We’re tried all of these! Reading social media posts shows a huge variety in the time people take to complete a GCSE and we’ve dabbled in different approaches. Some people can do it in three months, some in one year and others over many years. We’ve learned so much from the last few years doing our first few GCSEs and, as a result, we’re changing up how we’re doing things going forward for 2024/25.
How we’ve approached our first GCSEs
Aggie did her first iGCSE in Environmental Management in 13 months, starting in September 2021 for the exams in September/October 2022. This was her first GCSE and she was only 11. We comfortably finished the syllabus by April 2022 and wished we’d gone for the exam in June 2022 rather than waiting another four months. We went slowly, as doing exams was all new to her but we became very bored by the end; nine months would have been ample.
Fast forward a year, Aggie did Psychology GCSE, starting in September 2023 for the exam in May 2024. Nine months was just about the right amount of time for this GCSE. There were few trips and places we could go to connected with the syllabus so it was all very much textbook- and syllabus-based. We hit a bit of a block in April 2024 which gave me a big panic whether she’d be ready in time, but we worked ourselves out of that sticky patch with a concerted effort.
Aggie had a go at doing Statistics GCSE from January to June 2024 and we booked the exam ready. The content was totally doable in such a short time frame, and I’ve read enough posts about people doing this GCSE very quickly, but it didn’t happen for us; we cancelled the exam booking in April. It wasn’t the statistics that was the problem; it was combining it with life happening and with needing more time to spend on Spanish and Psychology which were also on the list for June 2024 (and our priority). It was entirely possible to do Statistics in six months if it had been our main focus but it was clear the love wasn’t there for the subject to be a priority and it became a chore; a very burdensome one at that. We don’t regret giving it a go, and Aggie may yet return to do this subject, but in 2024 it made us stressed and unhappy and so it had to go. We learned a lot from this experience; just because you can do a GCSE in six months doesn’t mean you should!
The same year, 11-year-old Peggy did Classical Civilisation GCSE from September 2023 to May 2024 as her first GCSE. Whilst we completed the syllabus in good time, a lot of time had to be given over to exam technique as Peggy had so little experience of essay writing. Peggy adored this subject and is now going on to do Ancient History GCSE. In hindsight, though, I wish we’d done this course more slowly over two years. It’s this experience that’s made us question the planned one-year pattern and move to doing most GCSEs going forward over 2 years.
Reasons we’ve moved to doing most GCSEs over two years
- For Classical Civilisation, Peggy adored the content but we had to stay focused on the core syllabus only to get through everything in time. We deviated little from the textbook and so missed out on all the wider reading and learning we could have done.
- Over the course of the nine months, we didn’t get to go and visit as many places as we’d have liked. Although we made it to Rome, we couldn’t fit in many places closer to home in the nine months. I’m sure we’ll be visiting them at some point in the future, but it would have been more special to do that at the time we were learning about them.
- The final few months were very intense trying to get exam-ready. We pretty much focused exclusively on the GCSE subjects from April to June (both girls also did Spanish) and it got very boring and tedious by the end. All learning was exam-focused and we became rather exam obsessed. This inevitably took away some of the love for the subjects and generally did our heads in!
- We’re only a few months after the exams now and I can see that we’re already forgetting the things we learned. As everything was studied in a relatively short period of time, I’d say quite a lot hasn’t been firmly embedded in our long-term memories. We didn’t get to revisit the content many times and have new experiences to add to and consolidate existing knowledge. This is such a shame when it’s a subject you’re genuinely interested in. Of course learning doesn’t just stop once the GCSE is completed, but realistically we then move onto new subjects and topic areas and the old learning soon gets pushed to one side without a concerted effort to retain it.
- Further to the above, I’m conscious of the impact on further study if a GCSE is done quickly. Aggie is pretty set on going on to do Biology and Chemistry at A level. She needs a really strong foundation in these subjects to do well and I think this will be best achieved by going slowly and deeply with the GCSE material. I also think she needs to test whether she actually enjoys learning it over two years as she’ll have to do the same again for A levels.
