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Original poster

GCSE choices - don't know where to begin

135 replies

tatt · 30/01/2007 22:27

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?

OP posts:
ska · 02/02/2007 20:58

MB thanks for this - it is hard being one of four parents and trying not to be too directive! I think she is so capable and could get into a good uni if she wants to - she veers between arts courses and 'academic' ones and i just want to understand what her options might be if she does x or y etc. but hse is still so young i wnat her to enjoy what she does too.

i did an english degree and feel completly unqualified to expalin anything about it now - her school seems to be geared towards people going to the local tech type college to do vocational courses and i'm not sure that will be what she wants to do. her previous school was more academic leaning and had more subjects I 'recognise' as options!!

DominiConnor · 02/02/2007 23:10

I'm sorry I can't think of any definition of "applied" IT that doesn't have some programming in it. ICT is collage making.
An art GCSE which taught nothing but collage would be just as pathetic.
I've "read" the ICT and CS text books. Actually "read" is not quite the word, I skidded though waffle and pathetically trivial stuff.
It wasn't out of date, it was out of touch.

I've spoken to people who've done IT/CS at school and it's essentially impossible to find anything they know.

stitchlloyds · 02/02/2007 23:29

I've probably come to this late.

As a teacher (English & Eng Lit), I'd advise: always go for the more academic options if you have ANY plans for further education, UNLESS a non-academic subject is what you passionately want to do, you intend to get a high grade in it & you have a pretty clear idea where it'll be taking you.

Essentially: don't do Art just because it's fun & your mates are doing it. Art teachers of my acquaintance would MUCH rather not teach some muppet whose only motivation for choosing it is that they're allowed the radio on in lessons!

I would also advise against NVQ courses unless your kid's school has a solid track record. They are routinely used as a way to get dull kids 5 GCSEs via dictated coursework - they often 'count' as 4 GCSEs. It might make the school look better in the league table, but I'd scrutinise these courses carefully.

worzella · 03/02/2007 00:37

I agree with Stitchlloyds - the NVQs are great for those students who struggle academically..... however the odd 'frivolous' GCSE will not be harmful in any way. Most students have a limited choice anyway and so will already be doing maths, english and science. Go for waht your child enjoys and don't worry too much!

nappyaddict · 03/02/2007 01:23

the only subjects that require you to have done it at gcse if you want to do it at a level are the arty ones like dance, music, drama, art, dt, textiles and also pe (i think) and languages. so if i were your ds i would choose all the arty ones i wanted to do and then whats left over just pick what he is good at and likes best.

Original poster
tatt · 03/02/2007 08:58

Thank you all. My child is doing well enough at academic subjects to do those if they wanted to. But I don't want to force them into that if their heart is in something else. On the other hand they like expensive things and I want them to have plenty of choice when they are older. Also enthusiasms have a way of changing.... At the moment I'm thinking of encouraging them towards computing as a career since that seems most likely to allow them to make a reasonable living if they still want to work in animation. They generate some of their little animations with a computer now so that will appeal and doing art and D&T will keep options open.

We'll still find out more about business studies but are now more likely to go for a more traditional subject instead, perhaps history. Thanks again.

OP posts:
Judy1234 · 03/02/2007 09:01

If they want to do computing and may be make quite a lot at it then one of the better science or computing courses at somewhere like at London university like Imperial College London may be.

tallulah · 03/02/2007 09:29

Probably a bit late and haven't read whole thread but at my sons' school they tell the kids to just pick the subjects they enjoy for GCSE and don't worry about the mix. So many subjects are compulsory that they have little choice anyway (ours insists on at least one foreign language as well as 2 English, maths, double science, RE and IT).

My youngest picked cookery, art and drama for his options and is doing no humanities at all. I was concerned but school isn't, so we'll see what happens.

DS1 went to a school where they had to do vocational courses- Leisure and Tourism, Business or Health and Social Care. I was also worried that without "proper" subjects his career choice would be limited as these were worth 4 GCSEs each. As it turned out he was doing enough in the compulsory academic subjects to get a place on a Marine Engineering course anyway (following 3 A levels in Maths, Physics and History) so it really didn't matter in the long term.

tallulah · 03/02/2007 09:34

Oh and I meant to add that my dad chose my O level options and made me do history (which I hated at the time- it was WWII with a Dutch teacher) and Chemistry, even though I had no interest in the subject and no aptitude for it. In the end I got dropped down to CSE history and only got grade 2 (so not worth having) and dropped out of chemistry altogether in the final term because I couldn't keep up. For that reason all 4 of my kids have had the final say on their options.

fortyplus · 03/02/2007 17:14

My dh commented 'When did anyone ask you which subjects you did for O'Level or GCSE?'

