12 GCSE's - Too much?

Reply 20

OP

10

Original post

by RandomOneOhOne

I’m in Y11 and doing 12 subjects. I wouldn’t say it’s too much but you do have to be good at organising your time.
I would also consider your current grades, would an extra gcse be worth it if it brought your other grades down due to lack of time? If you are looking at 8/9 for everything comfortably already then give it a go. Ultimately I don’t think it matters too much how many you do as long as you do 8 as the few Unis that look at GCSE’s only look at top 8 anyway. Doing a couple more gives you wiggle room incase you mess up but also means you have less time to study the original 8. I know I’d have lots more time if I only did 10 but my school makes everyone do 11/12

thats a good point tyy

Reply 21

hans2345

6

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

I think its fine (I did 14 and got all 9s) especially as fm is not that much more than normal maths, its pretty much just the basics of differentiation (which is way easier than it sounds at gcse), circle graphs (also really easy) and matrices (annoying but ok). People make it out to be way harder than it is, especially for someone predicted a 9 in maths.

Reply 22

izzyhalliday25

9

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

Hey I did 12 including further maths in year 11 and got all 9s. I always kept the option open to drop out but found that if I managed my time well it was fine so I’d say go for it and you can always change your mind. Even if you don’t do the exam the content will help you in a level next year. Good luck I’m sure you’ll do amazing!

Reply 23

username7481816

OP

10

Original post

by izzyhalliday25

Hey I did 12 including further maths in year 11 and got all 9s. I always kept the option open to drop out but found that if I managed my time well it was fine so I’d say go for it and you can always change your mind. Even if you don’t do the exam the content will help you in a level next year. Good luck I’m sure you’ll do amazing!

tyy

Reply 24

username6911293

13

hi! i actually took 13 (two out of main schl) - and I think as long as you're confident its manageable - just always have your priority subjects for next steps. i personally bombed gcse further - but still took it at a level so its not limiting!

Reply 25

username7481816

OP

10

Original post

by totesnotgrace

hi! i actually took 13 (two out of main schl) - and I think as long as you're confident its manageable - just always have your priority subjects for next steps. i personally bombed gcse further - but still took it at a level so its not limiting!

tyy

Reply 26

elliott183724

14

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

I did additional maths gcse if this helps, usually the last exam so you can kind of leave it until last minute, u can find YouTube videos walking though the whole unit I watched these a week before the exam did some past papers and got a distinction, definitely do-able as there isn't too much content and depending on exam board the grade boundaries aren't too high, it wasn't exactly worth it for me as I didn't do maths a level but some of my friends do maths a level and it helped them! I don't think this is exactly relevant but I did 13 and I didn't notice any more stress then my peers were having, if you do it and realise you don't have enough time to manage it doesn't really matter anyway because you'll still have 11 others to do well in!

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 27

Iglooz

1

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

Honestly taking 12 subjects doesnt give you any benefit, you’re only giving yourself more to revise. I did further maths gcse because i thought it would be useful for alevel maths but honestly it wasnt even necessary, it made me more confused because techniques that worked for gcse fm wasnt a similar approach to alevel maths, however if you enough maths then it shouldnt be a problem for you.

Reply 28

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

If you want to do maths at a-level, then the further maths gcse may be useful. Could you not start it and see how you go? Would your school let you drop it if it became too much?
If you are taking the early entry italian, then surely you would finish that this year? (and not have to do it in year 11).

Reply 29

username7481816

OP

10

Original post

by Emma:-)

If you want to do maths at a-level, then the further maths gcse may be useful. Could you not start it and see how you go? Would your school let you drop it if it became too much?
If you are taking the early entry italian, then surely you would finish that this year? (and not have to do it in year 11).

yes i am. I'm so nervous because my speaking is right in the middle of my mocks so i have an exam before and after

Reply 30

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

Original post

by radioactive-cave

yes i am. I'm so nervous because my speaking is right in the middle of my mocks so i have an exam before and after

You could try the further maths and see how you go. And see if your school will let you drop it if need be.

Reply 31

ke1r4

3

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

hi. sorry i haven’t done my gcses yet so can’t really help you but i see you did IT and textiles so i was wondering if u have any tips for them and what they were like. thanks and those grades are amazing. HOW? lol

Reply 32

username7481816

OP

10

Original post

by ke1r4

hi. sorry i haven’t done my gcses yet so can’t really help you but i see you did IT and textiles so i was wondering if u have any tips for them and what they were like. thanks and those grades are amazing. HOW? lol

For ICT i's say definitely keep on top of your python learning and revise the content regularly and for textiles do not let the things you need to do pile up because you don't want to spend a week of your holidays catching up on work you couldn't be asked to do during term time (from experience lol)

Reply 33

Kingston Jenifer

Official Rep

11

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

Hi there!

Your GCSEs are a stepping stone to your A-Levels, which are a stepping stone to a degree (assuming this is the route you want to take).

