Dropping science GCSE, good idea?

[Year11educationchoices]

Posted with a different topic before.

DS who is in year 10 is studying towards UAL level 2 diploma and struggling with the amount of written work; this diploma is equivalent to 4 GCSE and is either a pass or fail

He needs 4 GCSE for what he wants to do next including English and Maths passs. He is struggling with maths and just scoring a pass in English.

I am thinking he should drop science so he can focus on the diploma and English and Maths. He is actually doing ok at science but won’t be doing anything that requires science in the future.

I don’t think dropping the diploma is a good option as this is the main part of his studies.

Thank you.

Will see how he gets on with the diploma and the upcoming mocks.

This is really occupying my mind at the moment; perhaps is better we move out of the UK 😂

It is quite unusual for a Year 10 to be doing a 4 GCSE worth diploma, they are usually only done at college by those who didn't get enough GCSE's to go straight onto a Level 3 course. Is there a reason for this (Specialist school/SEN/etc).

Some students who have SEN do Level 1 diplomas alongside basic GCSE's or even Functional skills then go onto Level 2 courses and maths/English retakes if appropriate at college once they are aged 16.

I must admit I have not heard of a UAL diploma and have just looked it up. It appears to be aimed at 16-18 year olds rather than GCSE aged students. It seems like an unusual choice from the school/college that your son attends. Did the school explain anything about it during the Options process?

Yes, they are aimed at 16-18 year olds, they are a Btec alternative (different exam boards). I know about them as they are common in the performing arts.

Schools that offer them usually only offer the smaller certificate qualifications tht are equivalent to one GCSE.

It is a specialist school; performing arts

Is he doing English Lit? I'd drop that instead. It's English Language he needs. Just checking you realise those are different.

Havent Thought of that. Maybe that is an option,

Thank you

Interesting. My daughter went to a specialist performing arts school and they did not offer such diplomas in Lower School, they did normal GCSE's alongside offering single subject Btecs in music or drama (not dance as they said the dance level was too low for their students. )

I think it is confusing @Year11educationchoices especially if you have come from another country so don't feel bad about not understanding.
Basically there are 2 options for how science is studied at GCSE. The one your son is doing is Combined Science which often gets called "double science" though that is not it's official name. All 3 sciences are studied but the qualification is in "science" rather than the individual subject names and is worth 2 GCSEs.
Alternatively all 3 subjects can be studied separately, often called "triple science". There is extra content and the pupil gets 3 GCSEs - Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Some schools only offer one or other option to all their pupils, others offer both. At my DC's school everyone did triple except the bottom sets who did double, but I have heard of schools where everyine does double except the top sets who do triple, and also schools where they let the pupils choose.
To further add to the confusion, there are then Foundation and Higher papers. In the Foundation papers you can't get above a grade 5 no matter how well you do in the exams. In the Higher paper there are harder questions and you can score up to a grade 9. Schools will generally decide which papers to enter their pupils for, to give them the best chance of attaining their highest likely grade.
So it is all quite complicated!
As I understand it, the study of all 3 sciences to GCSE is currently compulsory in state schools. When I was young it was different and some people only did one or two, but I think that now everyone must do either "double" or "triple" but do talk to your son's teachers to be sure. I think it is very unlikely that he will be able to drop science though as it is part of the core curriculum.
I am a scientist, so obviously I am biased but I do think it is really important that everyone has at least a basic understanding of the sciences and of scientific method. We are bombarded with so much information these days, a lot of it fake, and it can be very hard to know what is true and what isn't. A young person who misses out on the study of science is going to find that even harder so I would urge him to stick at it even if he doesn't foresee going into a scientific field in the future. Things thst don't sem immediately relevant may well do later in life, for example having least some knowledge of biology is very helpful when it comes to making heathcare decisions in the future.

If your DS’s current predicted grade is a 4-4 with the possibility of getting a 5-5 then it would also be a solid pass in a subject worth two GCSEs, which is worth getting rather than allowing him not to sit the papers and therefore getting a U for it.

Speak to his teachers who can advise you

My (musician son) failed science completly but my dancer daughter is so glad that she did study science at GCSE at it means she can now retrain in a science based subjecty to help injured dancers.

It really is a good idea to study it, regardless of the grade.

I admit I'm a bit aghast at this 4 GCSE diploma thing. I know what it is alike for children to specialise early but most reputable performing arts schools offer a full range of GCSEs (although they are not contrained by some of the things state schools are). Mind you I wouldn;t put this sort of thing past the school my daughter went to, following a managment change standard dropped drastically and the children were given very restricted academic options.

Yes, agree with @cestlavielife that speaking to his teachers is a sensible first step. If he has a Head of Year or a Head of Key Stage 4 or similar then they might be the ones to meet with, or they can advise you as to who is best to speak to.

Because having a basic understanding of science is pretty important. However, in my opinion they should offer an alternative science GCSE which covers the basic foundations of science that you need in every day life and removes all the content that isn't required if you aren't going to pursue science A-levels etc.

If I am honest I remember very little of biology, chemestry and physics. I got a career and have managed ok in life. I didn’t studying here though,

@changenameagain555 there is the option of single science which is like the combined “double” science but only covers one GCSEs worth of content across biology, physics and chemistry.

There are different rules on this in the different nations of the uk,

I presume you are not in Scotland as they do not have GCSEs.

if you are in Northern Ireland they can be dropped.

wales I do not know about,

England you have to study all three and you can either do triple (3 GCSEs) double (2 GCSEs). Not sure if single still exists.

specialist schools such as performing arts colleges will have their own rules.

Oh, I actually assumed your son was already at college (and resitting) because of the diploma thing (they aren't usually offered in schools), but I see he is still in school / under the age of 16. And his predictions are ok. The diploma should be completed before the GCSE exams start, so he will then be able to focus on revision in the core subjects, which should be very doable. if there is a chance that he can get 4s in English Language, maths and combined science that is actually really good and therefore I would not drop anything at this point.

Functional Skills only become relevant if he cannot pass GCSE English and maths / really struggles, but current predictions suggest he can do it, so I would focus on that. You can look them up if he doesn't pass and has to resit at college; then it may be worth paying for Functional Skills assessments at Level 2: these can be accepted for apprenticeships etc. instead of GCSEs.

Could you maybe look into support: for example, there is https://sparxmaths.com/ which he can work through to improve his grasp on GCSE maths topics - if he does this consistently (a little every day), he should definitely improve. There are also these booklets which he can work through every day: corbettmaths.com/5-a-day/ - five exercises a day, which is very doable, though he may need someone to explain the solution to him and then he repeats the exercise, so he learns how to apply the solution.

For maths what really matters is practice. If he can get a 3, he can get a 4, and if he can get a 4, he can get a 5, etc. - I reall think it is just a matter of putting the work in (barring some SEND like dyscalculia).

For science there is https://www.my-gcsescience.com/ (choose the right exam board and specification).

For English there is https://www.youtube.com/MrSallesTeachesEnglish, though maybe there is something better like specific workbooks.

Maybe we need to move to Scotland

@SilenceInside That was abolished. It now only exists as an IGCSE, so state schools can't offer it. A pity because that is a qualification that may previously have been offered to pupils strong in the arts.

This is very helpful. Thank you

@SoftIce thank you, I wasn’t aware that had happened, it’s been a while since I was teaching.