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Original poster

GCSE options

31 replies

31Daisy · 19/01/2017 17:50

My year 9 son has been told by the school he's on the ebacc pathway so he only has 2 'free' gcse choices. He's dithering between pe, business studies and philosophy. Any pros/cons to help us decide? I know philosophy is the sensible more academic choice but thought business studies and pe would be a change from all the other heavily academic subjects he has to take.

OP posts:
Rumtopf · 20/01/2017 08:03

Is Business offered as a GCSE or Btec?
I think it's a Btec at my Dd's school (we have the meeting next week) and I think although it can be seen as a "soft" subject, it really isn't and has real life positive uses as cricket detailed.
Philosophy and Ethics falls under the RS remit, it's quite an interesting course (I invigilate so get to have a look at the papers too). I think it's a good all round addition to their qualifications but it depends on where he's drawn to.
If he's doing a quite intensive academic set of GCSE's, perhaps the PE being more physical might give him some balance.

I'm off to do some more research as dd wants to have a proper conversation about it this weekend, they're not pushing the eBacc here and I'm not sure why not.

Original poster
31Daisy · 20/01/2017 07:43

Thanks all. Art and tech not his thing at all. He loves PE. Plays football outside school and does athletics for school. They asked him to choose PE?!
The Philosophy syllabus is 50% RE. He is choosing geography anyway as he has to do geography or history.
I think business will be good as it will bring real life scenarios to him. Make the classroom theory a bit more applicable to real life. But I know it is considered 'soft'.

OP posts:
cricketballs · 20/01/2017 05:57

Business (new specs are no longer studies Grin) is a good 'life lessons' subject as well as more academically challenging than MN depicts it to be.

It covers finance (new spec also needs for accounting ratios to be used fluently), marketing, economic environment, HR, legal constraints, start-up business and larger business.

It requires students to assess and evaluate real issues and IMO should be studied by everyone as it helps to make sense of the commercial world they are living in.

And, despite the snobbery against the subject I have past GCSE, A Level and BTEC levels 2 & 3 that have gone on to Oxbridge/RG

clary · 20/01/2017 00:23

Does he love PE? He needs to do three different sports from a list of 12, including one team and one individual (eg athletics, rugby and football) so it's not just about playing footie.

Also the theory aspect is much harder now, more like A-level used to be. Mind you that's true for lots of subjects.

I presume he is already doing a humanity (Hist/Geo) so yy let him do what he wants. Business studies is not what some people think... can he talk to anyone in yr 10 who does it about what they think?

bojorojo · 19/01/2017 22:11

Slightly odd choices. No Art or Technology subject? I would do what he likes. I assume Business Studies and Psychology are subjects he has not studied before so are these a slight risk as there are two of them. They are frequently not offered as GCSE subjects in schools. PE is ok if you are good at PE. I don't think it will make much difference to anything really! Do what he enjoys (although he won't really know if he enjoys subjects he has not studied before!)

TeenAndTween · 19/01/2017 20:58

My gut reaction is Business studies over Philosophy as being more tangible and more useful. PE may be more academic than you think (biology stuff).

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