GCSE choices - don't know where to begin

[tatt]

we have to make choices soon. Our child is reasonably good at everything but not outstanding at anything. Likes art/ design & tech best and is currently keen on animation. Possibly looking to a career in something like graphic design or website design but we're concerned they may be very competitive ad not good choices fo someone who also wants a lot of money. Help - how do you decide?

how many GCSEs does your child have any choice over? as I understand it these days kids have to do maths, english, science but no foreign languages, so the basics are pretty much covered. I would be primarily guided by your child's inclinations on this one.

Let them do what they want, GCSEs really don't limit future choices in terms of subject matter, that comes at A level All the important ones are compulsory. If they enjoy arty stuff then go for it. Possibly push for a language a bit if they are ok at them as that is really the only thing that would stand in the way of A level choices later and quite a few people do end up regretting dropping language.

If you think your child might want to do science at A'level then they must take double science at GCSE as that is usually a college entry requirement. We have found this out just now as our dd is taking her GCSEs this year and is applying to college. She wasn't given this advice either by the school or Connexions and only took single science which is now causing us untold problems and expense. Something to be aware of.
Otherwise I would say go with what your child is happy with.

Take 9 proper subjects so always have on the list maths, english lang, english lit, history, geography, a foreign language or two, two or 3 sciences. Avoid any subjects employers know are not proper ones (the dead easy ones the good schools don't offer) and don't really count. Obviously in his case add art GCSE. To get into a good university he or she will need good GCSEs in traditional subjects.

xenia is right as long as its not leisure and tourism or some such made up shite what you need to do is make sure your kid can get good quality results for entrence into uni, remembering that your kid may change his.her mind so a good all round choice of subjects

Presuming your child does want to go to university I agree with xenia.
Dd is being made to take french and spanish (language college)which she's not too pleased about.

You sound like a really caring parent tatt. I know it's stressful, and you want the best for your son, but as a teacher it worries me when parents say "we have to make choices soon" - I've seen too many kids pushed into what their parents want for them.

Get your son to make a list of HIS choices, and you do the same. Then do a wee bit of research (eg a quick google search) into requirements for graphic design courses at both further and higher education level. Take him out for a meal (so that you're treating him like the adult he's on the way to being) and take the time to compare your lists and talk to him about what he wants to do and what you want for him. As others have said, once the core subjects are counted he will probably only have 4/5 to choose. Vocational GCSEs or GNVQ type courses are not as highly regarded, but if he is interested in graphic design or web design ICT might also be an option.

Above all remember that although this is a sort of rite of passage it's not the end of the world if he makes 1 bad choice, he can pick up an extra GCSE later.

Well I'm an ICT teacher so will admit upfront to some bias. However if your child is interested in animation and website design than I can thoroughly recommend the DiDA course which is in its 3rd year. It will be offered in most UK schools from September 2007 I believe.

Advantages are:

• no exams;
• paperless, everything submitted via a website that the pupils have to create themselves;
• teaches skills such as: web design, graphics, animation, video editing and project planning alongside more traditional ICT skills;
• if they put the effort in then the full Diploma is worth 4 GCSEs equivalent.

Downsides:

• usually takes up 2 option blocks - ie. takes 2 subjects out of the frame;
• may not be advisable if you are aiming for the top universities;
• does require work over and above other subjects which HAS to be done at school.

It's billed as vocational - which it is, but as a former project consultant I would argue it's vocational at a graduate level in that it teaches skills such as project planning and management, awareness of audience which is not suitable for a 16 year old school leaver.

Sorry I've gone on too long.

Message withdrawn

DS2 brought his booklet home today - it seems to have changed a bit from previous years, I don't know if all schools are the same but his options are:

1-3 - Eng Lit, Eng Lang, Maths (non-negotiable)

4 - a language from French, German, Spanish
5 - tech
6-7 - science (dual, or 2 of separate sciences)
8-10 - various humanities and arts + extra science/language if required

Tatt, I realise your school's options may be different but if he/she isn't particularly academic, could your child do Graphics as tech choice, plus Art and IT as 2 of the humanities/arts choices, plus whichever remaining choice appeals most? (Remaining choices for ours are History, Geog, RS, Latin/Classics and Music.)

As far as wanting lots of money goes, I wouldn't have thought graphics/website careers were a bad choice! And getting decent grades in subjects that appeal must be a better idea than mediocre grades in subjects that are more all-round?

Snorkle, true. My second daughter did geography, not history although she's now doing so much history at university she wishes I had forced her to do it (as I was advising her at the time as I loved it)! You can never win with some children - telling you off for not making them do something they were against at the time.

Probably the best graphic design companies will recruit from the best universities - may be the Russell group etc so he may want to work backwards from that and see what GCSEs and A levels and what grades he needs for that.

dd is also choosing options this year (yr 9). She takes her German in year 10 so at least that is out of the way, and she has to sit Spanish too but in year 11. She's intending to be a journalist. We have an Options evening at school in a few weeks to look at/discuss the subjects on offer and work it from there. Am keen for her to do business studies though.

Thanks for the info on the DiDA course Freddiecat. DD is trying to work out her choices atm.

Am I right in thinking that the ICT that is offered as a core subject (if not taken as one of her choices) is worth one GCSE, CiDA 2 GCSE's and DiDA 4?)

