Does the DfE guide schools on how many KS4 options they should have, and do I have grounds for appeal over this?

[weathergod]

My daughter is in year 9, and choosing her options for next year. Maths, English (x2) and Science (x3 or combined) are compulsory. Then she needs to choose 3 options (with a humanities subject and a language encouraged, but not compulsory). All the other schools in the area have 4 options, not 3. I'm cross about this and my questions are:

1.Is there a minimum number of KS4 subjects recommended by the Government for a broad and balanced curriculum?

1. Is this restriction to 3 options likely to reduce my daughter's options at A Level?

1. If I appealed for a place at another school on the grounds of wanting 4 options, would I have a good case?

8 or 9 is a fair number/average, more concern would be them not offering a subject they would like e.g one of the art/practical subjects e.g. pe where they do rounders, but a neighbouring school does cricket, which she plays outside of school or textiles. Look at number of hours the others offer on each subject e.g to do 3 sciences, do they have to take one of their 4 options (assuming your school gives the same number of hours to both combined and triple).

If they are using time saved on more English & maths and improving results there then doing 1 less GCSE may well benefit your DD.

1.Is there a minimum number of KS4 subjects recommended by the Government for a broad and balanced curriculum?

No - English, Maths and Science are compulsory, and Schools must also offer at least one subject from each of these areas:
arts
design and technology
humanities
modern foreign languages

but there is no recommendation that students take 10 GCSEs. Many schools do it the way yours does. DS only got to choose three.
As Teen says, doing 9 well is better than 10 mediocrely.

2. Is this restriction to 3 options likely to reduce my daughter's options at A Level?

Very unlikely. Many pupils take up a new subject at A level having not done it at GSCE, depending on your schools' offer at A level. Does she have an idea what she wants to do? What is it she is being prevented from studying, or is it just that you want her to do 10 GCSEs?

Does her current school have a 6th form?

3. If I appealed for a place at another school on the grounds of wanting 4 options, would I have a good case

No, unless under some very unusual circumstances where there was a very specific subject that she desperately wanted to do that her current school couldn't offer and another could - say Mandarin. Even then it probably wouldn't be enough on its own .Just wanting to do 10 GCSEs wouldn't be grounds for appeal.

1.Is there a minimum number of KS4 subjects recommended by the Government for a broad and balanced curriculum?
No - 8 or 9 is fairly standard.
In most schools pupils will continue with PE as a non exam subject.

1. Is this restriction to 3 options likely to reduce my daughter's options at A Level?

No the main restrictions for A level are having certain grades in particular subjects. There are lots of A levels where most pupils will not have studied the subject before. Obtaining the best grades possible is better than the number of subjects taken. You need to have passed both English and Maths for most A level courses.

1. If I appealed for a place at another school on the grounds of wanting 4 options, would I have a good case

Very unlikely.

Faith schools usually have 3 options (or 2) because they all have to do RE. Is this a factor here?

My DC just had 3 options at GCSE. The thinking from their school was that 9 GCSEs was perfectly adequate for anything you might wish to go on to do and that studying for any more GCSEs would simply increase the workload for the students with no discernible benefits. Certainly doesn't seem to have held either of mine back.

That said, there was the option of doing another qualification during the core PE time, so you could do GCSE PE or Performing Arts BTEC or just core PE activities in that time.

Do you want your daughter to move to another school which offers 4 GCSE options? If so, have you rung up the other school(s) to see if they have a place? I can't see how an appeal would be possible, it's not like the Y7 admissions process.

In some ways, your options are much wider than in some other schools. If you have 3 ‘true options’ then there is more flexibility than in schools where the options are heavily ‘blocked’ so they must choose eg History or Geography; then French or Spanish; then one or maximum 2 from ‘the rest’.

Of your school allows eg Music, Drama and Art for one pupil, then History, Geography and French for another, then Economics, ICT and DT for a third, that’s really flexible, despite the seemingly ‘small numbers’ in total (8 with combined Science, 9 with separate sciences).

your school is making a fairly standard offer

schools can only offer subjects they have the staffing for, and many schools are unable to fill vacancies in many subjects, or just can't afford to even advertise

There seems to be an increase in doing 10 (which is what the schools who are offering 4 may be doing or combined science) but 3 options is fairly standard as is one being a mfl and one being humanties

nothing you are saying seems unusual

If you want your daughter to change schools, just ring up local schools and ask if they have a space

Sorry, I didn't actually answer the questions but they are

1. No
2. No
3. No

You can't appeal - what would you be appealing against? You can move your daughter to another school if you choose, although personally I doubt that amount of disruption would be good for her, just for the sake of getting an extra GCSE which is unlikely to be of any tangible benefit.

Sorry! However, if your child is desperate to do a fourth GCSE, there is nothing to stop you from home edding/getting a tutor for that subject and entering privately.

Find out whether there’s a place available at one of the local schools that offers 4 options.

9 GCSE's is plenty for Oxbridge and Medicine etc and 8 is plenty for most courses

They are penalised under Progress 8 rules for league tables if they do not offer students at least 8 GCSE's in total. In practice many schools tend to offer 9.

My ds had to do English x 2 Maths and Science x 2.

He had three options.

If he'd done triple science he would have done 9 GCSEs in total, but did double science, so 8.

8/9 is standard these days.

It would be more annoying if they offered optional subjects but couched them around with such restrictions that you couldn't do any of the subjects you wanted to. As an example putting history and geography in the same option block is a common one, and very annoying for the very large number of kids who'd like to do both.

But your dd's arrangements sound ok.

Do check the science arrangements: DD had four options, but doing separate sciences took out one of those, so effectively three compared to your DD's school.
Nine GCSEs is usually fine, unless there are particular things she needs/wants that aren't available or can't be done together under the timetabling arrangements.

My DC had to take Eng Lit, Eng Lang, Maths, & at least combined science. She had to take a language, and then could choose from various groupings eg History or Geography, Art or DT etc. A total of 9 subjects. Although she’s doing Further Maths as an extra after school.

Is there not another option if she only takes Combined Science?

Pupils taking triple science will get 9 and combined 8?

My children’s school offer two ‘free’ options. They have to do a language, a humanity, and then the core subjects.

I don’t think you would win an appeal but can you not just do a standard in-year application?

I would say it's not completely true that GCSEs don't affect A level choices - languages being an obvious area where it's not usually possible to do A level without a GCSE.

In addition, many 6th forms have a minimum grade requirement for subjects studied at GCSE. Although doing fewer GCSEs might help with better grades.

I'd suggest looking at what DC might want to do for A level and working backwards from there.

Yes, if your DC already knows which A-levels they would like to do then check that any pre-requisites are included in GCSE choices

It's fairly normal for schools to offer triple in the same number of lessons as combined, and perfectly doable for stronger science students.

To answer OP, 8 or 9 GCSEs is well within the range of "normal" and the school is meeting all DfE requirements unless the options offered are very unusual.

If you want your daughter to move schools, then you need to find a school with spaces available that does more GCSEs and starts them in Y10. Many schools that offer 10 GCSEs will still start them in Y9- which actually is frowned on more.

I think this is fairly normal and is what my DS is doing. He’s triple science though so will have 9 altogether.

DD did an extra GCSE so had 10, but I am really not sure what the benefit is of doing that many. It felt like she was sitting a lot of exams. Plus they started the GCSEs a year earlier.

For A Levels the 6th form wanted an average point score - so as long as they get the grades they need, it doesn’t really matter whether they have done 8 or 10 GCSEs.