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Original poster

Double or triple science?

41 replies

AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 12:06

Just after a quick piece of guidance please.
Dd's report has her on track for a predicted 7 in science. She's got to pick her options for GCSE soon. Is that strong enough to pick triple science or would she be better with double science?
Obviously I will ask the department's opinion too but she's one of the few girls in her top set so I wonder if they might be keen to get girls into triple. That was certainly the case when I did my O Levels and I don't know if much has changed :(
So unbiased advice. Is a 7 double or triple territory.

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BoucleEponine · 28/02/2020 12:10

7 is an A. Definitely has the ability to do triple. Don't force her into triple unless she wants to do it just because she's "top set" - I let my DD do double.

RedskyAtnight · 28/02/2020 12:11

It's definitely fine to take triple science. Are you at a very academic school that you think otherwise? (Though that said, some schools to impose their own rules, but if she's in the top set, I doubt any such rules would affect her).

Of course that doesn't mean she should pick triple science. There might be good reasons for sticking with combined. One pertinent question to find out the answer to is if triple science is timetabled in the same time as combined science. If it is, that means that it goes at quite a pace and means a heavy workload. If it doesn't that means a lot of science lessons every week, so should only be tackled by someone who is keen on science.

Ihatemyseleffordoingthis · 28/02/2020 12:12

a 7 is equivalent to an A
so I imagine that is more than fine for triple science if that is what interests her
all schools do it differently - but with the curriculum so very limited these days my question would be whether they teach triple science in the same timetable slot as double, or whether that will only give her one other choice?
what does she want to do next?

Rollergirl11 · 28/02/2020 12:13

DD has literally just chosen her options. At her school you are automatically selected for triple science if you are in top set science (which she is). 2nd sets need teacher approval for triple and bottom 2 sets are strongly advised to take combined science. I would say she’s strong enough for triple given she’s top set and her predicted grade.

Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 12:23

Thank you :)

I am pretty sure that triple get extra teaching time at her school but I will double check. Good point.

Boucle no it's the other way round! She wants to do triple but I (privately) don't want her to bite off more than she can chew. As far as she knows I am 100% supportive.

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Hellohah · 28/02/2020 12:23

Does she like Science?

DS picked Triple because there was one unit in Physics (Space) that they didn't do in Double (he loves Space), but he has 15 hours every 2 weeks of Science, which is 30% of his school week. And he hates Biology :(

Alsoplayspiccolo · 28/02/2020 12:24

Just to add, doing combined science doesn’t stop you taking sciences at A level, so if triple takes up an extra option and there are other subjects she’s keen to take, that might be worth a thought.

clary · 28/02/2020 12:24

7 is totally fine. Does she want to do science A levels? If so triple will help.

Yy as others say, is triple an option (=extra lessons, uses up one of her choices) or done at the same time as double (=faster pace but leaves the same number if other choices)?

Abraid2 · 28/02/2020 12:27

My daughter only did double science through choice and is now a medical student. She actually only did two science A levels too. Hasn’t had problems with her course.

Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 12:29

Ihatemyseleffordoingthis we think she's OK for her choices but we haven't had the full details yet. She does say she wants to do a particular science field as a career but I suspect she'll end up using her maths (eg IT, finance, insurance) in the end as she's gifted in it.

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Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 12:32

Yes I have read threads on here stressing that double isn't a dead end for A Levels or a degree. :)
Hellohah sounds like dd but she doesn't hate biology fortunately. She won't dissect anything though!

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RhymingRabbit3 · 28/02/2020 12:34

If she enjoys the subject, it's worth going for triple. Especially if they get extra teaching time. If shes just doing it because she can I wouldnt bother. Double science doesnt preclude you from taking science A levels or degrees in science subjects so there isnt really any advantage to it, apart from learning more in a subject you enjoy.

LolaSmiles · 28/02/2020 12:35

It would mean she's more than capable of doing triple science, but it doesn't mean she should do it.

When we do options I tend to say to my students to do triple if they like all three sciences a lot (or love two and have ambivalence to the third) and they are good at it. If they hate one of the three then it's probably not for them because it takes up a lot of time on the timetable if it's counted as an option block.

