It’s not that simple, sunnyschool. Lots of kids are on a fixed track. Lots of stem applicants take physics in 12. And if this is potentially for a tippy top, a lot more than the physics grade is needed- and can show readiness.
But to entirely avoid bio? Must have been an extraordinary humanities applicant? OP’s son does seem headed for stem.
OP, if the GC is ok with this, I think it’s fine to indulge him. Do make sure he has msth-sci ECs snd stretch, but also some rounding.
Bio is not really dependent upon other sciences (a little bit with Bio-Chem, but we usually teach it in Bio, so not a pre-req). It can be taken any year.
Many of the schools saying they are offering Physics first are really offering Physical Science - kids/parents shorten it to Physics. The two are not really the same, but there’s no problem overall with that either. I’m sure some schools are offering real non-Calc based Physics first, but I know it’s not all of them. The one I work at has Physical Science in 9th for traditional students.
Plenty of students skip Physics entirely (why Physical Science got put into 9th grade) - again - not a problem unless one is heading toward majors in college that need it. I can’t think of any who skip Bio entirely TBH. In our state, that’s a Keystone test all Bio students have to take (or can substitute AP Bio scores).
@sunnyschool We can agree to disagree then.
I suppose it’s all how the question was posed. “Ms. AO. Would you like to see a grade in AP Physics C” is unlikely to garner a negative response. Colleges can “like” to see all sorts of things, but that does not mean that the HS allows it. As @lookingforward says, for most HS students, taking AP Physics C before 12th grade is not even an option, yet somehow some get in EA/ED. If a kid was the right fit for a college, I would like to see the application where the AO said “Gee, we would have admitted him EA if only he had not made the bad decision of taking AP Bio instead of AP Physics C as a junior.”
But I will also say that, like with many questions, the answer of when to take X vs Y in any given situation is often “it depends.”
@skieurope You are misinterpreting my statement. I said they would “like:” to see it, if the student did well.
I did not compare it to other offerings or the track at the OP high school or any other school.
SOME schools do have choice and flexibility – in fact all three of the public and private high schools my children attended - as well as the 4th school where I attended a curriculum panel last night and asked this question after - DO have flexibility.
The AO’s often know the high schools and what courses and tracks are available to those students. They can see the choices made. For those applying to Engineering programs, having grades in Physics (that are good) CAN help and does not hurt.
Mine took physics in 9. One semester of that, the next semester chem. (Or vice versa, to balance teacher work.) Then, second part of each, in 11. It was a newish trend, to expose them to true physics earlier. (A girls school.)
The stem track at DD’s school had 9th grade H bio, 10th grade H chem, 11th grade H physics, and then AP science senior year. I honestly don’t think the sequence matters and in schools without flexibility, it just is what it is.
DD took Honors Bio in 12th grade and was accepted to a top school. She had already completed AP Physics C junior year and AP chem Sophomore year and we were wondering if Biology was needed at all. We couldn’t find enough anecdotes on skipping Bio altogether, so she took it. In the end she actually liked it a lot. Her senior year course load was actually less than junior year because she also finished Multivariable Calc in 11th. So, it may not matter if course rigor drops senior year as long as you have taken them earlier. And yes, her peers were sophomores in the Hbiology class and she didn’t mind.
In our high school school goes on until the end of June. AP Bio is mostly juniors with a smattering of sophomores. (NY) AP Bio always has a big project after the AP, but the kids in AP Physics C who were nearly all seniors just played ping pong on the lab tables and had fun. But there’s nothing wrong with taking the courses out of the more usual order.
Assuming seniors get out of school earlier than the underclassmen, if I were a student at @mathmom 's HS, I’d take Physics C as a junior and AP Bio as a senior. That way, it’s the best of all worlds: I get to play ping pong, not have to do the AP bio project, and fulfill @sunnyschool 's rec that physics grade be on my HS transcript when applying EA/ED. >:)
But did they have to write up lab reports on the physics of how the balls bounce?
DD’s HS did cool labs after the AP tests for the remainder of the year in both physics C and chem. They did have to do write ups but she loved it.
@skieurope you could have skipped the AP Bio project at the risk of flunking AP Bio and having that EA/ED acceptance rescinded.
No lab reports on ping pong or on the physics of the Star Wars movies which they also watched. 
There might have been more complaints from higher ups, but they all did very well on the test.
I actually liked the AP Bio project, my older son found out what dh does (cancer research) and he was forced to explain it in a way we could all understand.
Back in the very old days, the honors science sequence was physics in 10th, chem in 11th and AP Bio in 12th. However, that changed a few years after I graduated because the most advanced kids wanted to be able to take AP Chem, which was not possible with the honors track. The idea was that bio built on the skills learned in physics and chem. The problem was that the physics and chem teachers were among the best I ever had, but the AP bio teacher was not.
Interesting @mom2and - in my old days (30 years ago) there was no honors requirement and we could go straight to AP. I took AP bio in 10th, AP chem 11th, and AP physics in 12th. That was the standard sequence in my HS.
Loved Post #28. @skieurope you have the right amount of devil and angel in you to moderate this forum.
First question: Does it really matter? EVERY high school requirements are different. Funny thing is, some schools don’t even offer Honors classes in the science division. My high school science went like this:
8th: Earth Science
9th: Biology
10: Chemistry
11: Physics or AP science
12: Physics or AP science
For someone who was not accelerated
9th: Earth Science
10th: biology
11: Chemistry
12: Physics or AP biology (Or both if schedule allows it)
Taking Biology until 12th grade won’t affect your child chances to his/her dream college.
My high school only offers AP Biology in science! Yet, people still went to some prestigious colleges!