Y9 GCSE Options - Latin or History?

My mum refused to let me do GCSE Latin as she said it was an irrelevant subject. 7 years on, I was desperately struggling to learn Latin on my own when doing a Masters in 17th century history...

They're both good subjects, so why doesn't he just pick what he fancies and spend a couple of years enjoying his studies?

but teachers leave ....

Decide between history & latin depending on which has the nicer teacher.
Well, you could do worse than decide that way.

gosh that is restrictive
DCs comp (300 per year)
has four option blocks and you pick one from each
most subjects are in two blocks so its a pretty free choice

science is not in the options because the school allocates the kids to their appropriate version

Perhaps it depends on the examination board. I did Latin GCSE at a comp (albeit 22 years ago!) as well as French, German and History and it is much more like a MFL than History in terms of the skills it uses. We didn't do much History as part of my Latin course though - it was a lot of translation stuff and literature.

faybe, of course there is a huge range in there but I reiterate, there is not much analytical thinking/ debate etc. which history could provide. I don't really know how much Uni's care about GCSE subjects BUT if he decided he wanted to do say, Psychology, something with more of the written analysis would come in handy. I don't think it makes a huge difference, but you did ask and that is my opinion. I think he is still very young to have decided what A levels he wants to do, let alone degree. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do when I was 14 and my dsis changed her degree course after she'd started it (4 year course in Scotland). Personally I still think History leaves more options open.

If he doesn't like writing essays, then go for Latin.

If you opt him out of RE, don't assume he can take another subject in its place. Many schools wouldn't be able to timetable this.

Latin is wonderful.
I use it every week (gardening)
DD in her planned career will use it every single day (biomedical research)

I hated it at school, but they do not do bellum, bellum, bella any more

history

latin is ridiculous

and yes I speak foreign languages without it

If he doesn't like writing essays, then I'd steer him away from History.

further maths would be good if he wants science in long run
Is it a very small school or are your options very restricted by "blocks"? DS had 17 options to choose from and had to rank them all.

PS
why not opt him out of RE and then do both ....
RE is not compulsory

the wording on DS's options form reads

I wish my son/daughter to be withdrawn from GCSE Religious Studies in year 10 and 11
and I will sign it, as I did for DD

I would go for the Latin. It will make him stand out from the crowd when it comes to applying to uni. It will greatly enhance his Spanish and English. It will allow him to understand grammar and to be able to analyse structure. It will also open up a whole new range of English vocab.

I think that it is such a shame that so few get the opportunity to study Latin. MFL is in danger of being seen as elitist and inaccessible as Latin in many schools. So great that your DS is thinking of studying Spanish to A Level. That will also make him stand out and be a great asset.

why is Science in his options?

science is pretty much compulsory ... unless he's set 2 and has not been allocated to it ...
in which case you need to check with the teachers
because the jump from GCSE to A level is massive nowadays, particularly in sciences

FWIW if he's at a comp, either Latin or History is fine and dandy - see which he prefers and is thus likely to get a higher grade

Glad to help! Just bear in mind he'll need a fourth subject to take to AS level, assuming the system hasn't changed since my children left school.

Everything Mimsy said x 1000.

OP Will your DS be doing A' levels at his current school or at a sixth form college? Either way - he needs to have some idea of which A' levels he's thinking of, so the school can tell him which GCSEs he will need to have done.

Every university will have different requirements - but you need to work backwards from there so that he doesn't find that a decision made now precludes him from his preferred degree course.

Sorry Merry that's rubbish!
Spanish is a MFL, Latin is like a thinking skills course with some history and literature thrown in.
And it does have a nice bit of rarity factor, especially coming from a comp. (I did Latin History and Soanish at mine!)
The reserve subjects are pretty poor! I think I'd demand private study, or at least threaten it. Computer Science isn't highly regarded and communication studies is a positive disadvantage on a CV.

Has he already studied Latin? If he would be starting it from scratch that's more of a high risk than taking History. Signs that he could do well in it: being good at modern languages, having a good memory, having an analytical mind, being prepared to work hard and stick at it even if he finds it difficult sometimes; and (very, very important, this bit) really wanting to do it, not just taking it because the other options are less appealing or because his friend is taking it.

I studied Latin and Ancient Greek at university, having had the great good fortune to be able to do both at school. My daughter is following in the same path, although she had to do Greek GCSE outside school. For both of us we just knew from early on, goodness knows why, that these were subjects we passionately wanted to study and neither of us has regretted the choice.

There are -ill-informed- people who can see no merit in studying Latin because it's a 'dead' language, ie nobody speaks it now. This is a silly argument.

Firstly, it helps with learning other languages. Spanish, Italian, French and Romanian all developed from Latin after the Roman Empire collapsed, so a lot of the vocabulary comes from Latin.

Secondly, studying Latin is a huge boost to a person's English vocabulary because so many of the more complex words we use have been borrowed from Latin. It helps with spelling those words as well as learning the meanings.

Thirdly, it's a really good way of developing your ability to think logically. The grammar of Latin works differently from most modern European languages, so to translate it into English you have to learn to think in a different way. You need to learn the grammar rules and lots of vocabulary. There's a crossover with maths and computer programming here, which many employers will recognise.

And finally, from the point of view of literature, culture, general knowledge, history etc etc, the Romans were hugely important and their legacy lives on. Some of the world's great classics were written in Latin, and there are countless references to Latin literature and Roman mythology in English and other European literary traditions. Studying Latin will involve learning more about Roman civilisation which will be interesting and useful.

Having said all of that, he can't go wrong with either Latin or History. What a shame the options system doesn't let him do both. Good luck to him!