I think that - provided you are aware of any specific requirements re: the subjects they want to take at A' level (eg it used to be recommended to hhave O'level Chemistry if you wanted to do A'level Biology) then just let them do what they like. They are likely to enjoy their better subjects far more than those where they struggle.

As long as they have Maths & English they should be fine. You don't even get a choice about those two! Many Universities apparently favour applicants with a Modern Foreign Language and Music is considered difficult so can show a child in a favourable light. (Or so I'm told!)

At my childrens' school it is just assumed that the 'bright' children will take Double Science and a MFL.

DominiConnor · 03/02/2007 18:08

If they're bright why are they doing science for dummies ?

Blandmum · 03/02/2007 18:12

I have also taught children double science who are excpetionally bright. As a teacher I can see no real advantage in doing three separate sciences. I would rather the kids do double science, and use the extra GCSE to broaden out their understanding of the world in general. We can easily fill in the gaps at A level. And I've been a working scientist as well as a teacher.

Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 03/02/2007 18:38

DC - do you have any positive contribution to make? Science for Dummies? - I'm not sure my 15 year old who is revising currently hard would agree with you.

Many state schools only offer double science rather than 3 separates and as MB has already explained, for Biology A level at least, you are not disadvantaged by double science.

juuule · 03/02/2007 18:39

DC - Why do you think double science is for dummies? My ds did double science and is now in his 2nd year at Uni doing Astrophysics. His friends who also did double science are also at uni studying robotics and mechanical engineering. One of them is at Cambridge. It doesn't seem to have hampered them in any way.

Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 03/02/2007 18:40

Crikey - I can't even form a sentence properly!

juuule · 03/02/2007 18:43

I just wish that my dd school had assumed that 'bright' students would take double science and told her or us that she would have problems taking science A levels if she chose single science.

wheresthehamster · 03/02/2007 21:49

Dds school is a specialist science school and only offers double science. They also said that it doesn't hold them back at A level.

Freddiecat · 03/02/2007 21:55

I wish at my school we had a single option to take CiDA as well as double for DiDA. I think given that circumstance I would opt for CiDA and take a broad mix in the other subjects.

ICT or DiDA at GCSE or A-level does not prepare kids for a Computer Science degree - maths does that. Personally I don't think that any GCSE (or DiDA) prepares for any career. It's too early for that.

Chhose what you like doing. I chose my A-leve options on the basis of wanting a high-powered city career (Economics). It was dull as ditch water.

nappyaddict · 04/02/2007 01:51

hang on i think there is a confusion. single science and separate sciences aren't the same. if you do single science you get 1 gcse for doing science, double you get 2 and if you do separate you got 1 for bio, 1 for chem and 1 for physics - 3 in total.

at my school the lower group did double and the the higher group did separate. everyone chose 3 options. i did separate, but i didn't get 1 less option to choose. so in effect at the end the people in lower group for science got 10 gcses and the higher group got 11.

Judy1234 · 04/02/2007 08:58

Yes, that's right. My older 3 children did "double science" which I think is GCSE in chemistry and physics - 2 GCSEs and they all drppped biology as a separate subject. Then one girl did physics and chemistry in the sixth form as separate AS levels and then chemistry A level in the last year.

I think some boards can be harder than others too but I don't know if the university entrance people take account of that. She used to go on about having done Nuffield chemistry and said that was harder but I didn't really understand.

DominiConnor · 04/02/2007 10:37

I'm not saying that just because a subject is dumbed down,that the kids are necessarily dim.

If the school pushes kids into an inferior course, then naturally some will get past it and succeed.

Martianbishop I don't quite get your point, you talk of "filling in the gaps", which to me implies that there are gaps caused by the arty "science" GCS.

JanH · 04/02/2007 10:56

Single science is 1 grade for all 3 subjects; double science is 2 grades for all 3 subjects (it's now called something slightly different but I haven't got the options booklet here).

juuule · 04/02/2007 10:59

All 3 subjects - combined science.

fizzbuzz · 04/02/2007 11:36

Haven't read all this thread, but am confused about double science as "dumbed down"

Double Science enables kids to have an extra option at GCSE if they want it. They can opt to do triple science if they really like science.

You can get into med school with double science gcse, no problem.

Double science covers all biology, chemistry and physics. Triple science also covers them all just in more detail.

fizzbuzz · 04/02/2007 11:37

My school is a science college btw and very hot on science, and as year 9 tutor in past have had to go through options loads of times