GCSE options hell

[Unusualusernames]

Please don't flame me but AIBU to let my 13 year old daughter choose her own options even though they might limit her.

She's academic but also really good at PE. She says she wants to chose PE, media studies, geography and french.

My mum's a retired careers adviser and says media studies is useless but I know my daughter would find it really fun.

At 14 my mum basically imposed her choices on me and I ended up choosing subjects I wasn't necessarily great at.

75% of me thinks it's better to let her just do whatever she wants, even if PE and media studies aren't highly regarded. Then 25% of me feels bad for not being one of these tiger mums who ensures her child is a success academically. I'd feel bad if it meant it really limited her university choices (if she wants to go to uni , I wouldn't force her)

Please help

@katy1213 your attitude is disgraceful. What a disgusting comment to make. I would be happy no matter what my children did as long as they didn't turn into judgmental ill informed idiots.

Media studies is actually really challenging and SHOULD be chosen by able children.

I've seen comparison data for A-levels over a decade. Media Studies is always the easiest subject. At the bottom end of the grade range kids get 2.5 grades higher than the most challenging subjects.

Lightweight subjects l thought that shit had been put to bed years ago.

It's entirely true that GCSEs and A-level grade do not mean the same thing in different subjects. Everyone is quite aware of this- exam boards and the DfE have no intention of trying to standardise across subjects. Colleges and Unis factor this into decisions made.

That does not mean a kid who is interested and good at Media Studies shouldn't do it, they absolutely should; but it does mean it's not as broadly useful as (for example) taking a third Science.

No Oxford course specifies any GCSE subjects, only A-levels eg medicine at Oxford requires chemistry and one of Physics/Maths/Biology.

Medical schools tend not to specify GCSEs (some may) but they definitely do select using them. For most careers choice GCSE options make no difference- for some they do and medicine is the most extreme case.

We had parents evening just before Xmas, the biology teacher commented that there was a fair bit of overlap in the PE GCSE and triple science biology. It doesn't sound like a soft subject to me given what she said.

• @katy1213 your attitude is disgraceful*

Does Katie Hopkins use MN or is it something about the name ?

I went to sixth form in 2012-14 and Media Studies was considered a doss A Level at the time, it was almost considered on the same level as General Studies A Level (which is excluded from some top tier university courses eg Oxbridge - fact checked this time! )

However times change & perceptions change, so it’s perfectly feasible that it doesn’t have the same reputation today. Especially at GCSE level where subject choices aren’t as important.

With GCSEs it seems that having a high number of GCSEs at a high grade is more important than subject choices, so she should go for whatever she thinks she’ll get the best grades in.

Katy 123
Your post was vile. Such a shame you didn't undertake a gcse in being a decent human being

Do people really think the three or four options you take at gcse have any impact on anything ??

They can, if they spark an interest or develop a skill you can build on. I don't know if my DD would be studying engineering now if her school hadn't been keen for pupils to do a tech subject among their options.

@ifeellikeanidiot they did, although maybe not any more. It was/is a very academic grammar school and only a few students took media studies GCSE. It was a shared course with other schools.

I would make sure she know exactly what she's letting herself in for in the case of PE and media studies. They might sound like "fun" but depending on the syllabus could involve a lot of coursework/ time commitment.

I speak from the experience of a DC who did photography for fun but found all the course work and writing involved to be very time consuming and not much fun at all.

Does an academic girl want to spend hours marking time with the kids who are too thick to be doing anything else? (Her academic friends won't be taking PE, for sure!)

I know this is just goady bollocks but I did PE and Drama GCSE and now have a basic (as in pure, not simple) science PhD.

I didn't particularly like school but having lovely parents, who allowed me to do things I enjoyed rather than care about what other people thought or what it meant for my future, ultimately meant I stayed in education for a very long time.

Wow can't believe some of the messages here! PE only done by thick kids? Universities that care about GCSE choices beyond English and Maths? Thankfully most people are less ignorant or ill informed.

Op she is doing 2 X English, maths, three sciences (either double or triple award), French, geography, I think it's fine to do two other things for fun. My dd is studying at university having taken drama and music at GCSE. Ds2 took PE (yes really!!!) and yet was clever enough for grades ranging from 6-9. Your dd will not be limited by those choices, unless of course she wants to do German A level (joke).

People questioning GCSE PE, and the suggestion that academic friends wouldnt be doing it, I did. A lot of people dropped out at the start as they had only put it down thinking it would be easy but you have to learn a lot about the body. I did about 14 GCSEs and PE being one of them didnt hamper me. My university (a redbrick) only cared about my A Levels and that I had good grades in the academic GCSEs (English, Maths and Science) and I am now educated to postgraduate level and work in a professional role.

Letting her pick what she likes at GCSE is completely fine. Only english, maths and quantity of gcses are going to be considered by employers and universities. The only time GCSE options matter is when shes picking her A levels as some will require pre-requisites (ie- if she does german at GCSE, she won't be able to do a spanish A level). Looking down on "soft subjects" at this point is completely irrelevant, especially if shes picking it because shes interested in the subject and not just its reputation for being easy. Even if she chose to continue with media to university level, there are routes into careers like digital marketing and
broadcast journalism.

