To insist that drama is not a valid choice for GCSE's

[FaintlyBaffled]

....when the student in question has never expressed the faintest interest in the subject in nearly 14 years
DS has his heart set on taking GCSE drama. I maintain it's a bonkers choice given that his only acting experience to date was as a leaf in a school assembly in yr2.
To compound this, he is planning to give up a subject that has interested him since he was a toddler, as it falls in the same block as drama. He has a natural gift at this subject and has just received glowing reports in his most recent review.
I'm wary of opening hostilities over something that I can ultimately win in the short term (I have to sign the form to say I agree with his choices) but that he could win in the long term by flunking the subject. We've so far agreed not to do anything until we've discussed this in more detail with the school, but he's unusually truculent about the whole affair. AIBU to put my foot down and insist that he doesn't "waste" an option on this?

[Pistachiois50pmore]

I did drama and it was brilliant. If you like English Lit it often felt like an add-on to that but in a good way. People often say I have really good reading aloud / presentation / interview skills and I think that is a big part of it. I then went onto an Oxbridge law degree then a cultural theory MA, and am now senior management in an arts organisation with a sideline as a writer/artist. I probably use the drama GCSE at least as much as my degrees tbh.

My school used to recommend everyone did one of art/drama/music and I think this is good advice.

[lightoflaluna]

It won't stop him taking history at A Level if he comes back to it. Can he meet with the respective heads of department and find out more about what each will entail?

[OptimisticHamster]

Another one here who did History a level without the gcse. I don’t feel I missed out.

[Frouby]

I would let him do it. Dd is doing drama. It was drama, art or geog/history.

She already had history in another block. She has a real talent in art (won local awards) and her art teacher was putting a lot of pressure on her to take art. But she already had a lot of dry subjects and wanted something fun.

Her other choices were history and french as well as RE, double science, english, maths. She loves drama so far. And it wasn't what I expected her to enjoy.

[hattyhighlighter]

OP unless you have made 100 percent spot on choices throughout your whole life then how can you advise him really. He may love it. If he doesn't, then he'll learn from that. He will also get something out of it.
No idea why people look down on drama so much when they're quite happy to watch films/TV/read/go to the theatre etc

[gillybeanz]

Ask him why he has suddenly switched and advise him how you feel fit, but they are his options.
You have to let him choose for himself.
I do sympathise, mine keeps telling me to choose for her as she knows what she wants to do right up to post grad study, but has no idea what to choose for GCSE.
I am advising on content, time, assessment, etc, but refuse to choose for her.

[BlueLegume]

I can’t comment on your child but if the drama dept is any good then they will get him the best grade possible as most drama department staff really care. Be warned, as with any arts subject they expect a great deal from you.

To the posters who are experts in GCSEs don the matter. They do. If you have a desire to teach going through the teacher training process will see your gcse grades scrutinised. Why would mediocre results at that level mean you can meet the high grades expected these days by schools and parents

[Pistachiois50pmore]

No idea why people look down on drama so much when they're quite happy to watch films/TV/read/go to the theatre etc

This. Even putting aside all the passion/follow your heart stuff, it's a multi million ££ industry and one of our main exports!

[MaisyPops]

Telling kids 'nobody will care' is really unhelpful (i say that as a tutor who does the whole options thing). GCSEs aren't the be all and end all. If you're thinking of a career in sciences then you have to do core science and maths so you can play around more with your free choice. If you're a goos musician who might want conseratoire or music degrees then not having music GCSE will make a difference. If a pupil is considering art college at post 16 then getting them on the right art pathway will affevt the type of portfolio they get. Depending on what side of sport pupils want to do and/or other careers might mean that it makes a difference if tbey do GCSE PE or BTEC sport. If they are considerinf certain courses which have A level requirements for uni, they need to check what 6th form want from them

Our 6th form expects a strong pass in GCSE history to take history a level (history is a popular uni course and many top courses expect an a level grade A/B).

Our 6th form doesn't require Drama GCSE to do theatre studies A level. They ask for evidence of performance and will count extra curriculars.