- Taking two years means exam technique can be spread out over a longer period of time; we can adopt a “little and often” approach. This will surely be less painful?! That’s my hope anyway!
- We mostly self-study. Even when we do use courses, I still usually end up supplementing the resources and doing lots of extra activities. There is a limit to what I can do at any one time though! I’ve now got two years per subject so have more time to plan and add experiences which helps me to get more creative and less restricted!
- Our girls are young. We’ve started GCSEs early as the girls were ready for a challenge. They’re not ready, however, for some subjects, like English Literature and History, which require a greater level of maturity. I have no doubt that they would pass the exams doing them now but, when they’re capable of the highest marks, why rush? I’m therefore keen to delay some until I know they can achieve their full potential.
- Most importantly of all, we want to enjoy our learning! Our girls want to do lots of different subjects and learn them alongside each other rather than focusing on a few subjects at a time. It’s much easier to juggle lots of different subjects if you’re not constantly working to tight deadlines. With a two-year window, we can prioritise different things at different times. If we’re really into something, or finding something particularly difficult, we can park another subject to give it our full attention. I love the idea of the greater flexibility this will bring.
Are we doing every GCSE over two years now?
We’ve opted to take three more subjects over one year and here’s why:
German (Peggy) – the current GCSE syllabus for all modern foreign languages ends with the June 2025 exams. The new syllabus comes into force for exams from June 2026 onwards. Peggy did Spanish GCSE in June 2024 so is very familiar with the current exam format and style and so it makes sense for her to do German under the same system before it changes. It’s going to be very tight doing it in one year but she’s determined to give it a go!
Business (Peggy) – the content for this GCSE feels like a lot less than the Classical Civilisation syllabus we’ve just done and Peggy has learned quite a bit about business already. The exam questions are very straightforward so exam technique will be less time consuming to sort (hopefully) and she’s strong on the maths elements. Business is often chosen as a first GCSE so I’m confident that Peggy will be OK over nine months on this one.
Sociology (Aggie) – there is a lot of crossover with Psychology GCSE which Aggie sat in June 2024. She has already studied one entire section on research methodology and the essay skills needed are virtually the same too. She’s familiar with learning about different theories and case studies so has the skills already to tackle this different type of content. We’re therefore happy to do this one in nine months.
How iGCSEs can give greater flexibility
Sometimes you just don’t know how things will go until you start! You can do all the research you can and read how other people have found each subject, but your experience may end up being totally different. This is where doing iGCSEs can come in really handy and give you a greater degree of flexibility. Most iGCSEs can be sat twice a year, both in summer and in autumn. If you aim for the summer sitting, but you don’t feel totally ready, you can then go for the autumn sitting instead. As we found with Statistics GCSE, we weren’t quite ready for June 2024 and had to cancel but the next sitting wasn’t until June 2025; that’s a long time to wait! We’ve therefore opted specifically for Maths iGCSE so we can aim for November 2025 but run onto June 2026 if we’re not ready. It’s a shame we can’t do this for more subjects!
It can be a tough decision
The decision really needs to be made on a subject by subject basis. Some subjects are notoriously content heavy, some have more difficult exam technique but others are lighter on both of these.
It also depends on the individual taking it. You need to take into account what prior knowledge and exam experience they have and how quickly they can pick up new learning. If you have more than one child, the decision for one subject may be different for each child.
Fundamentally we love learning. We are doing GCSEs because the girls want to; they have chosen to do many more than the three required by our local A-level college. The girls enjoy studying many different subjects at the same time. We love going off on tangents and digging deeper and beyond the syllabuses. For us, GCSEs are about so much more than the final exam grade (although this is of course important). We want to enjoy the content and the learning experience along the way; the actual exams can sometimes feel irrelevant. Peggy’s already excited about spending five months instead of 2.5 months studying Cleopatra for Ancient History GCSE; Aggie has written a long list of places she wants to visit for her History courses which will most definitely take more than 12 months to get through! After the last year, we’re ready to slow our learning down and doing GCSEs over two years is the key to that for our family.
