School changing goalposts

susancs

pinkshoes wrote: »

XxJudexx, we only have two of 8 or 9 classes doing triple science, so just the top students who we think can handle it. It is taught in the same 9 hours a fortnight timetable so we oush through at quite a pace.

Is he in mixed ability classes or sets? Is it AQA science?

Seems very odd to move the goal posts so late. We decide at the end of Y9 whether it is a bright year group or not, then make the decision on one or two triple science classses. we occasionally then bump a kid or two down a set if they have struggled.

MY DDs school (faith based, non academic selctive, large comprehensive school), used to only have the top students doing triple science, but recently changed to nearly all pupils doing triple science. The reasoning behind it, we were told was that triple was not harder than double science just had more content i.e. 10% more of the students overall timetable and for this it gave an extra GCSE. Studying triple science made the transition into A level science study easier. If a student was poorer in one subject and doing double science it would pull the overall grade for all subjects down as it is a combined grade, but with triple as there were three different subject grades this would not happen. They also had research to show the A level science uptake was better when students studied triple science and A level science grades were usually higher amongst students who had done triple v double at GCSE ( I did consider that this may in reality be more a case of top students doing triple GCSE who would have done equally well at A level having just done double at GCSE). OP maybe you could use these points to back up your case that your child should be doing triple science?

Buzzybee90

I wouldn't worry about double science being seen as worse, when I was at school brighter children did double anyway.

What is odd is that's he's only doing 8? I did almost double that.

bsms1147

meer53 wrote: »

How is he half way through his GCSE's in year 10 ?

When do you think GCSEs happen?

clairec79

I remember when I did A levels they said anyone who did A level physics had to do A level Maths

Rosemary7391

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

I was taught my final year of A level maths by someone with a "Physics and Philosophy" degree (think that's right!) from Oxford, in his first year of teaching after his PGCE, so he was only bout 5 or six years older than us.

He was very good, despite not being a maths graduate. In fact I'd go so far as to say the best Maths teacher I had at school. Although once or twice we asked him stuff that he didn't know the answer to and had to go away and research before the next lesson!

Maths is the language of physics, so I'd be more surprised if a physicist couldn't teach A level maths than if they could! You can even find physicists hiding in mathematics departments in universities... Chemistry and physics are not as close, but they do touch in some points so it isn't unreasonable for the right person.