Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

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Bemily
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:27 pm

Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by Bemily »

Just saw this on another thread. Haven't heard this before, and I know that the current year 8's have just chosen their options. Does anybody know any details?
Glos_Mum
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Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:05 pm

Post by Glos_Mum »

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Last edited by Glos_Mum on Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Stressed?Moi?
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Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by Stressed?Moi? »

Glos_Mum wrote:I know nothing of this either. Would like to know when the change is meant to take effect from (does it effect current yr 7 for instance)?
Gawd I hope not. My year 7 dd ping pongs daily between subjects that she would and wouldn't like to take when she's older. Year 8 seems way too early to me.
Reading Mum
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Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:44 am
Location: Reading

Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by Reading Mum »

Surely moving to 2 yr GCSE would make that better as you wouldn't choose options till yr 9 like most schools currently do?
PaterGloucester
Posts: 152
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:53 pm

Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by PaterGloucester »

I mentioned it to my son (who's a second year – sorry, in Year 8, and has just chosen his GCSE subjects). He hadn't heard anything about the change but his reaction was "How are they going to drag out all stuff we do in two years over three ?". He's not exactly the most assiduous student, but he does seem to cope with the workload without complaint. If Pates do stretch KS3 over three years I imagine there's going to be a lot more 'mucking about days', of which there are more than enough in years 7-8 already.

He also commented that he preferred to be spending more time on GCSEs since it enabled him to drop subjects he didn't enjoy and move on to studying his favoured subjects sooner.

I'm not sure, but I think this may have been forced on Pates from above, as the previous head made a big deal of the fact that KS3 was be mopped up in two years rather than three, and this does make sense if you're staring off with a bunch of very bright kids. I can't see how it will do anything other than lower their precious GCSE results, hence my hunch it's an edict rather than a choice. Perhaps a year 7 parent will illumine matters.

While we're on the subject, what's the point of the children taking so many GCSE's ? 2x English + Maths + 3x Science + 5 choices = 11 exams (though English Lang and Lit are taught as one). I would have thought that anything over eight or nine is unnecessary, even for the most demanding universities, and that pupils would be better served aiming for fewer, better grades. And why compulsory Biology, Physics, Chemistry ? Two out of three would surely suffice. How many subjects do other GS pupils take ?

Amber, you're our in-house expert – what are your views on these matters ?

PG
Reading Mum
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Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:44 am
Location: Reading

Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by Reading Mum »

The GS DD will be going to in Sept currently does 12 as they are doing the twin maths pair pilot. The head of the Indie which was the other option said that 'some people considered 12 GCSEs as verging on child abuse' :shock: but since they did 10.5 or 11 it didn't seem that much of a difference. Her GS has very few choices since there are so many compulsaries so at least they will all be in the same boat
scary mum
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Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by scary mum »

I wonder if things might change when they are all examined at the end of the course? My DD did triple science (you can't just do 2 out of biology, chem & physics, although double science covers all 3 and is 2 GCSEs) and had four exams over 2 years for each subject (2 in the summer of year 11). Multiply this by 3 & it would be 12 science exams in year 11, unless they are combining some of the exams, which I suppose they would have to. Add this to all the other subjects and you end up with a vast number of exams in year 11, with a very heavy revision load. Most parents did all the exams at the end, but did 8 or 9 exams at the most. I did 8, with English language taken early (and maths if you were in the top set). This was at an indie frequently mentioned on this forum.

Sorry to go off topic slightly! Doesn't help you with your question about Pates, but I do think it's better to choose GCSEs in year 9.
scary mum
FluffyCat
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Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by FluffyCat »

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Last edited by FluffyCat on Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bemily
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:27 pm

Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by Bemily »

Has Pate's actually said anything about it yet anywhere?
RedVelvet
Posts: 546
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:06 pm

Re: Pate's to move to 2 year GCSE?

Post by RedVelvet »

I'm sure that man Gove had something to say about three year GCSEs, so it may not be the choice of the school. Mind, he has a lot to say...
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