avidskier wrote:
I know the number of subjects has always historically been a focus with both OLevels and GCSE but this really is a marked change. And it is hard to overcome the temptation to pile on the number.
Has it? I don't think it has actually. I did O levels and it was nearly always 8, occasionally 9 and rarely 10 in one go. Universities have only ever cared about the top 8 GCSEs so there has never been any real point doing any more; it is just that the number has gradually crept up so the average now is probably 10. I am not sure who exactly is finding it 'hard to overcome the temptation to pile on the number' but I don't think it is schools, nor pupils themselves (whoever could it be, then?

). Either way, one's autonomy to decide is likely to be restricted by school policy - you can't just unilaterally opt to take 12 if a school offers you 9. End of.