How many gcse is the norm at your dc school?

[Starfishyellow]

our dc school used to do 7 but now it looks like it will be reduced to do a minimum of 5 and they constantly have staff changes or temporary teachers so I think it’s due to this.

9 to 11
one of my DC did 8 plus 2 BTec as he was interested in IT and coding.
as per pp, I also did 10 35 years ago.
I would be very wary if a school offering less than 8/9 - such low expectations and it really limits choices at 16+, also doesn’t prepare kids for intense study or work.

Dear OP,
This is a VERY low number for children without significant additional needs. Are you sure you are not counting the subjects rather than number of GCSEs? As PPs have said maths, English literature and language & combined science are the minimum compulsory subjects. This is 3 'subjects' but 5 GCSEs.
If it really is only 5 GCSE qualifications then this would significantly limit future opportunities both for A-level/T-level etc and university entry. Many competitive unis look at the best 8 GCSE results as part of their decision making. I would move him and also report the school to OFSTED as they cannot be acting in the best interests of their students.

10 is pretty normal at my dc school; everyone sits Religious Studies in Y10 so then that’s 9 in year 11.

However it’s 11 if you are top-set science and want the triple-award and 12 if you want to convert your PE lessons to GCSE PE.

You can reduce by choosing a Healthcare or Childcare certificate instead of one of your options, so in that case you could just take 8 GCSE’s. Also some dc with SEN are allowed to sit fewer still.

The volume of work in 11 GCSE’s is huge - my dd is doing triple science and Art - she is a very busy student.

1. 10 if you do further maths.

Are you sure it’s 5? Even 7 would be low. Are you counting combined science as two and English literature and language as 2?
Everyone at our state-funded academy, even the most able, takes 8 GCSEs or equivalent of which combined science makes up two. It’s been a bugbear of mine as DS wants to do science A levels but couldn’t do triple science despite being predicted 9 9 in combined. They are now reintroducing triple science for the current year 9 but too late for us. And there are compulsory after school sessions 4 days a week in year 11 which he says feels stale already. They just go over the same things which he already knows or understands but he gets marked as absent if he doesn’t go. There was an option to take a further maths qualification but all the content would be taught in an extra lesson on a Friday afternoon after school as well as having to attend the regular GCSE subjects including maths Monday to Thursday so not surprisingly take up was low. Rural area with large catchment so limited options for alternative secondary schools. Of the other 2 within reasonable travel distance, one is dire with a reputation for poor behaviour and deemed in need of improvement by Ofsted, the other graded inadequate and now under the same trust as ours with an almost identical KS4 pathways brochure. So there’s nowhere else to go.

In contrast, I took 9 GCSEs plus 2 additional level subjects ( maths and French), so 11 in total. The top set for these subjects was only for students taking the additional level qualification and we flitted through the GCSE curriculum faster before covering the additional content all in normal lesson time. It was a private school so I suspect that was the main difference rather than the era. I do feel sad though that DS who is at least similarly and probably more academic than I was, hasn’t had anywhere near the same options available to him.

Ds1 did 11 , DS2 will do 8 - different schools and different abilities but also one markedly less resilient than the other . DS1 has a 4 in Spanish which pulled down other subjects and which he worked his socks off for poor kid . There is no need for any child to do more than 9/10

At the local secondary school - 8.

There's triple science but they just class that as one of the 3 options but no further maths etc.

I'm fine with that.

At both dcs school it was 9 occasionally dropping to 8 for lower ability or 10 if doing Further maths.

schools are judged on Progress 8 statistics which means students need to take at least 8 GCSEs. Some SEN schools or PRUs offer less.

are you sure you are counting English & Science as 2 each.

usually schools offer

Maths x 1
English x 2
Science x 2/3
History/Geography/ Language/ Computer Science x 1
plus 2/3 other options (which might include a Btec

DD did 9 GCSEs but DS did 12. One was Maths a year early.

OP, you say minimum of five. Did you mean maximum or even average? I am not sure how meaningful a minimum is!

Too many here - 14! State comprehensive, Wales. My DC:
English lang, English Lit, Maths (numeracy), Additional Maths, Further Maths, 3 sciences, 4 diff option choice subjects, RE (compulsory), Welsh (compulsory). Lots would like not to have to do RE or Welsh. It’s a lot.

DS did 14! That’s because he had to do Welsh language and Welsh literature as well as the Welsh Bac. And did triple science. Some of his friends did further maths which made it 15! I found it ridiculous.

Oh and had to do maths numeracy as well as maths, which is a separate GCSE.

10 is the usual number, quite a few have dropped a subject though in Y11 which I didn't realise was really a thing, so are doing 9.

I only realised today that Further Maths counts as a separate full GCSE, so DD is actually doing 11.

10 standard. RP sat in year 10, along with statistics for those who are able. Some students sit a language GCSE in year 9.

10 for most; less able pupils or those with particular SEND do 9, and a very few do 8.

12 for those doing triple science plus further maths. So no fewer than 10. That's state comp. Often privates do 9
5 definitely doesn't sound right - is that not 5 core subjects, with 3 options on top?
It's always made me wonder why there's such a range across schools. A child sitting 8 versus a child sitting 12 does not feel like a fair or comparable process - my DC told me this all through y11!

How much lesson time per subject to the schools doing 10+ Gcses get? Its an average of 3hrs at DDs school for 8 subjects

Math, English language, English literature, Single Science is 4 alone.

Are you sure you're not counting English as only one and science is triple not just one?
That would mean rather than 5, they'd get 8 - maths, 2x English, 3x science + 2 options.

10 at my DC’s school: maths, 2 x English, 2 or 3 science, a language, a humanity, a creative (art/drama/DT) plus one or two others including PE, computer science, an extra language or an extra humanity.

At our child’s private school they find 9 to be the optimum and that is what is strongly encouraged. For very able students who want to do either further maths or triple science they can apply if the school think they are capable.

My son did 10. One was Further Maths which was taught as an after school club one lesson a week so I think 9 is standard. Not sure how you’d find the space for more than 9

10 for the majority (but one is taken in y10 and nine are taken in y11).

Quite a few take a community language as well so would get 11, but that is not taught at school. A very small number take Latin as an extra curricular so have that as an extra one.

Nine at our school, unless you’re doing a community language on top - got a letter about the option to do those today. Triple science counts in those options. My DS is doing further maths on top but that’s a certificate rather than a GCSE as such.
I think a good balance is English x2, maths, science x2, then ideally a MFL, a humanity, an art/tech subject, then one more free choice - could be triple science, or whatever.

Why so many? Every 6th form and college my DS applied to only asked for the best 7 grades.