Yr9 options - sociology vs ICT

[Teccy]

Our DD has to make her choices shortly. She is determined to do 3 seperate sciences, which will be a stretch as she is in set 2, but teacher thinks manageable. For one of the other slots she was thinking of doing sociology because she liked the sound of it (not having had any lessons in it yet). However, at open night the ICT teacher was encouraging her to do that, and indicated with the split of coursework to exam it could be a relatively easy option for her, to line up against the more difficult subject.
DH thinks this is a better choice, given how much IT there is in most jobs nowadays. Does anyone have a view on pros and cons of the two options? Currently she is interested in Psychology but that could change given her age well before she needs to take A level choices.
Thanks for any tips - its hard with your eldest to be properly informed

[RatherBeOnThePiste]

I would go for ICT as sociology is a subject you can pick up later. But then who am I to say, my DD is choosing Latin over Spanish, that's another tricky one!

[claig]

Had a look at ICT GCSE syllabus and it doesn't look very inspiring, quite a lot of guff about globalisation and ICT, health and safety, supermarkets and ICT etc. I think sociology will be far more interesting and is a good match with psychology. I think with sociology she may well develop a love for the subject which can lead her in many different directions. It will also making studying interesting, whereas the ICT syllabus looks a little bit mind-numbing.

However, I think the ICT teacher is probably right that the coursework aspect of ICT will probably make it an easier subject to pass.
She will be using IT in other subjects so should know how to use word processors, spreadsheets and presentation software anyway. If she wanted to work in IT at a deeper level then she would need much more training and would probably need to get professional certifications, which people study for at a later stage.

[muddleduck]

fwiw, from the point of view of getting into uni to psychology ...

it makes no difference at all - both will be helpful but not essential
but it is great that she is doing 3 sciences - this will count in her favour.

[lazymumofteenagesons]

Sociology not given much weight as a serious academic subject at A level. You don't need it to go on to study sociology at university and some universities don't like it. If she is serious about Psychology she will need maths and biology at A level.

That aside if this is just an extra subject on top of traditional academic ones she should do whichever interests her more.

[Lilymaid]

I wouldn't rate either course much. Aren't there any other more academic options she could take? I read this newspaper item on ICT GCSE and it backs up my DSs view on the ICT courses they were offered when they were doing GCSE. Something like a European Computer Driving Licence would be more useful if you wanted to prove your knowledge of computer applications.

[MaureenMLove]

I'd go for IT too, purely because with all the weight of triple science, she may be relieved to have a subject that doesn't require too much work.

If she is choosing between the two, just because she has to fill a gap in her timetable, better to go for the easier option imho.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Are you sure the ICT is a GCSE option? My son is also choosing his options right now (and also is going to go for triple science and ICT!) but we discovered last night that the school only offers ICT as a BTEC. I know the right level of pass at BTEC is equivalent to a GCSE, but it has made me wonder if the course is going to be too basic for ds.

[princessparty]

DS's school doesn't offer GCSE as an option.They all do a compulsory ICT qualification which is 'worth' a GCSE but is studied for all of 40 mins a week for a year and everyone gets virtually full marks on!

[MmeBlueberry]

I would choose ICT over Sociology. I think -ologies are best reserved for A-level and beyond.

[princessparty]

except biology !