my local school a student wishing to take Physics A level must achieve a grade 7 Physics GCSE (from Triple science) and also a grade 7 maths. Carrying that on, certain A level subjects will allow access to certain careers. If your child has a long held interest in a career or area of interest it would be sensible to keep all the option doors open by researching early on.

The IB is a much broader qualificatin and from what I gather childrenstudy more subjects for longer. yes, its the A levels that count for university applicatins but in order to access the A level courses (and remember at this point our young people only choose 3-4 subjects in total) you need certain GCSE's at certain grades. So if a child attends a school with not many options and so can't take a broad range of GCSE's they cut off many options for A level.

Triple science is a completely free choice at both my children's schools. So if a child is interested in science they choose triple whether they are predicted a Grade 4 or a Grade 8. (If a child was not good at science and chose triple rather than choose a subject they stodd a chance of getting a higher grade at then a conversation would be had.) At dd's school several top set children only chose double becasue they wanted to do an extra arts subject instead.

"At dd's school several top set children only chose double becasue they wanted to do an extra arts subject instead"

Same at my DD's school as well.