Gcse yr 9 option

[eleven]

What are the minimum and maximum numbers of subjects allowed at gcse level. DD wants to do as many as possible.

[Kingfisher]

It will depend entirely on your school. Quite frankly, the number is irrelevant. Most do 9, 10 or 11. My DD is at a super-selective academic and she will do 10, I think. I am fine with that.

[Guest55]

At GCSE it is better to have 8 or 9 A*s than 12 or 13 grade As.

[Catseye]

I have a close friend who has connections with Manchester Medical School Admissions Office who advises the optimum number of gcse's is 9-10 at very high grades mostly A* from selective schools.

imo 9 is about right, 8 academic subjects the 3 compulsory (x2 English and Maths) the x3 separate Sciences , x1 MFL or Classical subject and a humanity ( geo, history, ?R.E) and x1 from the Arts(Music, Art , Graphics, Drama ect or even add another academic subject{although that may show a lack of breath ? and being a little 2-dimensional} )

10 if you include gcse FM or Additional Maths

it's about quality not quantity imo and remember exams will be terminal not bite-sized chunks and sitting 12-13 gcse's all in-one go over 2/12 in the summer is pretty tough going imo and there is definitely a danger of diluting grades as g55 has outlined above.

but they must all be sat at the same time-no early entries

just my opinion ,I have no independent evidence to support any of this

[KB]

Why does DC want to do as many as possible?
As others have said if you have 9 or 10 proper subjects at A* you will have the requirement for anything you may want to do afterwards.

Some Universities look at proportion of top grades achieved so if you take a large number and drop grades in some of them even while getting 9 A/A* that is worse for some applications.

[ToadMum]

What are the minimum and maximum numbers of subjects allowed at gcse level. DD wants to do as many as possible.

Does her school give much choice as to how many they do? With most, especially at grammar level (did you decide on ColCHS in the end?) where I assume the assumption is that everyone is of more or less the same reasonable baseline ability, taking e.g. double science rather than separate sciences and possibly having fewer science lessons means the 'free' periods can be allocated to another Humanity, but you would normally be expected to do a certain minimum and the actual maximum would be a timetabling issue. Unless some subjects are offered through lunchtime or 'twilight' teaching sessions?

[moved]

Volume gives the school better data but isn't beneficial to the child. It can be hard to choose; DD had to drop Latin in order to take her other subjects. She took 11 in the summer of yr 11 and that was more than enough. She had two from earlier sittings that were reasonably low stress.

[eleven]

Thanks very much for all the response/advise. Things are much clearer now.

[Tolstoy]

I have a close friend who has connections with Manchester Medical School Admissions Office who advises the optimum number of gcse's is 9-10 at very high grades mostly A* from selective schools:

... and from non-selectives?

[Catseye]

I have a close friend who has connections with Manchester Medical School Admissions Office who advises the optimum number of gcse's is 9-10 at very high grades mostly A* from selective schools:

... and from non-selectives?

I think for very competitive/over-subscribed courses as Medicine they use contextual data, if for example a candidate comes from a low performing school, parents not been to University ect they may offer lower grade entries and have less stringent gcse requirements

maybe soon they will have a Student Premium? that will add ucas points I know it has been mooted in some circles