GCSE Film Studies or Drama

Nobody will give a shit.
Seriously. How depressing that kids are being told to swerve subjects they like in favour of outdated notions of what ‘ looks good’

@PiggyWasPushed (if I have that right) may have some views.

GCSE Drama offers a variety of ways to study drama and theatre. Yes there will be
line learning but that can be quite a minor part of the study - it’s as much about learning rehearsal and actor training techniques, stage craft and stage management as “stand up and spout” acting.

Drama actually offers some fantastic transferable skills in team work and collaborative work, getting stuff done to a BERY firm deadline - no “dog ate my homework “ when the audience is seated and the lights go down!

Also good for kids who learn through movement and physical work, and great for developing emotional intelligence.

These are all really employable and transferable skills.

I suspect Drama is slightly better regarded - Film Studies still has a bit of (and unfair IMHO) whiff of 'meedja studies' about it!
Film Studies is more like English Literature - absorbing and regurgitating/ critiquing themes, history, characters, technical stuff - mostly essay writing etc.

Drama also involves essay writing, but is self-assessment logs and theatre critique. More marks for the practical element which, as others have said, doesn't have to be just acting - can also be costume/ set design etc.

You can do non-performing roles for drama practical assessments and there is more emphasis on the essay paper than in the older curriculum.

Teacher is just trying to bolster numbers. If DC doesn’t like acting or learning lines, what could they do? Well, actually mime! DD did in the devised work. However that was old syllabus. A star though. Very convincing miming!

GCSE drama is pretty full on as there are a number of assessed pieces of work so it's not something to pick lightly. Whilst some of it can be staging etc I dont think you can totally avoid performing.

I don't know anything about GCSE Film Studies but GCSE Drama definitely involves learning lines. For example, students perform and are assessed individually on a monologue of several minutes' duration. Some of the monologue options are shorter than others, but all involve some degree of learning lines by heart.

Drama would be an odd choice if your DD doesn't enjoy acting.