How much of a say did you/do you have in your Yr9 LO's Options?

11 is a lot more than I took !

DD1 will have to work much harder and facebook less to accomplish this I believe .

I was just pleased we agreed on the Options, as I think I would be pressurising her quite hard into what I thought was right for her.

I do feel children should make their own choices or at the very least be completely happy and comfortable with the final descision, but that's so easy to say if you have a child who can be relied on to make a sensible choice!

With ds I had no worries whatsoever leaving him to his own devices - it was evident that he would choose carefully and think things through. And I suspect lots of people on this thread who say 'leave it to the child' have children &/or schools that are highly likely to come up with a sensible choice.

Dd (currently doing choices) is much more unorthodox & more likely to choose the easiest set of options without considering the longer term (actually, I think she would probably choose a sensible set on her own, but lead me up the garden path along the way). So I initially 'told' her what she 'had' to do, more to get her thinking about things and arguing persuasively about what she really wanted to do, than to actually mandate things (though she didn't know that at the time). That opened the door to debate & discussion of the pros & cons of all the choices in depth. Then we went to parents evening & heard what her teachers thought - found out a bit more about what's involved and her aptitude for each & I then told her she can do whatever she chooses. Her current list is thankfully one I'm very happy with, though not 100% what I'd choose in her shoes. If she was persisting with too many light options (not that easy at her school as there aren't all that many 'soft' choices) then maybe I would put my foot down a bit, who knows? I'd like to think that any child that age can come to a sensible decision if the arguments for/against are given, but if you had one that really wasn't going to then I can understand that parents might want to mandate certain choices.

I do know of children at other local schools, who really don't seem to be opting for sensible choices given their career aspirations and if one of my children was there I might well be putting my foot down, but more likely encouraging them to look up what they really might need to stand the best chance to get on eg a vet course at university and figuring it out for themselves, sadly that doesn't happen for some children.

It's worth remembering that the exact combination of GCSEs really doesn't matter too much for most things in the long run though and one or two 'easier' subjects won't matter. A child is more likely to get good grades in something they are passionate about than in something else they've been browbeaten into. The problem comes when a child chooses something like Art, when they don't really, really enjoy it (or ever even bother to do their homework in it) because they think it sounds easier than something else that they actually have a real aptitude for. Or if they are choosing things based on what their friends are doing rather than thinking a bit deeper.

Think 11 is the norm isn't it?

I did 11 GCSEs in early 90s.

One thing (out of many) which annoys at the school is that the DT subject which she is doing now in Year 9 is the option which she will have to take for GCSE. And as she is interested in engineering she would have prefered to take electronics or resistant materials (or whatever it's called). She was put in the catering class when she joined teh school, and that is now the DT subject which she will have to take apparetly.

Well, this is what we have been told, I am certainly going to argue agaunst this however am waiting for options evening.

Every other school in teh area has had their options evening already. God knows why we have had to wait until March/.

I think I am quite lucky too as DD1 and I seem to have similar ideas apart from she doesn't want to do a Language. Reading her report though I can see why

She gets to choose 5 so we have agreed on History, Geography, Art Textiles, DT Graphics and RE.

She has also expressed a choice for triple science which did shock me a bit.

That will mean she is taking 11 GCSEs

We haven't had the parents meeting with teachers yet though so I expect they will be pressuring a language!

i have no idea what dd shoudl do though. except she likes art and english.

OOh this is my fave topic of discussion at the mo (sad but true).

DD's school option evening is next Thursday. Her school is pretty piss poor to be honest (she used to go to selective school, was badly bullied so moved her last November. The new school is a crappy comp but she is happy there). DD has come home with info about BTEC and Diploma courses which they are 'encouraged' to take. I think it is because they count as x amnount og GCSEs, are easier to pass than traditional academic courses so will push the school higher up the league tables.

I do not want DD to do anything other than GCSEs. She knows how I feel and to be hoenst it might be a bit of a battle. The school is doing a diploma in engineering which d is really interested in. My view is that if she wants to be an engineer (as I am) she is best off doing GCSEs, A levels in maths subjects and a degree. Not a diploma which won't be viewed by universities and employeres as anything worth having.

But there again she wants to join the RAF at 18 and not boither with uni. That is the latest row in the house.

I think parents should have a say in what options are chosen tbh. However the pamphlets and advice available are all printed to say that it is a child's choice only.

Give it another 20 years and they'll be setting questions on Big Brother and X-Factor!

elvis presley

Dd is in Y8 and won't choose till next year but I am following these threads to get a heads-up!

I thought History would be a good non-lightweight option to take until I read this about the GCSE course:

2 pieces of coursework are set on twentieth century American history. This represents 25% of the final GCSE grade.

Year 10: Prohibition and the Jazz Age.

Year 11: The impact of Elvis Presley upon U.S. society in the 1950s.

I'm sure that's very interesting but is not quite what I was expecting from a History GCSE... [old-school emoticon]

my dss didnt really get to choose much.
It is compulsory to take triple science, maths, eng lit. eng lang, pe,IT and humanities
he then had the choice between food technology or woodwork/metalwork. the choice between which of the 2 languages he wanted to continue. One art subject from dance, drama, music, textiles, ceramics or drawing and painting. Which humanities subject from history, geography, RE and business studies.
I think that was it so we let him choose his own as no matter what he chose he would still end up with a good all round education.
I think there was a choice for students who didn't feel they could cope with so many gcse's to drop a language, individual humanites and technology and do a GNVQ instead.

