GCSE Drama - good choice for a quiet child??

My DD sounds a bit like yours and it taking GCSE drama. As others have said there is quite a heavy proportion that is theoretical, that she is doing really well in. She's not the star when it comes to the performance element and does get drowned out by more confident others in big groups, but she's sneakily worked out that if she can write the playscript for the small group performances, she can play to her strengths! Before she took it I'd heard horror stories on MN about people who were put in groups with other who weren't interested, but that's not been DD's experience at all. It's a relatively small class (24) and everyone in it is genuinely interested in the subject and wants to do well. I would look at the non-performance elements of the course as well though - there is more that's not performance, than is!

History is not useless at degree level. Define useless? History grads can earn pretty well. Lots of barristers DD knows are history grads. Now why might that be? So many bizarre assertions on this thread!

Firstly: @HypnoRuler
What utter rubbish about French. (And the other subjects!) French is a preferred subject at Cambridge University - for a whole raft of courses. For what it’s worth, DD2 has a degree in worthless French and Italian. Somewhat surprisingly she is a barrister now. And, guess what, that A* at GCSE Drama has come in quite useful!

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking GCSEs don’t count for much. Many competitive universities/courses look at the GCSEs of applicants and weight them. Yes, they can matter.

In general terms, make sure the school gets good results in Drama. At DDs school no-one got a B. In DD2’s year, only 1 pupil got an A. All the others were A*s. It was taken very seriously and they had great teachers and facilities. Both DDs performed music/dance and took part in school/house plays as well. DD2 mostly did dramatic character/mime acting with few words in the performance piece I recall! It really doesn’t all have to be about speaking.

Look at the gcse curriculum and talk to the teacher. It can be great for more reserved DC. They can devise a role within the group that’s not quite so “out there” for quieter DC. Good marks are available for the less starry members of he group. It definitely helps with confidence and my DC really enjoyed it.

I cannot reply to your question of “would my child enjoy GCSE drama”. It totally depends on the child.

My DD was into musical theatre from a very young age. She joined an amateur drama group and enjoyed taking part in productions both as main lead and chorus. She was eager to do drama as GCSE but dropped out relatively quickly because “everyone on my drama course is only on it because they took drama as an easy option’. Drama lost its appeal when she was assessed as part of a group who had no interest in “performing” and she was assessed as part of a very unenthusiastic group. She had a sudden career change and is doing well in her second chosen career.

DS took all academic subjects for GCSE, and although academically intelligent, he was very quiet and shy, with little self confidence, he enjoyed stage shows - He enjoyed being part of a group although didn’t have the confidence to play a leading role in school productions.

He thoroughly enjoyed drama GCSE and performed well in productions, to our great surprise! He fund it easier to perform within a group who were interested in drama, rather than trying to express himself amongst his peer group who had no interest in stage performance. He went on to study music and performance at uni level and thoroughly enjoyed 7 years of performing in The West End.

Due to the pandemic he has relied on his excellent academic achievements and has worked with children, on- line, teaching maths and English. He can’t wait to get back on stage.

In your shoes I would allow your dd to give drama a try and if she doesn’t enjoy it she can drop out and choose another subject instead.

I would speak with the drama teacher.

We are looking at it now for the final subject for my DS who is ASD and sometimes goes mute - he still manages to perform in drama and had the impression they take it in turns playing different parts so I don't think others can drown them out in that part. The drama teacher said she thought he would be OK but may get marked down by not been willing to work with everyone and he will work with the children he feels sercure with. She said quite a few mainly girls were the same and were dropping it for that reason. Our senco is really keen he takes it and said the ed pscyh said it was good for him though I am not sure. It's between French, history and drama for us but will be 11th subject, I'd prefer he could do less. The rest are probably Hypno's dream options - english x 2, maths, additional maths, stats, computing, triple science, geography.

I've always had 0 confidence. I did gcse drama and I loved it.

OP, I'd think how your daughter is in a group (probably not one of her choosing necessarily) and whether she'd find that confidence-building or too much.

I think this is excellent advice from @GU24Mum. Group work is a huge part of GCSE drama. For dd, that has been one of the most valuable aspects of the course as it has really helped to develop her teamwork and leadership skills, but she does find it fun and easy to work with others. Not everyone would enjoy that, though, and some would find it very challenging.

It seems an interesting course from when DD did it - at least to the point she dropped it - but that was her rather than the subject! She loves performing so for her, the course wasn't quite what she'd expected and she had a difficult Y10 so the thought of trying to struggle in groups with the devised piece was what made her decision to give it up.

OP, I'd think how your daughter is in a group (probably not one of her choosing necessarily) and whether she'd find that confidence-building or too much. Something like Lamda is good for children who want to build on their speaking etc and doesn't require interaction with others.

