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How do you get DDD in BTEC science?

cookiesnccream

I'm planning on doing BTEC national extended diploma for 2 yrs. Does anyone have any advice on how to get DDD?

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by cookiesnccream

I'm planning on doing BTEC national extended diploma for 2 yrs. Does anyone have any advice on how to get DDD?

Spend some time reading the specification (here) and understanding the structure of the qualification. By that I mean which units are mandatory and which are optional, which are internal (coursework) and which are external (exams), what "size" each unit is, and therefore how many points it's worth.

For example, a distinction in Unit 1 (Principles and Applications of Science I) is worth 24 points, whilst a distinction in Unit 5 (Principles and Applications of Science II) is worth 32 points, because it's a larger unit. Contrast that with any of the optional units, where a distinction will only get you 16 points, because they're smaller.

You need at least a "near pass" in every external (examined unit), but you can retake each twice (for a total of three attempts). If you don't get at least a "near pass" in one of these units, its fatal to the overall grade - you'd get a U. As long as you can scrape at least a "near pass" in each of the four external units, then you can actually get a decent grade overall (DDM) - although you'd need a distinction in every internal unit to do so.

You need 216 points in total for DDD (page 310 of the specification), so it pays to understand which units are important, and which are less important, points wise.