Choosing options

[supermodel]

Have no experience of this and would appreciate any advice! School are organising an Iinfo evening which I will go to but feeling uncertain about process etc.

hard to say as it varies by school. Ours has compulsory subjects then you can choose up to 4 or 5 others from various groups. You give provisional choices midway through year 8 , narrowing down options for year 9, and these are confirmed once the school review that they can meet the choices. There is still time to amend before year 9 starts and then narrow down to final GCSE options for year 10/11.

I would say try to keep options open for later years, but don't sweat too much over it.

But if they really dislike a subject, don't take it because you think they should.

I agree with keeping options open. An able child could aim for the core subjects (english, maths, science) and then one each of a humanity, a language, a technical subject and an arts subject. This means that they will also tick the EBacc box.
Look at the school's results in detail: if there are subjects where nobody ever gets a decent grade, then don't pick those!
Also, beware teacher flattery. You will suddenly find all sorts telling your DD that she is a natural for their subject.