11 Plus Exams Forum

I am choosing between independent schools for my DD2 at the moment and am unsure of the science offerings. They all say they offer Triple science for GCSE, but seem to have just "science" in YR 7 and 8. DD1 is at a grammar school and has had the 3 sciences taught separately since Yr7. I would like to be sure DD2's options will not be limited if she wants to pursue a career requiring 2/3 sciences at A level in the future.

Can anyone explain the various types of course?

thank you!

My DD is in year 7 at a GS and they do 'science' rather than three separate ones. However she does have two different teachers teaching different things, so she is doing all three, it's just a name. I doubt what they actual teach is much different.

My DDs school make them all do triple science GCSE, so it doesn't affect them in the slightest.

If you want to check then I would ask how many hours they allocate to science in each year and check which GCSE syllabus they study.
You could also ask what proportion of year 11 take the 3 separate sciences and what proportion take each of the science subjects at A2.
As far as the year 8 goes - you might want to ask if they have specialist teachers for chemistry and physics. They will almost certainly be studying the subjects separately but there is generally a shortage of physics and chemistry teachers so some schools use biologists/teachers who haven't got physics/chemistry degrees for the lower years.

Not suggesting any of the schools you are looking at wouldn't be up to scratch but if this is something that is particularly important for your DC then these questions might help you ascertain which has the best provision in that area.