Wallington County Grammar 3 year GCSE

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Jaspermum
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 11:07 pm

Wallington County Grammar 3 year GCSE

Post by Jaspermum »

Hi All,
Need your advice on the pros and cons of 3 years GCSE (WCGS) starting in Y9 and 2 years KS3 as opposed to doing 2 years GCSE
I am unable to decide between WCGS and Sutton Grammar which one of these should I put higher in CAF. I have looked at all other comparisons between the two schools and kind of know what will suit my DS but unable to make up my mind on this one, purely I think because of lack of knowledge of the advantages/disadvantages. Help please!!
ToadMum
Posts: 11944
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Wallington County Grammar 3 year GCSE

Post by ToadMum »

Jaspermum wrote:Hi All,
Need your advice on the pros and cons of 3 years GCSE (WCGS) starting in Y9 and 2 years KS3 as opposed to doing 2 years GCSE
I am unable to decide between WCGS and Sutton Grammar which one of these should I put higher in CAF. I have looked at all other comparisons between the two schools and kind of know what will suit my DS but unable to make up my mind on this one, purely I think because of lack of knowledge of the advantages/disadvantages. Help please!!
There may well be a 'correct' opinion to hold on the subject, but having had one go through the one version, another through the other and a third in the middle of going through the same as the first, so to speak, I would personally say it's not something to get your Ks in a T about. They all get to the same place in the end. The 'two year GCSE' one's school did start the GCSE syllabus in the sciences part way through year 9, anyway. The main issue, I suppose, is that the 'three year GCSE' system means that the number of subjects they study in year 9 is reduced sooner - a 'bad thing' in terms of maintaining breadth for as long as possible, but an individual student may be only too pleased to be able to give some subjects up a year earlier.

Which school does your DS prefer? When you visited, which one could he best see himself going to 'for real'? Which one is easier for him to get to every day?
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Jaspermum
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 11:07 pm

Re: Wallington County Grammar 3 year GCSE

Post by Jaspermum »

Thanks for your reply Toadmum. As you rightly said they all get to the same in the end, however more schools are moving to the 3 year GCSE to improve their results. Personally I feel children are too young in Y8 to make subject choices and leaving out the optional subjects too early too!
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