Is 8 GCSEs enough - been asked to drop one

[Tearingmyhairoutstill]

That question really is it better to have 8 good GCSEs or 9 with one of them possibly being a fail or at most a 4. DS school wants him to drop his language option. His other grades mix of 4s and 5s in mock so school think time better spent getting these grades up. Somehow 8 doesn’t seem many when some people sit 10. Any effect on uni applications?

No affect unless has plans for a very high level degree

So a degree in business at Russell group would be ok ?

Can't see why not.

Find your nearest RG uni, look at Business undergraduate courses (there are several options, management, with economics etc) choose one and look at the entry requirements, it will usually say something like "Typical A level offer" then under that there should be a link to "full entry requirements" which is where you will find the GCSE component.

I have looked at one RG uni for you, for business management it says grade 6 for English Lang and Maths, no minimum amount of GCSEs.

According to government figures for last year children taking their GCSEs and the number

7 GCSEs 15%
8 GCSEs 23%
9 GCSEs 27%
10 GCSEs 14.5%

Does that help?

To answer your question - 8 should be fine. However a kid getting 4s and 5s may well struggle to get the A level grades required for RG Business courses which usually needs 3 As, so just make sure expectations are realistic.

As PP have said, I'd look at the course requirements now for what he is interested in.

I'm pretty sure that 8 great grades goes down better than 9-10 weaker ones. Because getting top grades in the core subjects helps with some of the more competitive unis.

DD2's school is restricting all children to 8 GCSEs.

Yes, eight is sufficient.