Year 9 options. What is she supposed to chose?

Travel and tourism - it sounds like a kind of project I did when in the old top class of junior school when 11!

It makes me wonder you know. Poster above who says that the highly regarded school in which her daughter is encouraged to do some crappy hairdressing diploma - of course secondary schools ate viewed on their number of 5 A*-C at GCSE grade. So if they push more kids to do piss easy and pointless GCSEs they will have more chance of passing, and will therefore directly affect the school's statistics, league table position and future desirability. So they will avoid oushing a child to do a Biology GCSE for instance, where they may find it hard and will get a D, which however will be far more useful to them in life.

Travel & tourism - I agree totally useless subject. Here's the diploma blurb: "learn about travel, forms of transport and national and international destinations and explore careers in the industry"

In my day: At least one MFL, Geography, plus good grades in maths and english to work in a travel agent I'd have thought, plus demonstration of good logistical skills

"Learn about destinations" indeed

"If at a later date they realise that they made the wrong decision they will need your support to deal with the consequences"

Err, no. Not going to happen.

Yes, I am normally laid back to the point of horizontal, this is really bringing out the 'when under my roof young lady' crusty old autocrat.

Talking to a colleague who has a year 9 son, one of his choices is GCSE Catering (eh?) or GCSE Leirure and Tourism.

Seriously they are worthless aren't they?

yes I was none too happy about that. Luckily dd is choosing sensible subjects but we're having a bit of an issue over priority order (she wants the fun one first)

Its parents evening next week and I'll see if I get a chance to find out more then

Just reading the pull-out guide for parents from the Which Way Now? guide by Connexions. Here it goes "Gently challenge any choices that concern you ... if you disagree with your teenagers choices, try to give in gracefully. Show them ythat you want the best for them by accepting that is their coice. If at a later date they realise that they made the wrong decision they will need your support to deal with the consequences"

Deal with the consequences my arse

Am normally laid-back woolly liberal. Now discovering I am total academic snob and would-be dictator

I don;t know if my prejudices are influencing my thoughts on the matter. I have always been very academic indeed and so certainly do no want DD to do anything other than traditional GCSE/Alevel/degree. Howeer, she is a broadly average student - a good all rounder whose strengths at school are in the practical subjects so maybe I am doing her a disservice. But BTEC in hairdressing/catering/whatever - over my dead body.

DD wants to study Geography at uni and then join the RAF. So I think certainly Geog at GCSE followed by practical subjects (she has to do DT - I think electronics but these may be too hard academically).

I am not letting her have free choice - it may sound a bit dictatorial however i do crtainly think that I should have some influence on her decision as her mother, left to her she would probably (being 14 and all) think 'ooh photograht GCSE looks fun'.

Slightly worrying the post above which styates that teachers tell kids not to be influenced by parents

Talk to her now, and discuss what she wants to do for a degree (hums or science), and then work back to A levels/IB and then to GCSEs. Explain that what she takes now will impact on what she can do later.

She can presumably go to 6th form college if necessary rather than stay at the school for 6th form.

I would not let my lad (who is academic rather than practical) touch a diploma with a barge pole.

I am dreading this.

I moved dd's school in October (she was being nastily bullied) - her old school was excellent, selective etc, her new one is less good and certainly I believe will be one of the ones pushing crappy BTEC courses. DD has already come home talking about diplomas.

Her school seems really slack actually - the options evening (where the books are being given out) is not til March 11th, however the students are being drip fed info about courses already, which I think is wrong as it should be a parental/child decision.

I so do not want dd to waste 2 years of her life doing some crappy diploma which will be viewed as worthless and will not prepare her for GCSE/A levels.

Oh yes we have been to 'the talk' this week and couldn't believe what we heard.

All qualifications are equal
8 GCSE's is all you need
Only do stuff you enjoy
Don't be influenced by your parents

The hairdressing & beauty diploma sounds downright weird. I got the impression that you didn't actually cut any hair, you just studied it. Wtf? If you wanted to do hairdressing the local FE college runs a very good practical course in proper hands-on hairdressing, not hairdressing studies.

This is a hihg-performing comp that people move house for to get in, and whose open evenign stresses amibition and academic prowess. FFS

Pixel, I would encourage your dd to do Spanish rather than ICT if that is the choice she has - ICT has been discussed here a lot and is viewed as a really "soft" subject, not particularly useful or informative, most kids these days are computer literate so she won't lose out by not doing it.

Eccentrica: since you said that "she's fairly bright and keen" then I would say ideally she should do GCSEs in:

the core (Lit&Lang, Sci, Maths)
a humanity
a language
an expressive art
a tech

Basically this will give her an all-round breadth of knowledge and you can sell it to her on the basis that she herself said that it is too early to specialise.
Schools should probably give the KS4 'choices' a new name since, as most kids find, there isn't actually that much in the way of choices and a lot of it is dictated by timetabling rather than kids' preferences. It's a bit like choosing secondary school: they make out that you have a choice but when you get there you find that it's only within their constraints.

