Number of GCSE’s

[mightyducks]

DS is preparing for his mocks but is just becoming a bit overwhelmed with the amount of revision and content , he’s doing 11 GCSE’s, can’t help feeling it’s too many and 10 or 9 would be ample , is there a correct/ good amount?

Schools like you to do loads, at least 9. In reality you only need to do the number you need for the next stage.

My son only did 6 as he was home educated due to SEN. It hasn't held him back, he has offers from Russell Group universities and had an interview at Oxford.

With all due respect a NT student at a UK school would be incredibly unlikely to get an Oxbridge offer with such a limited range of GCSEs unless there were very specific detriments that led to only taking 6.

DD went to a very prestigious grammar school (well known for getting big numbers into Oxbridge, medicine, law etc). Every pupil in her year group did 10 GCSEs, a small number did 9 if they’d dropped a subject due to extenuating circumstances. I can’t see any benefit in doing 11!

It's a lot. DD1 only did nine in a superselective grammar.

Dd is a pretty standard north London comp and is doing 10, as are most kids, def those taking all the sciences. It does seem a lot but once you have english x2, maths, sciences x3 and RE (which school makes them take, Why??) it only leaves three options for them to choose. Not sure what the answer is (not doing RE would be a start!)

You don't need more than 9 and can get away with 8. As with many things, quality is more important than quantity, so aim for mainstream subjects and good grades. 11 is obviously too much of a load for your DS. Can he drop one?

I do feel it’s too many , and I have no idea why the school even want them to do 11, I see no benefit to it

He is made to do RE as well! I’ve no idea why, there’s a huge amount of course content for it and I’m not sure what the point is of making them all do it

Of those who sat GCSEs in 2023, only 14% took 10 or more; most take 8 or 9 (see link below). Very academic schools limiting GCSEs may help boost grade averages and facilitate entry to unis screening on 'the best eight GCSEs' but can also limit subject choice and subject exposure. My DC went to a state comp amd did 11 and say, with hindsight, they were glad as it helped them develop study skills which stood them in good stead for A level and professional exams. At their school, there were many students taking fewer A levels if that was right for their academic progression - but equally those able to cope with 11 had the opportunity to do so.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-gcse-results-2023/infographics-for-gcse-results-2023-accessible

My home educated son did 7 GCSEs and then went to our local state 6th form where he was a top student and they supported him in applying to Cambridge where he had an interview. He didn't get past the interview stage but is now having a great time at Durham instead.

Is one of the 11 further maths? If so, I don’t think 11 is too many. At my school if they are doing further maths then they sit 11 GCSEs, and cope fine.

No that’s not including further Maths , they are just deliberately about whether they will do that as well

Schools are measured on students' performance in 8 subjects, so it is usually only home-educated students who do fewer than that. You'll also see complaints from some people if the school only expects them to do 8 or 9, because that often means they don't have enough free choices to do the ones they really want to do, or to continue with 2/3 languages as well as triple science.

You don't really get to choose how many your child does - the school will timetable for the number they've decided on, and so they all have to be doing something in each option block. Sometimes there is some provision for a select few to have some time in a support base and do one fewer, but that's the exception rather than the rule. Some do extras (eg top set doing further maths, or as an after-school add-on) but hopefully that's limited to those who genuinely can cope.

Even Oxbridge only look at your best eight GCSEs taken at the same time, so there’s no need to take 11 for even the brightest students.

At our school you take nine with the option to take one or two more, but if you take 11 then one of them has to be PE or dance (due to timetabling).

They say it’s better to get nine 9s than ten 8s. I kind of agree with them!

At the time, my DC did feel 11 at one sitting was a lot, though say with hindsight they would not have sat fewer if they had been allowed; there was no additional maths or equivalent in the mix. 11 GCSEs allowed them to do creative and language and humanity subjects and they would have railed at a reduced breadth.

RE proved to be the best GCSE for one DC and the worst for another. Both DC say they were glad they took it as it exposed them to new ideas, ways of thinking and increased awareness. Their results were a mix of very good, good and not so good. This is the outcome that, certainly on these threads, many parents fear. I understand why but, for my DC, their GCSE outcome helped confirm which subjects to take forward at A level and gave them the confidence to see that success does not have to be 'perfection across the board all of the time'. Certainly the world of work is not like that.

One DC has found the knowledge and enjoyment of one of their 'extra' GCSEs contributed to their being involved in an interesting and career-enhancing internal project at work; so you just never know. All the above is not to argue that 11 is the right number but also it is not folly to do that many.

In respect of OP's DS, use the impending mocks to refine a revision strategy that works for them, time planning that means school work does not consume their every waking minute and an overall mental approach that means they chunk down each challenge into manageable bits. If they can crack that, it will stand them in good stead.

My DS is doing 11 plus Additional Maths. The reason it's 11 is because he is doing three separate sciences, which are his strong subjects so for him, the 11 gives him chance to get an extra high grade in the third science and means he can let the RE slide if need be because it won't be counted in his top 8 (RE compulsory at his school) . So I see it as the opportunity for him to increase his top 8 score by replacing RE with a science.

At my children's school they do 9 as standard/minimum. 10 if they are doing triple science and then 11 if they are doing additional maths too.

8 is the minimum at state schools due to Progress 8. Universities vary. Some will look at your best 6 grades, some our best 8 grades.

I personally think that for most pupils 9 is the ideal number although some would benefit from concentrating on only 8 and some would prefer the breadth of 10.

I’d expect someone with 11 to speak another language at home and be taking Additional Maths.

Our school, the basic number is 9, but it's 10 if you do triple science

Those who do FM take maths in year 10, and FM in year 11, so even though they can end up with 11, no-one sits more than 10 in one exam season (anyone who wants to sit a "home" language GCSE does that in year 10 as well)

Some of course end up doing fewer, but they AFAIK try to get pupils to sit 8 whenever possible.

10 here. DS doing 11 as he's doing further maths. RE is compulsory in our school (non-religious).

DS1 is at state school and he did a total of 13 GCSEs

Compulsory
English Language
Maths
Maths numeracy (we are in wales and the now do 2 maths GCSE's as standard)
Physics
Biology
Chemistry (tripes science but some do double)
Welsh
Skills Challenge (welsh bacc)

Optional/high set
Additional Maths
English Literature

Options (everyone chooses 3 from lists)
Geography
Computer Science
Spanish

So the lowest amount that someone would probably have done would be 10 if they did double science and neither of the optional

My daughter is in Year 11 now & doing 11 GCSE’s, it’s hard work but if they get top marks, its impressive & old school universities still like this! I think 9 GCSE’s is not enough. I think minimum should be 10.

I think it's sad as I think 10-13 GCSEs used to be quite normal and it's nice that kids got to enjoy so much breadth. But realistically GCSEs are so much more difficult now. The content is just so so much that more than 9 is just an unnecessary amount of stress and doesn't bring much enjoyment even for the brightest.

11 at a superselective