Wanting my child to do less than 11 GCSEs - what are our options?

[toomanygcses]

Hallo, my child is in year 9 and at a state school where if you do triple science you take 11 GCSEs. And there's an additional maths qualification they do as well in top set.

This seems really unecessary to me. I live in a heavy private/grammar area and these schools get kids to do 8-10 presumably because they've realised kids do better without being totally swamped with loads of different subjects you don't even need....noone needs 11 GCSEs.

I'd like my child to do less. As far as I can see I have little leeway with this & the school are unlikely to be keen as they are a good student.

I believe my only parental right might be to withdraw them from RS sometime in year 9. And then presumably they won't sit RS GCSE which is "compulsory" at their school.

Is this right? Any other ideas? And how to go about withdrawing from RS (I don't believe I need to give a reason?) and when it might be sensible to do it?. Do I need to get it in writing they won't put them in for the GCSE or is that overkill?

Many thanks!

Ds took 13, separate sciences in a state comp and it was a lot but he did very well but interestingly he now says you should do what you need only to get to the next level rather than push as at 26 now no one is interested in his GCSEs really. I think 10 is enough. He dropped his 4th a level in the end as university was only offering on 3 so decided to do 3 well rather than stress to get 4.

Many of my DD's high attaining friends have chosen a BTEC and/or creative GCSE alongside traditional GCSE options. This is because they enjoy the subjects & also to reduce the final exam load. They have more coursework & are often completed before the main exam block. I'd look at see if any of these are suitable or interesting. With 8 or so GCSEs including key ones needed for A level progression this will be highly unlikely to have negative impact on uni applications.

I know there’s been reference to grade perfectionism over breadth, however part of that is that if you are applying to some of the competitive universities that consider GCSEs in their criteria, they will look at the best 8. So if you’ve done more and slightly reduced grades as a result, you may end up scored lower.

11 plus additional maths does seem a lot, what subjects would they be? My eldest did 9 (including triple science) which were all entirely on final exams (as he didn’t do any practical subjects), and he had so many exams to get through in a short period. He would have liked to do additional maths, but other than that adding in another 2 subjects would have been heavy going at that point if they were exam assessed.

@toomanygcses If he’s doing history GCSE, there’s no need for RE too, I would not drop a MFL because he needs breadth, not just sciences. Dropping RE is usually not the subject, it’s the daily act of worship normally but your school
might be different. The RE agreed syllabus covers a few religions, so which one are you objecting to?

However 11 is too many and 10 is reasonable. I’m surprised any school
wants dc to go 11 but it appears to be about breadth. What subjects are they?

My DS did the same at a state school. He actually got a 9 in RS so don’t knock it.
stick to the triple science especially in a state school. Kids that actually want to do it and not be disruptive is a good thing. He also had only 20 in his class!
DS should have dropped French or at least gone to foundation but hey ho.
He did the batch’s thing too but did level maths so very handy!
He didn’t get straight 9 and had a variety of grades but most 7plus.
He’s now at a top 10 uni.

How did the school fit 13 subjects into the curriculum? Or did he take some in year 10? Was this before the reformed GCSEs?

@RampantIvy in Wales so took English language year 10 and did I think one rs paper but then did DT in lunch break. We still do AS levels here as well so he got 3 and a half A Levels in the end.

My DS was put into a pathway for GCSEs which limited his choices. As he is top set for maths and science he needs to do further maths and 3 separate sciences.
If he wanted to do fewer he would have to move down to a lower set. That might be an option?

Thanks everyone, we will consider the BTEC option more definitely.

I agree the school is unlikely to want them not to take an option for the logistical reasons above.

Therefore I think my only option is to withdraw them from RS (would love someone in education to confirm tho!). I don't think I need to give a reason and probably wouldn't plan to.

He wants to do English (x2), Maths, Triple Science, Geography and Spanish. With a view to going into Maths/Science. I don't think he's super passionate about anything else but he could find other subjects he was happy to do.

If the creative GCSE is Art, the workload involved in that is massive. I've heard several people say that GCSE Art was nearly/as much/more work than the rest of their GCSEs put together (including my DD, for whom it was true).

I was thinking about this thread @toomanygcses and wanted to add that more able DC both took a creative subject (if that includes PE) and both found it a good thing. PE is actually quite sciency anyway which suited DS; and DD really relished the change of pace offered by her drama GCSE lessons. Just a thought.

Both those have exam in the summer btw (drama didn;t always but does now) and are not easy, but the practical element can be a nice thing to ease some of the endless book work.

