Pros and cons of teaching GCSE spec over 3years please

[Olivo]

Will be starting this next year in mfl and wondered about the dis/advantages? They will have done 2 years in one mfl and one year and a term in the others.

I teach Science and am moving to a five year Scheme of Work, so KS3 and KS4 and integrates and spiralling is more controlled.

The advantage is that the students spend more time on GCSE work. There is a massive body of knowledge required to be taught in the new specs, and it is really pushing it to achieve it in a pleasing way in just two years (5 terms, realistically).

The disadvantage is that students aren’t ready for higher level concepts in Y9.

If you are going to do it, you need to have a 5-year SOW, IMO, especially as yours is a Option subject. You need to give the droppers a progressive and worthwhile curriculum.

Thanks Crafty. As I understand it, all have to do a language; I may have some doing FCSE if they are not up to the full GCSE ( new job, not stared there yet, but just musings on a few things!) A 5yr SOW sounds like a good idea, leaving HL style questions till a bit later on.

Another scientist here and we also do the GCSE over 3 years.

The advantages are that you have more time so the content is less rushed and you can spend time on the practicals.

Disadvantages are that by the time they reach Y11, they have forgotton a lot of what was done in Y9. In addition, we find Y9 struggle with the GCSE level work - even by top set find some of it really hard.

Just started this in English and it's ruined Year 9. It means a narrower range of Literature, more repetition (there's a limit to how much is useful before it's tedious) and less choice for teachers.

Using GCSE questions and mark schemes with bottom set Y9 is beyond demoralising.

So why are you doing it if it is detrimental? Surely you only do it if it is advantageous?

Not my decision craftygin

I am currently working in a school that has been doing the 3 year GCSE for the last couple of years (MFL). The advantage that I can see is that if you look on the MFL Facebook groups, there are some year 11 teachers who are only just finishing the delivery of content. I will have finished content by the end of year 10. That gives 2 full terms of exam technique and practise next year as well as the potential to explore some literature (‘authentic text’) which has made its way on to the reading paper. This can only be positive given the frequent.... I don’t Have a word for it but that inability to shift the grammar lessons to content. So I can take make an infinitive to a stem and shove on the correct ending except I can’t if it’s a full sentence I’m translating and I’ve got too much to think about!

Another scientist here - I've worked in 2 schools that did this, and I've found it hard work with Y9. Bottom sets are just lost and top sets become very defensive/demoralised because thery're suddenly hit with a ton of work that is very difficult for them after sailing through Y7 & 8 getting almost 100% in every exam. BUT it does mean there's more time, BUT counteracting that again, one of the schools I worked in just took time away from science so the kids could do more GCSEs, so there ended up not actually being any more time.

If it's going to be done, then it needs to be thought out very carefully as CraftyGin suggests with a 5 year SoW. The easiest/foundation level bits of the GCSE need pulling out for Y9 and a SoW needs writing that is very KS3 style, and at KS3 level, or it's just unfair on everyone.

In my experience though, the whole thing is just rushed through (as usual!), with little thought (no time for thinking!).

Thanks. Hopefully, if I can put the easier topics content wise into y9, I can build up from there. The text books for GCSE are terminally boring though, compared to KS3, will have to resource lots myself.

Ohreally, the time thing sounds good. I only finished content with my y11 a couple of weeks before Easter, thanks to 2 sets of mocks, speaking tests, 70 billion English/Science/Maths exams getting in the way,so more time for more technique/practice papers would be good.