Like I say, GCSEs are not the end of world and there are always issues each year, but telling students it doesn't matter could lead to poor choices

[qumquat]

As a drama teacher who didn't take drama GCSE I would agree with others saying GCSE options don't really matter, although of course I think he should take drama as it's great! When I was at school you could take history A level without GCSE, and also Drama A level without GCSE. My first degree is in languages and I didn't do Drama till Masters level. So dropping at subject for GCSE isn't necessarily the end of that subject in your life.

[Frouby]

Oh and dds drama group is quite girl heavy.

Is there a possibility that there is a girl he likes taking drama?

[BlueLegume]

^^don’t not predictive text don the. Apologies.

[Uninspirednamewise]

OP, my DS decided to take drama at GCSE despite not having tried to get a part in any school plays or joined any drama groups before then. He is now in 6th form. He enjoyed his drama. As far as I know he has no regrets about taking it. Just one point worth thinking about is that part of the drama assessment (for DS's GCSE anyway) does involve being assessed in a group performance, so it is worth thinking about what the other kids taking drama will generally be like. I actually raised this issue upfront with the drama teacher at DS's school before he made a final decision on options. She said that at his school, it would be OK (and it was). However, she said she was an examiner for drama GCSE and had been to some schools where the kids hadn't event bothered to learn their lines properly for the GCSE assessment.

[elastamum]

I would let him choose. At that age it is important for him to learn that he has some control over his life and he has choices. Far more important than the choice between history and drama IMO

[LilQueenie]

you don't need experience to take gcse drama and none of the students who i took hnd acting and performance with had every done gsce drama either.If he wants to do it let him.

[LadyLaSnack]

I would normally say YABU as drama is worthwhile for a great range of reasons already mentioned in this thread (I say this as someone who benefited massively from youth drama).

However, would he hang on to his music regardless? (I.e drop the course, but stick with learning instruments and practise?). It would be a huge loss to let that go if he’s already come pretty far with it.

[chocolatecoveredmarshmallows]

BossWitch GCSE choices can (not always obviously) matter depending what you intent to do in the future. Some A Levels require specific subjects and Universities may look at GCSE choices and grades.

[ohglenbogle]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but do you think it's possible that he wants to do drama because he thinks it will be a doss?

I think people tend to think this about some of the creative options. When I did GCSE Art, a LOT of people chose it as they thought it would be the doss lesson, when in fact it was the one with the most coursework out of any of the other GCSE's I was choosing.

[gillybeanz]

Why are there comments about it being a waste of time?
Surely, it depends on what the person wants to do for a career.
There's no such thing as a waste of time subject at GCSE level.

[DrRanjsRightEyebrow]

I would say (as a drama graduate) that drama is a far more useful skill to develop if the end goal is to be a teacher. Even if it's only for a few years, he will gain lots of transferable skills.

[glueandstick]

Oh god this was me.

I did it. It was bloody awful and nearly 20 years later people still express surprise thay I did it. I don’t have a drama bone in my body. I hate pretty much all drama stuff too. Cannot abide the theatre.

What the hell was I thinking? 😂😂

This isn’t helpful is it.

[MorganKitten]

It did me the world of good. It’s not all acting, I had loads of essays to do.

[lifetothefull]

Perhaps he enjoyed history as a child because of the excellent way it was brought to life through drama on horrible histories.

[Chocywockydodahhhhhh]

I took drama and it improved my confidence so much that from my first preformance onwards I did not have any problems with standing up in front of audiences

[TheMadGardener]

I had to argue NOT to do drama! When I was choosing O levels a million years ago, drama was in an option block with art, music, woodwork, all practical subjects. I opted in favour of learning typing (pre-computing, a room full of typewriters!) My mum and teachers were against this as I was in a top stream and they didn't want me to drop an O level by doing typing instead of drama. But as it turned out, as the age of computing dawned, being a very fast touch-typist turned out to be one of the most useful things I learned at school. I earned money at uni typing up other people's essays.

If your son is doing mostly the GCSEs of your choice, I think you have to cut him a bit of slack to feel that he has made some choices of his own. My DDs haven't quite got to that stage yet but I wouldn't force them into doing the subjects of my choice instead of theirs.