GCSE options totally suck

[Windywuss]

My son is in y9. He's got ASC and had issues at school. Things seem to have settled a bit now and I've just started looking ahead to options.

I don't get it at all. He loves computer science and science. The school don't do GCSE computer science at all. Sciences are not single subject but a triple science option instead. The options look awful. There's loads of dance and PE and some Digital creative alternative qualification that isn't a GCSE and vocational subjects.

If his school doesn't do computer science then is he not going to be able to do this at A level? I just feel it's all geared to the less academic kids which make up the majority of the catchment.

It wasn't our first choice school..no chance of moving.

I would want him to go elsewhere for sixth form but I feel like he's already going to be behind, and possibly won't be able to do what he wants. I feel I've failed him (though I'm really tired and emotional tonight and I'm a single parent and just exhausted with everything).

Anyone else been stuck with poor choices for GCSEs?

No @Teaandtoast12 no I.T. and no computer science/computing. Really surprised. I wonder why they do it now and then not later.

They offer statistics at GCSE which I think is a bit of a curveball but could be good for him potentially. I have no idea about their option blocks. I'll have to wait until they explain so don't know if he can even do the options he would like. I was hoping he could do Art too as he enjoys it and it'd be some light relief but no idea if it fits.

They seem to have an academic path and a vocational path. The academic path is really odd though. The only difference is they do the languages as well as history and geography etc. I doubt he'll want to do languages.

They have a page saying these subjects are for Russel Group unis which I think is nonsense.

DS did computer science and creative i media, he only chose computer science as it was the best of a bad bunch. Ironically he actually did alright results wise. He’s now studying creative media in college, they’ve now added photography to the high school gcse options which he is not thrilled about as he would have chosen that. I think most courses you can choose at college or sixth form are entry based on your grades in maths and English, obviously all vary.

Music, drama, ‘real’ art or moving image arts (basically filmmaking) at DDs school.

Is the issue with science that he doesn't want to do all three? Just wants to pick a single science?

Does his school not offer languages or humanities? Which academic subjects does he want to do that he can't?

Where I am, young people have to take a language. I think it's a shame that languages seem to be so poorly regarded. So many people in Europe can speak English, it puts the UK to complete shame! I can still recall enough A level Spanish and degree level French many years later to get by in Spain or France. Some of my O level Latin has even stuck!

Yet I can't recall much of my English Literature or History A level, just the languages!

Two of my three took GCSE Music but they also did two instruments apiece, and one did A level as well.

Surely you knew what the likely option choices were when you selected the school?

@Dragonsandcats An art was art, music or drama. DD2 did both art and drama. I think some did Design and Technology which sits between art and science.

Loads changes in schools in the space of 4 years, you can't expect that the GCSE options a secondary school offers when your child is in Year 6 is going to be exactly the same when they're in Year 9/10? Even year on year my son's school has stopped offering triple sciences, stopped offering music halfway through the course.
The schools local to me have variously changed Academy trust, had multiple changes of SLT, closed 6th forms, opened 6th forms, lost whole departments etc in that time.

We didn't consider the GCSE options when we chose our children's school because we worked on the assumption that they were providing most of the standard ones, which they did.

I think parents are just so focused on getting their kids into an appropriate school that they don't think that far ahead!

@Bazinga007 Schools can change options. My DN in a city academy got a very limited choice of GCSEs. A few years later and they offer a wider selection. Except in MFLs.

@Teaandtoast12 @Windywuss there is no longer a GCSE in IT which is why it will not be offered. I have it on good authority from my IT teacher mate that it was bobbins anyway (“make a powerpoint” that kind of thing).

Double science btw is no longer core and additional, it's just two grades which can only be max one grade apart (so either 5-5, 7-7 or 6-7, 8-9 etc).

@Windywuss MFL is my subject and I would advise an able student to take GCSE in it but it's not needed for RG or indeed any uni (unless planning to study MFL at uni obvs) so don't let anyone tell you it is. Well worth studying tho.

I'm in my 20s and did triple science. This meant I did three separate GCSEs. Dual science (2 GCSEs) lessons and exam papers were a mix of all 3 sciences but less intense workload.

@Treesinmygarden lol! 🤣 I don’t - but still use it in a turn of phrase, although hadn’t realised until you pointed it out 🤣🤣

A tiny word of caution about art as "light relief." At GCSE, and much more so at A-level, it tends to absorb all available time as it has coursework. Which is fine, unless you're also studying other coursework-heavy subjects too (like Design/Technology).

Our school recommended taking one subject that has coursework as there aren’t many nowadays meaning lots of exams in a short space of time. Also consider geography which has one exam based on fieldwork. So no coursework but an opportunity to prepare for the exam.
My DS loved French in ks3 but regrets taking it as an option since it has been a lot of work. The advantage of languages is that the exams are first so you have one subject ticked off early.

Some universities want applicants to have Ebacc (a broad combination of GCSEs across specific subject areas including a language
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-baccalaureate-ebacc/english-baccalaureate-ebacc#:~:text=english%2Dbaccalaureate%2Debacc-,Introduction,a%20language )

So doing a language GCSE can keep your options open. But if he's not keen I don't think there's any point - my ds had to do a language, hated it and struggled.

💐 for you OP. Being a single parent is tough and school choices can be really confusing. They should help guide you through it though.

Our school insists on baccalaureate so my son only gets one choice if he does triple science (as that reduces an option) whereas I got to pick 4 and do triple science.

I'm pretty sure there is a computer science GCSE?? My son wants to do it but as he's on track for triple he will only get one choice so will pick engineering. He has to do French, and then history or geography (he's happy to do history, that likely would have been a choice anyway).

What universities?

I know there was one that said if you don't have an mfl you need to do an mfl unit alongside the degree (but thought even that had ceased).

@AstonScrapingsNameChange I've never encountered this in all my years helping students complete UCAS. Any examples..?

Separate sciences is called ‘triple science’ by many schools - you end up with three separate GCSEs. it’s usually considered more academic and challenging than double science which is a different qual. Also nothing wrong with ‘non GCSEs’ esp for the creative options - they’ve usually been chosen because there’s a higher coursework/nea element whereas these have often been stripped back in the gcse.

Those options sound good; if he loves comp sci he can get skills and practice before a level or degree and doesn’t need a gcse to do those. if he wants something more structured he could look for MOOCs run by unis (usually free short courses) that he could use or there’s tons of tutorials on YouTube depending on his area of interest.

I'm surprised people weren't aware of triple science, I did my GCSEs 20 years ago where that was the case!

That's the info we were given from ds school and a quick Google seems to confirm that it's not a specific requirement rather that it can be used by Unis to differentiate between applicants.

But my point was, it seems to confer a marginal advantage at best, so if OPs son doesn't want to do a language, don't make him out of a concern of it possibly being preferred by Unis.

And yes I've often been told "some" universities insist on the baccalaureate, secondaries seem to peddle that though I'm not entirely sure of how prevalent it truly is, I suspect it is overplayed though. Happy for my kids to do it though as they were planning on doing history anyway and my eldest is very good at French (though he doesn't like it!)

I think secondaries are remastered on how many do the bacc?? So suspect that is a truer reason as to why they encourage it.

*measured, not remastered ha.