@toomanygcses just to say that DD2 did the Further Maths GCSE (in fact, she also did a Statistics GCSE) and she would say that it's more like a half-GCSE for anyone who likes and is good at maths, in terms of extra workload.

She ultimately decided against maths A level in favour of science subjects but still found the extra GCSE qualification(s) useful (she now has 2 science degrees). She just treated it as doing a bit more maths.

Following with interest. Have a child in year 11. Single sciences plus further maths GCSE so likely to have to do 11.

It is insane. He’s at a comprehensive and another very near one they only need to do 8.

I honestly think having to do all the 11 will impact grades.

Why can state schools all be allowed to be so different?

We are in London so it’s not like we had a choice of secondary so couldn’t pick one that does fewer GCSEs, or indeed more if that’s what we’d wanted.

He is bright and RS isn’t one of the 11 so that’s not one to drop. Is there any hope of saying he just refuses to do one of the GCSEs. It certainly doesn’t seem to be any semblance of choice in all this…

I don't think you have much leverage if the school says you have to do them, but probably no harm in asking on mental well-being grounds? There is such a big difference between 8 and 11 😣

I have one who dropped from 9 to 8 because of health issues which was right for them and took the pressure off and one who will be doing 12, they are very able and this has allowed for breadth. The 12 includes two creative subjects, single sciences, double maths and two humanities alongside a language (currently on course for all 8-9s.

I am glad that both versions were available at their state schools (different schools). I would however have been very unhappy if child one had been forced to do more subjects. I think schools need some flexibility depending on the child, their interests and capacity for this kind of learning/ exams.

Thank you for sharing - maybe I should talk to the school but I don't have any specific grounds to ask for a reduction and I have a feeling that they will say no, and then I will withdraw him from RS and it will be kind of obvious why I am doing it! I will consider it though but I am not convinced the flexibility is there.

Just to make you smile… i took 13 o’levels ( a long time ago) I was interviewed fof a role and the interviewer said ‘13? That’s a lot… what on earth did you take them all in?’ … and I could only remember 11🙄

Hahaha! I did 10, and I was struggling to remember what they were in the other day 😂

Could you not just leave it? It seems a funny hill to die on and perhaps more a reflection that you want to tinker around with things to feel a semblance of control, or that you’ve done everything you can to help, rather than something which will make any material difference.
The school presumably do this every year, I’m sure they wouldn’t flogging 11 GCSEs if everyone was getting 4s, it obviously broadly works as well as any other system and your child is capable. Help your child be pragmatic and resilient rather than lawn mowing everything you can out of their path. If they get stressed during revision, it’s a great way to learn that actually sometimes you just need to do the basics, and that you can’t excel at everything all the time, and you can phone it in if you need to sometimes and the world won’t end. I wouldn’t be creating a problem for the school over this, let your kid get on with it like everyone else, and I’m sure they will be fine - and if not then they will have one slightly less good GCSE and really who cares?

In my case I need to work out if this is a hill to die on (reducing subjects down from 11 in year 11).

He has good mental health (currently 🤞) so no real extra needs to plead but I do think the sometimes the schools view is he’s bright and will pass so what’s the problem. The issue is that if he wants to work in a really competitive industry etc/go on to a competitive uni , then I do think GCSE grades being lower does matter.

Teaching at the school is mixed - there are weak links which we are lucky enough to be able supplement via a tutor - but having to do eg a language he hates, is such a waste of time. He has a lot to juggle and it’s not fair that the school down the road he would be doing 3 FEWER and surely get better grades.

I think in this competitive world it’s naive to say this just makes you realise you can’t excel at everything.

I expect it works for the school overall as an institution, yes.

This is all rather a stretch I would say, from the information you have.

DC3 did 11 plus the ad maths and loved it - could have handled a few more. DC1&2 did 10 and 11 respectively - however by the time DC3 took GCSE the school seemed to be letting them drop subjects in year 11 so quite a few friends only took 8 or 9 and there was zero quibbling. Whereas it took a lot of effort to allow DC2 to drop ad maths and DC1 to do double science not triple - thisbwas only 3/4 years ago. This year's year 10 don't even have to do a language - things can change very quickly.

That's interesting! The school must have been able to accommodate this then, despite the fears of feral children!

No advice, just wanted to agree OP! DD is doing GCSEs at grammar school where they do 9 (nearly everyone does triple science, 8 if not) or 10 if they do an extra (eg family) language or are invited to do further maths. The school states, and I heartily agree, that more GCSEs do not make better students. If DD was doing anymore than she is, she wouldn’t have time for any extracurriculars that do much more to produce well- rounded students than umpteen GCSEs would.