My year 9 son only gets one free choice at GCSE. (Maths, English x2, Sciences x3 are compulsory and he must choose a modern language and either history or geography.) Unfortunately he is throwing away his future by choosing PE, and so are quite a few of the other thickos that he hangs out with in the top sets at school. His ambition is to be a sports scientist or a coach within professional sport. He has researched which universities are the best in the field, which courses will give him the best chance of success and what the entry requirements are likely to be. Obviously I am pleased he isn't thinking of trying for something too ambitious, given the clear lack of intellect that his decision to take GCSE PE demonstrates. I'm sure that getting at least A grades at A level whilst playing his 2 main sports at county level/equivalent won't be too taxing. He also wastes a great deal of his spare time as a Young Volunteer within his primary sport. His school even encourages this kind of depraved behaviour. It is shocking really, but I suppose we can expect no better from someone who wants to study PE.
I do think it is so important that the kind of 14 year old who independently researches university courses and reads about topics like nutrition and aerodynamics for fun doesn't set their sights too high. We all know that athleticism and academic ability are mutually exclusive qualities and these sporty kids really need to learn their place.Thank goodness options like PE are available for those who are so lacking in intellect, motivation and self discipline that they couldn't tackle anything else.
It is a shame that my son will never amount to anything once he has taken this dire step. If he changes his mind, all other career paths will obviously be closed forever to him once he is in possession of a GCSE in PE, regardless of his other results.
OP, don't let your DD make the same mistake. She could end up developing a whole range of transferable skills, and there's even a risk of her being happy. Stand firm and don't consider allowing her any degree of self determination. There are people on this thread who clearly have no understanding whatsoever of the syllabus. Listen to them. They know best.

Media studies is basically English Lit but expanded across all forms art/lit/communication instead of just books. It’s excellent for teaching analysis and critical thinking. It’s been demonised by the likes of the Daily Mail, but it’s actually a pretty solid course.

I definitely left it to my children to decide which subjects for gcse and A level. They know what their strengths and weaknesses are !

PE is actually quite academic and not an easy option. The practical side is only 40%
The remaining 60% is theory about health, biology,psychology etc

Certain university courses do ask for certain grades in some subjects (including their own) some (but fewer) jobs and grad schemes do ask for certain gcse grades. Just make sure they are making an informed choice. They need to know choices made now impact career later.
My university would not accept art or general studies gcse for example! And my grad scheme wanted B minimum in maths and English, c in science and a humanity.

Is there a general studies gcse??

I'm generally in favour of letting them choose what they want, but she also needs to try and think ahead a little and consider what she might want to do career wise (I realise it's very early days but if she has some idea it will help).
My DS ended up making some poor choices at gcse which limited his options at A level, then at A level he had to do an extra science in one year to do the degree of his choice. Fortunately he's very academic and managed to it but it was stressful.
So have a good chat about what she might see herself doing, check out the course content and discuss whether it's worthwhile. Maybe compromise on one option for fun and the other for future academic prospects.

I’m a teacher at secondary. Please let her do what she wants to do. She’s doing the basics plus a language and humanities. Let he do things she’s interested in! It’ll make no difference in the long term What subjects but she might get better grades and that might make a difference. GCSE PE along with a good amount of theory also develops leadership and team skills.

She's doing the EBacc so has got the academic range.

In my school you do not have to have studied some subjects at GCSE to take them at A Level eg: History, Philosophy, Drama. Depending on where she goes for A Level, there will also be a lot of new subjects to choose from such as Economics, Politics and Psychology, so GCSE choices don't always limit A Levels.

Therefore I would say it's best to let her choose her other two subjects at GCSE to give her some choice and some enjoyment. At least she still has a choice; many schools are forcing the EBacc which totally switches a lot of students off.

With 9 choices she could have as many as 20 exams at the end of Y11. If she's mostly enjoyed her subjects then this will be easier to cope with.

well OP youre her mum and its up to you. Dont repeat history with being your mum. At this level let DD choose. The fact she`s a RETIRED careers advisor should be a clue here. Her opinions are out of date and subjects/ careers has moved on !

Surely its better dd likes school and enjoys what she is learing and therefore is more likely to learn better and do better grade wise overall? As long as she has the science/ maths english core, the rest really is up to her.

Media isn't an "easy" Gcse, moreover I think many people do well because they actually enjoy it, and so want to put the effort in! There were students in my class who thought it was a "doss" choice, and they ended up with Ds because the effort wasn't there. The exam uses similar skills to English Literature, but analysing media products instead of books, and using different theorists. Skills also translate to real life. I run a business now, and so have created all my promotional materials, logos, website myself instead of paying someone else.

It’s a fine set of subjects. There’s no problem with it. One if my DC did media studies at A level- and photography- and is at a Russell Group university studying an academic subject, and is doing extremely well, so there were no issues whatsoever getting a place.