How many GCSEs at HBS?

Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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Guest55
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Guest55 »

Daogroupie wrote:It is the same old tosh as the old "CSSE Grade one" was the same as an O level.
It was never said to be the 'same' but 'equivalent'.

In fact it was harder to get CSE grade 1 as you had the coursework element - all the two years work. For some students it was easier to get the O level as their books were never that standard they just winged it on the day. [Yes I was teaching then and preparing students for both exams]
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by ToadMum »

Daogroupie wrote:It is the same old tosh as the old "CSSE Grade one" was the same as an O level.
:lol:

The odd employer around here would probably prefer a grammar school leaver, perhaps if they had attended the same school themselves, but on the whole, having passed the 11+ is less important than the skills you can demonstrate.
(Sorry, Essex joke :roll:).
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Middlesexmum
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Middlesexmum »

DG, I take your point about having the opportunity but just because opportunities are there it doesn't mean you have to take them. And I don't agree with doing something 'because everyone else is'. Isn't it better to make an informed choice about something rather than follow the herd?
Guest55
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Guest55 »

Triple science is an informed choice - I've seen many students change their mind about future career direction in KS4. The gap between double and A level will get even greater with the curriculum changes; it's a risk that can be avoided.

Many schools are considering reducing the number of GCSEs with courses now linear and also with more of the new specifications coming in. [See post on 'Timeline of reforms' in GCSE]
Amber
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Amber »

This is such an old chestnut...
Certainly under the 'old' system (if anything in English education can ever be called that), dual award science was fine to do A level. Despite what some people will tell you. It might not have been ideal but it was fine and I know several medics who 'only' did it - the 'missing' parts were actually the easiest papers of the three in triple award, the dread 'how science works' type waffly questions.

Wrt to the new ones, I think you need advice from a science teacher who knows. There is a lot of misinformation flying around to do with 'intellectual rigour' and some of it might not be well-founded. Some might. If you have a child who is absolutely never going to want to study science in any form and is sure of that now, I can see that s/he would possibly well-advised to lose it now and get on with something more interesting - the dual award will still cover a fair amount of basic science.

My advice to anyone in this position is to speak to a teacher, more than one if possible.
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Guest55 »

Paper 3s [ie the triple part] were additional content and quite a lot in some boards.

The problem is with the new specs is that no-one has taught them yet and even the new A levels haven't been sat. Do talk to teachers but not just from one school as you might then get an unbiased view.
Amber
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Amber »

Guest55 wrote:Paper 3s [ie the triple part] were additional content and quite a lot in some boards.

The problem is with the new specs is that no-one has taught them yet and even the new A levels haven't been sat. Do talk to teachers but not just from one school as you might then get an unbiased view.
I taught several boards (Edexcel, OCR, AQA) in a tutoring capacity with sick children and my children also sat two boards (AQA and iGCSE Cambridge) - the content of B3, C3 and P3 was not challenging. It may have been additional content but it wasn't particularly hard or helpful to the A level student. Paper 2s were by far the hardest and were sat by all - dual and triple. And my close friend is head of science at a grammar school and still maintains it made no difference - some of their best A level students (who joined in sixth form) had done dual.

That said, I agree with the second part of your post and that if possible it is worth talking to teachers from a different school.
Middlesexmum
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Middlesexmum »

Thank you, very helpful information.

In any case, going back to dd2 at HBS who will have to do triple, she will still need one other subject to bring it up to 11.
Rob Clark
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by Rob Clark »

Middlesexmum, it sounds like your daughter has a really good mix of subjects, covering all the bases, so is there the option of doing something less academic for her 11th subject, something she enjoys such as PE/dance? Or a technology subject if she likes those?

DD is very much on the science side so did triple science and maths x 3, but still managed to include English x 2, history, Spanish and PE in her 11.

I don't think triple science is essential, by any means, but it might still turn out to be a better choice than the other options.
silverysea
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Re: How many GCSEs at HBS?

Post by silverysea »

Middlesexmum, sorry I couldn't post sooner,

I asked dd1 about it, having just completed triple in a not very sciency school surrounded by very reluctant friends who were forced to do it, and she said that the extra modules involved with doing triple versus double were not really a problem for any of them. The additional material was more interesting and made the course better including for the ones who don't enjoy science. I heard them getting together to study in our house and quizzing each other, and they found revising for that subject clear and straightforward, compared to many others. They actually enjoyed revising in a way.

The syllabus will be changed and sounds like it is harder, but hopefully still within the grasp of the many bright state students all over the country-I really feel it will be ok for our girls at HBS. As someone who never liked the physical sciences or maths much, I have still had a very wonderful life as a biologist and I really believe its needed as part of education in today's world to get as much science as possible, particularly for those who will never engage again.
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