What are her mates doing, will that sway her?

Unis like 2 languages at GCSE if possible.

Education is like building a wall, the foundations have got to be solid. As 6th Form choices and even Uni offers can come down to what GCSEs one has, then I would suggest that this particular foundation for the start of the rest of their lives needs to be firm and secure with solid academic GCSEs if possible and one 'fun' one.

Having seen what happens when they do all 'fun' ones for options - they get bored and mess about and don't always take it seriously. I speak having had to get a tutor group through years 10 and 11 with some of the girls doing health and social care and other 'fun' subjects. Would they get down to it? Would they heck as like!

Again, with hairdressing, if your aim is to own a salon one day, then you need maths to cope with the book keeping initially; to set your prices; work out your margins; pay your staff; work out their PAYE if you employ them and on and on. English is necessary to be able to read and complete all the paperwork you'll get.

Will check back on this tomorrow- am going through the same thing and have a thread up too! Hopefully we can all help each other make sense of it...

Well, if she's willing to do French (did I read that correctly?) then I'd encourage her to take that as one of her subjects; employers do like languages (well, international ones as well) and it could expand her horizons somewhat. Say, for e.g., she wants to go into fashion design, then she could do a semester in Paris to study and speak the language, that sort of thing. I have previously met some fashion students who were getting to do placements all over (NY, London, Berlin, Paris), and a language would give you some edge.

Scaryteacher, perhaps you should talk to our school then! Hairdressing seemed to be the limit of their ambition for the girls and they even said "you can do this course, it doesn't mean you have to become a hairdresser" I mean FGS!
I've nothing against hairdressers by the way, before anyone takes offence, it was just they were so obsessed. No mention of which courses would be useful if you wanted to be a teacher/doctor/high court judge. The whole evening was centred around the 'fun' type courses, I don't think anything like history or geography even got a mention.

It was all a big waste of time really.

OK - we've just done options and had it all sorted early on - but then I have very firm views on what subjects to do.

Ds will be doing IGCSEs in:
2x English
Maths
French
Double science
(the above are compulsory)

options choices are:
History
Geography
Dutch
Food and Nutrition (not food tech - real cooking)

reserve subjects
ICT
Drama

He will also be doing RE full course GCSE taught chez nous as it seems a shame not to have a GCSE in your Mum's subject.

He will have to do PE and PSHCE at school as well but not as exam options.

Doing the above provides a broad basis from which to do either A levels or IB. More importantly, some unis look at GCSEs when offering places and won't be impressed by hairdressing. You need solid GCSEs to be able to cope at AS ime, as it is a big jump from GCSE and if you don't have at least a C in your AS level subjects you won't cope.

I don't agree with doing all 'fun' subjects as employers will be looking for A*-C in English, Maths and science (and you need the maths to be able to teach in any subject, and for the Nursing Degree) and solid grades in other academic subjects. One, and at most two 'fun' subjects are OK, but not more.

It's fine doing hairdressing if that is what you want to do ultimately, but I would suggest that an employer would either train you themselves or send you to a specialist hairdressing school, where you may have to 'unlearn' much of what has been taught at school. It's better to get the solid subjects now than have to go back and take them again at 25 or whatever when you discover that you do actually need them.

NonnoMum 'good clutch of grades' is right. Apparently a diploma is the equivalent of four and a half A-levels.

We've just come back from a waffle talk about this. Was very disappointed at all the 'vocational diploma' stuff. All they kept going on about was hairdressing for the girls and vehicle maintenence stuff/bricklaying for boys, and a lot of the courses listed won't be 'online' until 2013!
They then said that it wouldn't matter if the students did the course and then decided to do something completely different. So not a waste of two years then?

Anyway, Dd was in tears because she wants to do spanish and ICT and can't because they are on the same list. I'm going to wait for the brochure thingy in case I've got wires crossed but I'm rather upset that she has to give up academic subjects that she enjoys and wants to do, to spend two days a week on a vocational subject that she isn't interested in. (She would have liked music technology but that is one of the ones not up and running yet).

It all seemed a bit wishy-washy to be honest, the teachers didn't seem to be able to answer any questions properly so have come home a bit .

There are some subjects that are compulsory (like Eng, Maths, some sort of science combo, so that will cover the fundamentals, and then just encourage her to take what she is good at/enjoys. unless she wants to be a brain surgeon, a good clutch of grades at this level is what employers look for; they don't agonise over whether it was Geography or Drama.

I know there's a good argument against it Pixie, I can see your point

Its just that I personally would rather see her get a C in say physics rather than an Astar in media studies

I think one or two fun ones is not an issue. But now it's possible for them to fill the entire curriculum

Hmm, it really depends what she wants to do though lots of employers ignore As and Bs in perceived soft subjects, as do universities when a course is popular when comparing candidates with similar A Level grades