Triple Award Science (sometimes known as ‘Separate Sciences’ or ‘Single Sciences’) is where students study all three sciences and end up with three GCSEs.
Double Award Science (also known as ‘Combined Science’ or ‘Trilogy’) is where students study all three sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) but end up with two GCSEs. The majority of GCSE students in England follow the Double Award course, which covers approximately two thirds of the content covered by Triple Award Science students. They are awarded two GCSE grades based on their overall performance across all three science subjects.
This system was introduced in 2006. It can cause confusion because, when parents were at school, “Double Science” meant two of the three science subjects.