How many GCSE subjects to take?

[trudylady12]

My DD is Year 9 now. I am wondering how many GCSE subjects do most students take nowadays? Is there a norm for it?

Thank you!

I did 12. I think most people do 10.

OP be aware your school may not allow your daughter to do fewer than a set amount. The reason being timetabling, where your DD would have 3 lessons a week with no subject timetables while everyone else is doing their humanities lesson (or whatever). Doing fewer doesn't necessarily mean they will have more lessons in the other subjects.

As a science teacher I would say avoid triple science unless they have a particular aptitude and interest in science. We had an option of triple science for anyone and there were kids whose parents wanted them to do triple who clearly werent bothered, and they struggled.

OP, my bright but not stellar DS is predicted a 9 for business. Obviously he may not get that. he is a very hard worker .

Economics GCSE is very rare. As a PP said, it's considered an A Level subject. Uni applications will not be affected by numbers of GCSEs taken!!

In terms of streaming, what I mean is different bands (someone earlier referred to 'grammar stream' in a comp) where different choices and opportunities are available(eg fewer GCSEs and BTec only available in one band). On reflection DS1's school offered two pathways but it was free choice. One pathway did fewer GCSEs and tons of maths /English. The school doesn't do this any more. Everywhere locally now offers the same choices to the vast majority of students AFAIK.

I did 12.

How is that relevant to today's reformed GCSEs which are considered tougher BeanBag7?

@Ginfordinner most people have said about what their children did. Unless their children left school this year then its irrelevant as this is the first year that all subjects have been on the new 9-1 grading.

Just for clarification DD is in Y10 so currently studying GCSEs so my earlier comments are current rather than historic.

The school used to encourage extra subjects but now seem to discourage extra subjects under the new tougher regime and bought some teaching of science and maths content into end of Y9 as there is so much to cover. Options still taken in Y9 and not Y8 like some schools who fully do a three year GCSE path.

For us it is the time table slots available.

So they do eng lang & lit (2 GCSEs)
Maths (1)
Science double award (2)
4 option subjects (4)

In total that means 9 GCSEs. They try for Further Maths in Statistics but it depends how well the class understand the Statistics content so could potentially give an extra GCSE. Plus a GCSE in a native language can be taken so 11 at the extreme.

Ds2 is in year 9, when they floated the triple science award they said the extra content would be done at home. I would rather he take the double award and use his hours at home to ace out the other GCSEs.

Ds1 got 9,9 for science and is doing Physics A level. The sixth form said they do not require anything more than a double award, 2 grades from 6 papers.

My dc do ten if doing triple science, nine if doing double. 2xEng, Maths, 3xscience, modern forgiven language and three options.

My Dd was the first of the all new gcse 9-1 cohort in 2018

My DD is y10 now, so also current info.

If I were going for outdated, I could mention my DB ended up with a ridiculous 14 'O' levels (all at A grade). But that was 40 years ago.

DD's old school approached triple science differently to most schools. Thoe doing double science had four spare options, and those doing triple science had three spare options. So everyone still took 10 GCSEs as triple science took up one option.

That’s exactly what all 3 schools my kids have attended did. Triple science was/is an option column so everyone does 9 GCSE’s.

Similar to several above: 9 as standard +1 if triple science, +1 if further maths, so 9, 10 or 11

My son is in Year 11 and is doing 10 GCSEs, which includes triple science.

He's also doing Business and has found it quite easy, it's definitely the subject he's had to put the least effort into, his teacher is great though. It seems to fit easily into the two years as they've completed most of the syllabus already. He's predicted an 8 but obviously he'll have a better idea after mocks.

He is doing History and there is a lot of content. Apparently Geography is the same so I'm glad he didn't take that. He didn't take Religious Studies, he couldn't wait to drop it, so I have no idea how difficult it is.

12 must be a lot of work.

Ime, business is only seen as "hard" to get an 8 or 9 in because it is an attractive subject to less academic children, who see it as being vaguely vocational. In other words, it's probably no harder to get an 8 or 9 in than any other subject if you view it as an academic pursuit!

Ps ds will be doing 11 this year and did 1 GCSE early last year, but that's only because he's doing triple science and further maths, otherwise it would be 9 this year (plus one that everyone does early the year before).

Can't believe there is so much mention of streaming, hate that! Putting the old Tripartite system into a comprehensive school. Talk about laziness in organisation so bad for kid's self-esteem and THAT is not a word I use very often.
I used to do timetabling and honestly it isn't rocket science. What really matters is what A levels your dd wants to take in the end, but obviously the school wil have certain subjects she has to take. OPther options mau be quite narrow. You mentioned uni view of all this. They pay far moe attention to the quality of A level grades, the Personal Statement and the reference. But they will also look at GCSE's if there is any tie-breaking to be done and a low number of good grades/high number of mediocre grades will not help. Personally I would advise taking 9 or 10 and concentrating on quality IF she will want to go to uni. But in all my time as a sixth from mentor to the "elite" mentor group, GCSEs didn't matter TOO much but again they were a bit important. Lots of other teachers on here, giving advice it is nice to see, as usual!

Streaming is the reality though in many large comps.... In DD's comp sets one and two do 11 (which I think is too many) and they still have limited choice of options as they must do Eng lang and lit, a mf language, three sciences and R.E. it's a lot to cover. Sets three and four do eight (double science) but others as above are required, and sets five and six don't have to do the mfl or lit unless they're a strength.

You've said the word "set" more than once. "Setting" is exactly right "Streaming" is another issue. Am not intending to write an essay on the differences...

But Stanley what she does describe is, in effect, streaming, in that the sets determine the GCSEs they can do . That is streaming. I, too, am not a fan as I said a couple of pages back. And I work in a huuuuuuuge comp. All options open to all.

In ds's school, setting for science determines whether or not you can do the 3 separate science GCSEs or combined science, and setting for maths determines whether or not you do maths and further maths or just maths, but otherwise everyone does the same number of GCSEs (or GCSEs and BTecs). So not streaming at all - being top set English won't enable you to take an extra GCSE.

Actually, not everyone. A minority of students have a specially tailored curriculum and would take fewer exam subjects.

@Piggywaspushed, not disagreeing with you, the line between both can be blurred and if being in a certain type of set for one subj blocks you from doing other GCSEs then, yes they are being streamed. In my comp, 1600 students and the 5th biggest 6th form in the country, bright students use to get really fed up that they couldn't do three sciences, two languages and music, as well as the other things they "had" to do to get a "spread" of subjects. And I never understood the "need" to do English lit. Absolutely not appropriate for many students and maybe just a way of justifying the presence of so many English teachers! Ouch! Controversial!

Because English language is dull dull dull and wouldn't fill two, let alone three years.

I cannot possibly agree with you that the cultural subjects should only be the preserve of the educational elite.
Besides which, students often fare rather better in Lit than lang!

DS did 10 (the school does 5 'true options', alongside 5 core of Maths, 2xEnglish, 2xScience - triple isn't offered. Mine both did 2 languages, then DS did 2 humanities and Music while DD did 1 humanity, Art and a DT subject)

DD did 11, as she did Further Maths as an 'after school club' for about 10 sessions, in Y11.

The norm for the school would be 10, all taken in a single sitting.

Some would do 11 due to 'after school' subjects (including Dance and some additional languages)
Some students do 8 or 9 as study skills / life skills / SEN support is timetabled into the option blocks and taken instead of an option.