Having 12 GCSEs doesn't really put you at any advantage when getting into sixth form. 12 B/C grade GCSEs is not better than the standard 9 (might be 10, I did my GCSEs back in 2018!) A/B grade GCSEs.
For a degree, having 12 GCSEs is not an advantage! Universities focus on your A-Levels and your personal statement more than your GCSEs. As long as you meet the minimum entry requirements (usually a grade 4 or 5 in English and math for most universities) then you'll be fine.

It is really good you are wary of burnout because this will affect your grades. I experienced burn out during my A-levels and my grades were impacted horrifically. Physics, Chemistry and Maths is quite a common combination, as is further maths as a fourth A-level. Typically, universities look at 3 rather than 4. It is better to have AAA than BBBB. Quality over quantity!

I hope this helps, and more questions let me know!

Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep)

Reply 34

McGinger

20

Why bother?

Universities are not impressed by 'more' GCSEs. Aside from any specific GCSE requirements - typically in Maths and English - they will only score your top 8m or even just 5, GCSE grades as part of their overall assessment. They will just ignore all the others.

Reply 35

Shankie

13

Original post

by McGinger

Why bother?
Universities are not impressed by 'more' GCSEs. Aside from any specific GCSE requirements - typically in Maths and English - they will only score your top 8m or even just 5, GCSE grades as part of their overall assessment. They will just ignore all the others.

Agreed with that , i got 9998887765 (9 in maths and 99 in combined science) and i got into many Y12 outreach programmes (incl Uni of Oxford, Bath and Sheffield) and cuz of these programmes i will be getting guaranteed reduced offers from Bath and Sheffield.

Reply 36

username7481816

OP

10

Original post

by Shankie

Agreed with that , i got 9998887765 (9 in maths and 99 in combined science) and i got into many Y12 outreach programmes (incl Uni of Oxford, Bath and Sheffield) and cuz of these programmes i will be getting guaranteed reduced offers from Bath and Sheffield.

whats a year 12 outreach program i've never heard of that?

Reply 37

Shankie

13

There are loads of outreach programmes for Year 12s who want to go to uni. Pretty much every uni offers them — most happen in the summer holidays (called summer schools), but Oxbridge ones can run all year round.

The main benefit is that some unis give reduced offers if you complete their programme (though Oxbridge, ICL, UCL, KCL, QMUL and LSE usually don’t lower offers, but they give tons of support with your application, personal statement, and interviews).

Some programmes are residential (you stay at the uni for 3–4 days), while others are non-residential (you travel in daily — like UCL’s Maths Summer School). Best part? They’re all FREE — they cover everything: accommodation, food, travel, etc. You don’t pay a single penny.

Reply 38

Shankie

13

Original post

by Shankie

There are loads of outreach programmes for Year 12s who want to go to uni. Pretty much every uni offers them — most happen in the summer holidays (called summer schools), but Oxbridge ones can run all year round.
The main benefit is that some unis give reduced offers if you complete their programme (though Oxbridge, ICL, UCL, KCL, QMUL and LSE usually don’t lower offers, but they give tons of support with your application, personal statement, and interviews).
Some programmes are residential (you stay at the uni for 3–4 days), while others are non-residential (you travel in daily — like UCL’s Maths Summer School). Best part? They’re all FREE — they cover everything: accommodation, food, travel, etc. You don’t pay a single penny.

However due to high numbers of applications they usually select students w best grades and also if someone is at a disadvantage and still manage to get a good GCSE profile (check widening participation criteria at any uni website, you would know how they select students for these programmes). My advice is to get at least 6 grade between 7-9 and there will be high chance they will accept U.

Reply 39

HumanBeans

12

Original post

by radioactive-cave

Hi everyone!
I'm currently in year 10 and I have lots of exams after easter, most of them mocks but I'm also taking an early entry Italian GCSE because my mum made me. My current subjects and target grades are:
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
ICT - 9
Maths - 9
Textiles - 8/9
Spanish - 8
Physics - 9
RE - 8/9
English - 8
My school offers Further Maths for people in top set in year 11 but is 12 GCSE's too much? I don't want to reach burnout and i looked it up and only 0.1% of the country take 12. Will this give me and advantage in getting into 6th form or does it not really have an impact. My A-level choices at the moment and Physics, Chemistry, Maths and maybe Further Maths but I'm not sure yet.
Hope anyone can give me some advice, especially someone who took 12 gcse's.
have a great day x

Firstly those are my A-Levels so good choice (although a will say they not the most fun a levels but defo the most interesting)

Secondly I did 12 GCSEs and it is totally not worth it - you only need 8 to get into any sixth form and no one really cares that much that you did 12. The only benefit is you can flunk one or two and it has little to no effect.

I did
English lit -9
Lang - 8
Bio - 9
Chem - 9
Physics - 9
Maths - 9
Further Maths - 8
History - 9
Geography - 9
French - 8 (This was a miracle - was convinced I would get a 6)
DT - 9
RS (A year early) - 7

12 GCSE's - Too much?

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