My daughter is set for a science career AND a GCSE in Drama

Yep, mine too. @HypnoRuler is spouting bullshit. A well educated person has a balance of different subjects. And fwiw, my dd has learned a great many more useful skills from her GCSE drama than she did from GCSE statistics. I will concede that history was also useful.

OP, I think it's a question of how well your dd will cope with the performance aspects of the subject. The performances are actually only worth a relatively small proportion of the marks, but she will need to spend a lot of time working on these, including time for rehearsals after school etc. She will need to be ready to work in a group with the other kids and do her fair share of the work. That doesn't mean that she needs to be super-confident, but she will need to be willing to get stuck in and have a go. She also needs to be prepared for the fact that the kids are often asked to critique each other's performances.

My dd loves her drama group and they are generally incredibly supportive of each other. They don't judge people for being shy or less confident, but they do get fed up with the ones who don't contribute and put in the work, and typically nobody wants to go in a group with those kids.

If dd really enjoys it and is willing to put the work in, then I think she should go for it, but the workload is heavy in comparison to other subjects, so she needs to bear that in mind! If she decides against it, how about signing up to an extracurricular drama group instead?

My friend, who has a great career, credits drama with her confidence at work.

(see previous post about being a drama teacher) - Just came back because I have faced the 'what use is a Drama degree'/Drama is a soft option blah blah in my whole career.

...well its been my whole career, so its been extremely useful for me, and not many people can say they have got to do what they love for their whole career.

I think people confuse that pupils tend to find it fun, be passionate and dedicated with 'soft' when it offers highly relevant skills such as event management, time management, team work, opportunities to develop the creative process from thought to execution, working to deadlines, working under pressure - plus its roots are in reality. If you are on stage - you are an actor. Not to mention its cultural captial and opportunities to explore different points of views and emotions in a safe environment.

Long live Drama GCSE!!

She thinks doing GCSE drama will help her confidence.

It will, provided she is at least willing to 'put herself out there' in lessons.

DD2 started GCSE Drama but it had to fall by the wayside due to her MH in lockdown. She did get sidelined a bit in larger group pieces, but there were quite a few two-handed pieces where she got to show and develop her skills. (DD1 also did Drama a few years back but her experiences are less relevant.)

They were due to study Blood Brothers and Things I know to be True (?)

I suggest you contact her current drama teacher and ask for feedback before making a decision.

Ds is doing drama and computer science as his options. He wanted to do something he sees as fun, there is a lot of written work but he enjoys that part too.

He's relatively quiet but he has a great drama class who are all really keen and his teachers are fantastic.

She should do it if she enjoys it, thinks it would be a nice change from desk-based subjects, and is comfortable with it being a bit of a challenge.

I'm sure she's doing other courses as well.

I did a LOT of GCSEs and really enjoyed art as it was workshop-based with music on and such a relief from other subjects!

My ds will be doing biology, chemistry, physics, maths, geography, history , rs, English lit and Lang, welsh so I actually think drama is a great addition to that list and see it has a very valuable gcse.

Given the curriculum is so boring, I think using the 2/3 choices you have to do something you love is a pretty good idea to try to lighten things up a bit.

I honestly believe GCSEs are pretty irrelevant pretty quickly. Do you really think you get jobs based on having IT GCSE instead of Drama GCSE? I don’t even put my GCSEs on job applications these days, just highlight that I have Maths & English

even by those who favour so called softer subjects that was a crazy auto correct.

My last post was directed mainly at @HypnoRuler btw

It is very hard.
My dd has been doing drama since age 9 out off school not shy loves performing but found GCSE drama difficult got a b in GCSE.
And the person who said it not a real subject that is an insult to people who do this as a teacher or actress.

Wow at your next post! Art GCSE is pretty useful if you want to pursue a career in design or many other creative options.

French is considered valuable as a rule even by those who science so called softer subjects!

Op, as long as your dd is doing the core subjects (she will be) then GCSE drama (or art, or PE, or textiles, or French, or German, or sociology, or music!) will be fine in terms of her future career prospects, honest.

In terms of her shyness, dd dud drama GCSE and loved it the best, tho this was partly to do with her lovely group and teacher, which of course you cannot control.

She used to act a lot and sing on stage, but in fact she had (and still has) massive social anxiety. She says that when she is on stage it's different. I don't know how that compares to your DD's shyness, may not be similar at all but I just offer it up.

Best to pick what she can do well in though, drama can be a difficult subject to get top grades in.

I have actively recruited people with drama skills as they can communicate. Needed even in stem would you believe 🙄

Is history more useful than art or french though?
Surely its subjective?

I was a shy child (selectively mute, indeed, as a small child) but found acting out scripted lines a pleasant change from real, unpredictable interactions with people.

This post is especially funny as IT GCSE hasn't existed for a few years now.