Can you offer any advice in the difference between CiDA and DiDA?

TIA

Art/Design Tech is about 3rd in how hard it is to get decent money, after sport and acting.

When I worked in publishing I was quite shocked that a couple of people who were much better at their job than I was at mine earned so very much less because they were the art department.
Art director on a highly profitable magazine ought to pay big bucks yes ?
No.
Everyone else of course earned less, and were happy to get an amount of money that was in my opinion impossible to live adequately on in London.

I have links with an animation shop who do stuff like bits of Harry Potter, James Bond Films et al.
Competition to get jobs there is amazingly tough. Not only do new grads have to work for free just to get in, but some firms in effect charge the newbies.
Media studies grads seem to know nothing that will get them a job in the media. One of the directors interviewed a bunch, and none of them could describe the difference between adding and subtracting colours. (paints work by stopping different parts of te spectrum, lights work by adding bits). I knew that at 12, they "studied" it, and didn't know it at 21.
Bizarrely, I suspect the best idea is to do IT.
This is now the best choice for people who show no particular talent in any direction. The number of university places is about equal to the number of applicants, and you don't have to think too hard to pass, and you can get there by work.
Ironically this may be the best path into the media. People who can do things to computers earn a lot more than arty people who are in effect input devices. "More" in this context ain't great money, but an IT person with a bit of art talent will on average earn a lot more money than a graphics person.

business studies is not really a proper GCSE. English at Oxford say which may be a classic journalist's course probably doing business studies wouldn't help her with that.

Art, yes lot of course work as you'd expect. My sister did 2 Art levels as well as the academic ones but kept it as a hobby. I'm sure that helped her Oxford entrance though and having something she really enjoyed and could talk passionately about etc.

I worked in animation and television for 20 years as a graphic designer and over that time the situation has really changed. It used to be possible to make great money as a freelancer, or if you stayed in a tv graphics department for a number of years, but with cutbacks and tv companies in trouble it's much much harder. Also as DC says, graduate entry into animation companies is fiercely competitive, and you'd be expected to work all-nighters for free just to get the experience (as indeed I did in the eighties!)

I got traditional O & A Levels & did an Art degree at University. When interviewing for graphic designers I wouldn't look at anyone who didn't have a strong background in art or design (or who couldn't spell) as it really is a pre-requisite. I don't think an IT qualification alone is enough.

However that may have changed, and it might be useful to enquire of say, a web company or graphics department, what they are looking for as regards qualifications, and where their current staff studied, and work back from that.

But I don't think there's big money to be made anymore.

I would first look at how the school has arranged the options because of timetabling etc - that will show you where the real choices lie and where the restraints are.

For example, in my daughter's school (she is Yr9 too), all but the really non-academic have to take Eng Lang, Eng Lit, Maths (some do 2 other maths GCSEs as extra), and double science.

They then have to choose one arts (art, music, dance, drama), one humanities (history, geography or R.E.), one foreign language and one D.T subject (food, textiles, graphics, resistant materials etc).
P.E. and I.T. are also choices, but I don't know which groups they come in - we haven't had our final choices forms yet.

They then have one 'free' choice in which they can add another language, DT, humanities or possibly arts subject - it's not totally free choice because timetabling restrictions mean there may be a clash which would prohibit a certain combination.

So in the original poster's case, it would be possible to do graphics, art and possibly I.T. as well as the more academic subjects, and still keep further education and career options open.

I can vouch for the huge amounts of art coursework. Unless he/she really loves it and wants to spend about 2 - 3 a week, plus lunchtimes at art club, tell him/her to do DT!!! By the way, she is doing Fine Art and although she has always loved art is now finding it a total pain, which I feel quite sorry about tbh.

2 - 3 hours a week, that is!

Ravensbourne College has a course finder which if you put in your career choice will then find the course and entry requirements.

Portnovo made me very sad when she referred to "IT as well as more academic subjects".

She's right, but IT ought to be academic, but like other sciences it's been dumbed down so far that it's probably actually harmful to study.

Whoops! Wasn't meaning to denigrate I.T. or art or whatever.

What I really meant was in context of the original poster whose son seemed to interested in graphics/website design. I was trying to say it should be possible for him to study those areas which he really likes as well as do the traditional subjects which universities and employers might expect, especially if his tastes or ambitions change between taking options and deciding on A level or university choices.

Although on the basis of what my children have done so far in IT at secondary school, it certainly doesn't appear very academic or very demanding. Hopefully the GCSE course would be different...

I'm a science teacher, and have worked as a scientist in other job. I love science.

Howvere I would say that , unless your child is utterly determined at age 14 that they want to do science at A level and university, they are better off doing Double science than three separate sciences.

How many kids really know what they want to do after school when they are 14?

Take that 'extra' GCSE and do something else that gives them a breadth of education.

I teach A level biology and it is no significant benefit for a child to have done single science Biology at GCSE.

Let them choose, the child will only work hard at subjects they enjoy. Many of my friends were told by their parents what subjects they would be doing at GCSE and therefore had no motivation to work hard. I was allowed to choose my courses which included business studies, drama, a language, history and the basics and am now at a good university hoping to train to become a teacher. While this may not be a good career choice for some people its what I really want to do and making lots of money and going to a good university is not the be all and end all, plenty of people have good lives without big money. Make sure your child covers the basics but dont force them into something they dont want to do.