DD1 had a great long lecture from school about putting the same effort into choosing options as you woudl into buying a car - made her LOL as I'd just bought a new car based on the fact that it had a happy face, and the wing mirrors folded in when it went to sleep locked.

DS chose his options last half term, but we had discussing them from the end of Year 8. Luckily, he agreed with me on what he should take and I have very strong views on this.

His core subjects are 2 English, maths, double science and French. No choice on these whatsoever. His option choices are history, geography, Dutch and food and nutrition. He will also be taking RE with a tutor (me) as his school doesn't teach it, but I do.

I don't agree with let them do what they want, as this rules out some A level choices and can also have an impact for university.

Our school seems to want the parents to be involved in the options process ie options night tomorrow which includes a presentation to parents plus a pathway interview to which we are invited.

DS doesn't actually get very much chose in the end ie just two subjects plus a choice of 3 technoogy subject. He did come home tonight saying he wanted to do drama, because he wants to learn about back stage but I think we will be discouraging that one!

If she has such a firm idea about what she wants to do in life and it needs biology A level, then she's got to do double science. Surely the school will not let a girl who is capable of a biology A level take only the single gcse? Other than that tell her to make sure she doesn't close any doors to future study by choosing easy options now.

There is a theme going through these 'options' threads with kids being warned off subjects cos they are hard. Why aren't they being told by teachers they are capable and can do it, a bit of hard work will pay off in the end. Exams are not THE END they are a MEANS TO AN END and if kids are capable of it the exams open up more options in life later.

Rant over.

We-e-e-lll, I wouldn't say we've pushed ds1 into any choice exactly. But we did point out the downsides of each pathway, particularly in reference to the career he has in mind (law).

Basically he was desperate not to take any languages as he hates them so much so veered wildly (and without reading the booklet/getting advice from teachers/careers advice people) between the three pathway offered which didn't require him to do a language. Unfortunately there were bits on those pathways he didn't want to do either so in the end he came back to the straight GCSE pathway. This includes 8 compulsory subjects (including one language) and up to 2 options.

DH and I both felt that this was the right one for him, re career choice, although we are concerned that as his study record up till now hasn't been stellar, he may struggle. Having said that, he seems very determined to do law and is well aware of the amount of further study required so who knows. He is improving so fingers crossed.

It was so much easier in my day!! (wail, lament). You just did O-Levels at my school, although CSEs were available for Maths and English.

Just to warn you all that some of the more unscrupulous teachers will be strongly encouraging your bright students to take their subjects (hence comment above from history teacher promising that GCSE History will open up many jobs). Different departments are ranked against each other within schools just like school league tables and it makes life a whole lot easier for the teachers if they have your bright and sparky students taking their subjects.
So if your bright DD or DS really wants to do Birdwatching GCSE rather than Latin, just let them. They will thrive if that's what they are passionate about.

i dont remember having a disucssion with my parents about it at that age however. i seem to have chosen myself

When I was doing my GCSE options (eons ago) my Dad told me that Physics would be more useful, in the long run, than Drama, which I wanted to take. I duly did Physics.

Fast forward 20 years... I'm a Drama teacher

I ALWAYS advise students to take the subjects they most enjoy because
a) Inevitably, kids do better at the subjects they have an interest in
b) At Yr 9, it doesn't make a huge amount of difference anyway - it doesn't always follow that a degree in a particular subject has to come after a GCSE and then an A Level in that subject, as I happily proved by doing English & Theatre at university, with no GCSE or A Level in Drama.
c) Very few kids have definite ideas about what they want to do eventually, and therefore choosing GCSEs based on what will be useful in later life is a bit pointless

Save yourself the battle, I say.

oth her history teacher said, they shoudl take history as it opens up many jobs for them (?)

hmm, we have options evenign coming up.
they are deciding in year 8, but dd doesnt now seem very fazed by it, thankfully.

like another poster pointed out, there are so many compulsory subjects, they then chose what they enjoy, i.e. not many subjects to chose really.

DD1 has just chosen. Mostly compulsory but she got to choose which language plus 3 more.

ALMOST all her own choice. Chose German as language despite better grades in French (plus I know exactly no German) but just enjoys it more.

Chose Music, Drama and Geography with only input from us being last minute dilly dally about whether to add Textiles (new subject for school). Advised against as really rushes Art homework and Art GCSE seems like hard work. School wouldn't allow 3 "creatives" anyway.

BUT her friend in another school is doing a BTEC in Health and Social Care. If this was an option for DD1, would have been firmly steering her in direction of traditional GCSEs.

My dd is in Y8 at the moment and we are in the position where she is good at everything have been to her parents evening the other day and is high achieving in nearly everything except PE where she is on target and Music where she is also on target. I think it will be hard next year to know what to pick and what to drop.Have been reassured by school that by the time they cover the compulsory subjects she will only be able to pick 2 anyway.

Dd who's 12 chose her options by herself - Geography, Geology and History. She was rather scathing about some of the options availale to her.

We have told DSD to do what she enjoys but tbh we are blessed as she is picking all the right things. 12 GCSEs.