You’ve received a letter from the school stating that your child will be studying double science. You’re not sure exactly what that means. To add to the confusion, you found out that there’s also a triple science pathway which her friend will be studying. You do some research and you start to wonder why your child isn’t on the same pathway, especially as they plan to progress onto A-level science.
Triple or double science are the main pathways students study in GCSE science. In this post, I’ll give you the pros and cons of each. I’ll also talk about important things to consider when making a decision between triple science or double science. Let’s jump right in.
Triple or Double Science: The main differences
Double Science (also known as Combined Science) is where students study all three sciences. At the end of their study, they are awarded two GCSEs. This is because they cover around a third less content than triple science students. So, doing double science counts as two options.
Triple Science (also known as Separate Science or Single Science) is where students study all three sciences. They end up with three separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. This is because, although the triple science course covers the same structure and content as combined science, they study extra content that bridges the gap between GCSE and A-level
Advantages of triple science
- Easier transition into A-level. Because the triple Science course covers more content, students wishing to study sciences at A-level will be better prepared than combined science students.
- Favoured by employers & FE Institutions. If your child is planning to study a science-related subject at A-level and university then doing triple science will be better as employers and further education institutions will favour triple science over double science.
Disadvantages of triple science
- More content to cover. Triple science means the child will be taking an extra option. This means, there’ll be much more content to cover and hence more for the child to learn.
- More challenging content. Triple science is more challenging with harder and more advanced content. This means that triple science does not cater to everyone. In fact, only a small number of students take this route.
Advantages of double science
- Less content to cover. A child studying double science will effectively be doing one less option. So, they’ll have more time to focus on other GCSE options as well as work on improving their double science grades.
- Two identical grades awarded. In double science, a child is awarded two identical grades based on their performance across all three sciences. This can be an advantage for the child because if they are particularly strong at one or two sciences , it can help bring their overall grades up.
Disadvantage of double science
- Harder Transition to A level – Students doing combined science will miss out on some additional concept that bridges the gap between GCSE and A-level. So, if they chose to study a science-related subject at A-level, they may need to spend a small amount of time catching up on key topics early on in their first year of A-levels. It is important to note here that a child can still do A-level science with double science grades. They may just find they need to cover some gaps earlier on.
What is Trilogy?
If your child is studying Trilogy, it means they are on the combined science route. Trilogy is just what the exam board AQA chooses to call it.
Some things to consider.
- Is the child enthusiastic about science? If your child is motivated & have a strong interest in science then they will most likely be willing to put in the extra work required in triple science.
- Is your child consistently achieving a grade 6 or above in science? Someone who is consistently achieving a grade 6 (strong B), shows they have the potential to succeed in triple science.
- Are they good at Maths? There’s a lot of maths content in the science exams, and even more so for triple science. So, if your child is confident with maths (they are consistently achieving a grade 6 in maths), they should be able to handle maths-related science exam questions.
- Do they have good literacy skills? Students taking the triple science route will most likely be sitting the higher-tier paper. There are longer essay-type questions in the higher tier so students need to have good written communication skills. More on the higher tier paper here.
- What are their next steps after GCSE? Is the student planning on studying science-related course at university? If so, it would be better for them to do triple science. Note however that triple science is not a prerequisite for A-level science. In fact, not all secondary schools offer triple science so sixth-forms and colleges use double science as the standard for entry into their courses.
Triple or Double Science: Final Thoughts
I hope after reading through this post that you have a better idea of the difference between triple and science. When making your decission, consider that it may be better for a child to do double science and get two good grades example, 8,8; than triple science and get 3 lower grades e.g. 4,4, 5. So even if a child’s goal is to progress to A-level and a science-related career, but they are struggling with the stress of triple science, the doing double science is fine.
Many years ago, I studied double science at school but I went on to do a masters in science, and I now a science teacher. So, this shows that double science doesn’t affect a child taking further studies in science. They may just need to work a little harder later to cover some grounds. In fact, the vast majority of students in the UK study combined science.
Hi Sylvia,
Thai is a very interesting article. I wish I had had a teacher like you when I was at Secondary School. I might have been much better at science.
Thank you Peter. Yes, having a good teacher can make all the difference. 🙂
Sorry, it is very late here. It should read This is a ….and not Thai is,,, My bad
Thank you so much – very informative article and it cleared all my questions.
You’re welcome, Dini.
Hello , my daughter is in year 6 but I want to be preparing for science from now. What do I do?
That’s a great question Omo. Start by getting her to look at KS3 science books and science videos for eary primary school level?
Hello, my daughter is home educated and we are thinking of preparing her for triple Science. as of Sept 2023, she has started Year 7, however, since we are home educating, I was thinking maybe starting straight away with one of the sciences and taking our time with it. Doing one science subject per year.
Some home educators found skipping KS3 Science was helpful, studying one science at a time meant they could set the exam when they are ready.
I am new to the IGCSE route, I did triple science in my time although not in English, but I understand the complexity of the subjects.
Would this approach can be beneficial in your experience? what would be the disadvantages?
She is good in Maths and are showing signs of interests in Biology.
If we do go down the route of double science and let’s say she got an OK grade, but still wanted to do an A level in it, would she still be able to? I understand schools can stop the students from doing so but was wondering how it would work if the student is home educated.
Thanks!
Hi Dina. Thanks for your message. Yes, for a home ed student. I would recommend focusing on once science subject before moving on to the next. This would be a better approach.