Combined Science and Triple Science questions

[happymummy2010]

I know in the Combined Science GCSE the syllabus covers two thirds of the Triple Science syllabus, but are the topics that are covered in both levels studied in the same detail or does Triple Science go into more depth ?

Are the same questions set in the exams for the topics covered in both levels or are the questions in the Combined paper slightly easier ?

Hope that makes sense !

In my DS3’s school only top set took triple science (9-1 AQA) and in the same time slots as the combined science sets. It was a hard slog! He’s now in a sixth form at a different school where they only took combined science so the A level is aimed at those who did combined. It’s been a slight advantage for DS3. But they still get very good results for A level. It might be harder to do A level with combined only in a sixth form where most took triple.

At the school I worked at, anyone could take triple science as an option to make combined up to triple. They had 2 sets, one doing the higher papers and the other doing foundation. I haven’t looked at the exam papers but I think the questions were quite different in some respects between triple and combined.

For the syllabus the extra triple areas are intermingled/embedded much more finely in with the combined topics. (With the old system there was indeed completely extra topics to make up the triple content. C1 for core, C2 for additional and C3 for triple chemistry etc)

I don’t think onto has taught or marked for a couple of years at least.

It is certainly true that at DSs school, only the top set are allowed to do triple, and it is taught in the same time slot as the other sets are doing double (and last year they actively discouraged people from taking it, and only 9 ended up finishing with triple, rather than dropping to double). There are somewhat more this year, but that may also be the year, it is an exceptionally strong maths year, and that may be also reflected in science capability. Not sure if the schools that we toured would have known that though.

DD's school offered triple to the two top sets, but allowed them to take combined instead. Those taking Combined continued with ICT, whereas triple dropped it, giving them one extra hour each week. It was tough covering all if the material, but the school topped it up with optional extra sessions during the holidays.