How important is taking triple versus double science at GSCE?

[Middleagefear]

Exactly that. What doors open/shut by taking triple versus double? I just want an idea of impact - thanks

If a school only offers double, that should be ok and all science a levels are still possible. But if triple is on offer then the transition to a level is easier

Depends on future plans.

If your child is not going to be taking the science subjects at A level, I would advise doing double science. The general consensus with my sons friends was that double was a lot easier than triple. Obviously if your child wants to take any science at A level then the triple option would be better.

Yeh you can do science A levels with double for sure. Triple must make it easier tho as you will have covered more content. But no one later will look down on your double science (I am thinking medicine apps to uni - double is fine).

I would think the biggest issue is if you do double and switch for A levels to a school where most take triple - might be catching up at first.

@Middleagefear really only relevant if planning to do science A levels. I wish I could have done double (all about the MFL for me); as it is, I have zero physics knowledge (as I did bio and chem, but three for two would have been much better for me)

Dd took double
Then a levels in bio and chem
.now in med school.

No doors open or shut.
But if your DC is interested in purusing science at A Level/a science career, then they should take triple science if it is offered.

Double check A Level science requirements if your DC might be interested in them - at the school they are currently at and maybe others locally if you think they might move.

DD's school has a requirement for triple science at GCSE to take the A Level in separate sciences.

I did double and did biol a level and got an A so didn’t impact me too much. I didn’t go into do anything sciencey in uni though

That's unusual tbf. What if a child from another school wants to go there and their school only offered double?

Dd's doing double science and is planning on doing Biology, Chemistry and Maths. She's got her sixth form place for these.

No doors open or close.

@clary then I assume they wouldn't go there - it is a selective academic school so I guess they can have these requirements. We've just done GCSE options and it was all over the literature that you won't be allowed to do a science A Level if you choose double science.

As with anything, I suspect there might be some leeway for new entrants at sixth form if it was genuinely because they couldn't take triple science for GCSE.

I think there is a difference between clearly telling your existing students they must take triple science at GCSE if they want to progress to A Level, and not allowing new entrants from another school come in with combined science.

That said, I would say if your DC is intending to study sciences at a sixth form where virtually everyone has taken triple science, they are likely to be at a disadvantage (at least initially) if they only have combined. Anecdotally, I've known schools tell students coming in at sixth form level without the same grounding as their own students that they will just have to catch up in their own time, without any additional support.

It is context dependent.

In principle, no doors open or close - since the latest round of GCSE revisions, the content of double is plenty to provide a good basis for A level (for Physics, for example, there is a single topic, in Y13, where there is a gap).

Anecdotally, DD and some friends moved from a double-only school to a high performing triple-only school, had no issues in any sciences, and got the grades they needed for medicine, Oxbridge etc.

However, if your child is in a school where double and triple are offered, and the more able typically choose triple, then despite the above, the pitch and pace of double may be aimed at securing 4s, 5s and 6s, while triple lessons will be pitched at those with predictions of 7/8/9. In that case, very able students may be locally disadvantaged by taking double.

None. Most schools don't have the timetabling capacity/science teachers to do triple science and the combined science GCSE is really thorough. Most schools struggle to get through all the content of that as it is, they usually start it in Y9, even if other subjects don't start GCSE work will Y10.
Most good sixth forms/colleges provide summer bridging work for A Levels anyway.

It's also a point that at schools like my DCs' where triple is taken at speed by more able students, taking double puts the student in a group of less engaged students, which can be an issue, even if they are keen.

If it's an option then that's different ofc

I disagree with this tbh. Most schools are only able to offer triple to very very limited number of students. That doesn't mean the other classes are disengaged.

The right reasons to do triple is if you want to pursue science at A levels or if you genuinely love it and don’t find it that hard. The wrong reasons are prestige (no employers care) or just to keep A level science open as an option.

If you do double and want to pursue A levels, you just need to do about 20% of the syllabus over the summer hols after Year 11. The only people who struggle with A levels after double probably shouldn’t have been doing the A level anyway.

That is, genuinely, no longer true. There was a gap in the ‘old’ (A* to G) GCSEs, but since the 9-1 ones were brought in, without a corresponding change in A level content, the gap is really small. Dd’s Physics teacher identified a single topic where there was a gap, but as that was not taught till Y13, the school re-taught it anyway.

Not sure how many is "very very limited number" but in my dcs' school a third of the year (approx 70) took triple.

Obviously if only 15 students take it then there's no reason to suggest the others are disengaged, no. As i said, it really would depend on the school and how it is allocated

I should add that all my GCSE Intel on thos is 5 years old as ds2 took GCSEs in 2019. Things have changed in terms of teacher availability, for sure, and maybe triple is offered to fewer students in their school now.

My DD has exactly the same fact pattern.

That's very unusual. Normally there's only one class per year or per side of year that does it, and they need twilight sessions.
At DDs current school more than the usual amount take it (1x class of 30 each side of the year so 60)
Even a third of the year.. you're saying the rest of the kids are stuck in disengaged classes cause they're not doing triple? That's a bit mean.

DC’s school had all children doing double - and as a result had 5 true GCSE options so pupils could take 2 languages, 2 humanities, 2 Arts subjects, 2 DT/ Computing subjects etc.

Very similar A level science grade profile to similar school a few miles away doing a mix of double and triple.

I can only speak from my experience and that pattern was pretty typical in schools in my area when my dc were taking GCSEs. No twilight sessions. I did caveat with the fact that science teachers are now in short supply so schools may well be cutting their cloth differently.

Wrt disengaged students- again just what my ds who did double found. Lots of ppl who took double did really well. And there were annoying kids in the triple class. But in general a better attitude to learning prevailed among more able students- in the science classes anyway!

I took double. Then id chem, bio, Phys and maths a level, did an astrophysics degree and am now a science teacher.

I can't speak for bio and chem teachers but in my a level physics classes I can't tell who has done double or triple at GCSE.

I get shot down in my dept. But I am actually anti triple science. I don't think students should narrow their curriculum until they absolutely have to.