Either double or triple is appropriate for entry to A Level, though triple naturally has a bit more grounding.

Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 12:39

Red it's a decent comp rather than a grammar. It's a very long time since I was at school and the gradings keep changing so it's hard to equate things to my experience. She's autistic and very clever so she doesn't have a massive social circle and it can be hard to have these conversations with people without them thinking I'm being ridiculous or bragging.

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lanthanum · 28/02/2020 12:46

If triple science uses up one of the option blocks, rather than being taught in the same time as double science, then I don't think you need to worry about workload, as she'll have the same number of subjects either way.
It's likely that most of the strongest scientists will be doing triple, so that group will be a high-flying group, which may suit her better.

If they do triple science in the same time as double, then it will be a greater workload, but as I understand it, most of the content is the same, so it may be relatively easy to "drop down" to just the double award if she is getting overwhelmed.

Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 12:47

Thanks all. I am feeling more confident in supporting her through her decision making. Hopefully we will have the detail of the options soon so we can work out where we need to drill down.

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RedskyAtnight · 28/02/2020 12:50

Alun I think "top set" probably gave you quite a big clue :)

If it helps, my DC go to what might be called a "bog standard" comp and even then it's only the very bottom few (maybe 15%) that are actively discouraged from taking triple science (of course many of the lower achievers won't want to pick it anyway). This is a school that has a very "inclusive" ethos though.

Wheresthebeach · 28/02/2020 12:51

Def good enough. Do have a chat about 6th form choices, some of DD's friends who have taken double are now being told they have to catch up on triple content over the summer if they want to do A level science. Some schools around here only allow A level if triple has been done (one of DD's friends has been caught out). It may be a London thing, but worth checking.

Rollergirl11 · 28/02/2020 13:48

Hmmmn, now I’m wondering if my DD should not take triple, although as far as I know she hasn’t been given the option not to! She really doesn’t like the physics aspect of it and isn’t looking to go on in her education with science so wouldn’t be detrimental to her to do combined going forward. At her school it isn’t one of her options but is an extra gcse so she’ll be doing 10 GCSE’s rather than 9.

Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 13:57

Did MN go wrong there for a while?

Red there's a big difference between top of the top set and just hanging on at the bottom of the top set :) She's a bit of an Eeyore so it's hard to tell whether she's secure or not. There are several 'streams' so there are a number of top sets too. Hard to know how good they need to be to be triple science! We only had single sciences at my school for O' Level and I only did one.

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Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 14:03

Have checked and they take both triple and double. You need at least 2 6s in your result plus a 6 in maths for the science A levels.

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BubblesBuddy · 28/02/2020 16:57

If she’s excellent at maths, taking triple science should complement this, except for perhaps the biology element. Later on, depending upon aspiration, you can read maths at decent universities with Maths, Further Maths and one other A level. My neighbours DS had this combination and no difficulty getting into maths. So triple or otherwise won’t matter as long as she can find another subject at A level (unless aiming very high!)

catndogslife · 28/02/2020 17:17

"Triple" Science is the same thing as 3 separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
There is some additional content for the "triple" route but the number of exams is the same - paper 1 and paper 2 in each subject. For the triple route pupils will receive 3 grades one for each subject. For the combined science, pupils receive 2 grades averaged across all 6 papers but don't receive marks for each paper/subject.
You can mix tiers for Triple if needed but for combined all papers sat must be the same tier.
The papers are longer for the triple science - 1 hour 45 mins whereas it's 1 hour 10 mins for the Combined Science.

Original poster
AlunWynsKnee · 28/02/2020 18:08

Cheers catndogslife that's clear, apart from tiers - are there easier and harder papers?
Bubbles she has aspirations. You wouldn't bet against her!

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RedskyAtnight · 28/02/2020 18:13

There's a foundation tier where you can get grades 1-5 and a higher tier where you can get grades 4-9.

Higher tier papers have more longer and in depth questions.
Guidance from the exam boards is that students should only be entered for higher if they are likely to get a 6 or higher (or they run the risk of getting no grade at all).

The fact your school is asking for predicted 6s for students to take triple science suggests that they might expect everyone who takes triple to be entered for the higher paper.