Picking options end year 8 - DT required if child thinks Engineering is their uni pathway?

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My thirteen year old is keen to pursuit engineering currently. It’s an industry that parents and grandparents have followed so it makes sense and they are very good at maths and science. The question they keep asking me though is whether DT is required? Their DT teacher says yes, all I know is that the child needs to be taking maths at a high level and physics so I said I’d ask on here for them.

My DD is an engineer and did not do DT at gcse or A level. Maths and physics are the key subjects which you have already stated. She also did chemistry at A level and self studied AS level further maths. Any extra maths qualifications, additional maths etc, are very helpful if your DC is good at maths

No not required, maths, ideally further maths and physics are the key subjects at a level so need the prerequisites for them and they really aren’t worried about GCSE subjects (except having all good passes including English). My dd had pe, geography, re, French, double science, English, English lit, food tech, maths and went to the highest rated programme in the U.K. for her chosen exact field (not oxbridge!)

No. A Levels are the most important factor. Definitely Maths needed.

No.

maths and science are the important GCSEs and a levels for engineering.

No, DS is studying engineering (at a top ranking uni) and didn’t do DT. He did the standard maths, FM, physics and chemistry for A-level. He did do electronics GCSE and has found it useful, but certainly not essential.

Nope, I did not take DT (well, I took textiles as my DT option) and I studied engineering. Maths and physics are the most important.

Maths, maths and maths!

It will also help careerwise if they have a good command of English, as communication is one of the areas neglected by many engineers...

On the other hand, if looking to do a more creative subject to balance life, then DT would maybe be a good additional option for a budding engineer. Something where you design / make something, learn to use tools etc etc? So maybe choose DT as a last option in preference to many others?

This is so true. So many engineering students are surprised to find that writing clearly and concisely is a vital skill:

Definitely not required as lots of schools don't offer it. Could be useful though depending on the branch of engineering pursued.

It's not required, but be aware that if you want to do DT at A level, most 6th form colleges require a GCSE in the subject.

You could ask: If someone thinks they want to do engineering, why would they not choose DT for GCSE?
(I can think of lots of perfectly good answers to that, but it is a question worth asking anyway.)

Maths is essential. It is difficult to get onto a foundation year engineering course without maths (not impossible though).
I would also say physics!
A general point, an engineering a level is not a replacement for the maths a level. If an engineering degree is what you want to do then please email some universities and ask what a level subjects they require.

What everyone else said. Maths and science esp physics are the requirements. In terms of other subjects, pick what he enjoys and is good at. Higher grades in what he does do will give him the best options going forwards. Too many coursework based subjects will be a huge workload.

Dc is going down the engineering route and hasn't done dt gcse. Currently studying a levels in politics, physics and maths.
Physics and maths were non negotiable but what came out of the discussions with both 6th forms we visited, university talks and school interview day with professionals from engineering businesses was that if doing maths /science subjects it would also be useful to show that you can also communicate/written and verbally, write essays, produce reports etc hence the politics (longer written answers and debating).

I guess it would depend on what they were dropping to accommodate DT? That would be my question anyway. They may well take it as an option as I know they enjoy it. It’s more that’s it’s been stated to them multiple times that it’s a prerequisite and I was scratching my head as all I knew was maths (as high as possible) and science.

That’s really interesting thank you. Fortunately they have a great grasp of English and SPAG. Terrible hand writing unfortunately but I’m not sure I can do too much about that at this stage.

Physics and maths are non negotiable, and the top universities would also expect you to also do further maths if your school offers it.

DT isn’t essential, but it does provide a complimentary skill set and a “break” from the other subjects. At an Oxbridge thing I went to recently they said they value DT as a 4th A-level because it shows practical application of the theory. However most candidates usually offer chemistry as their 4th.

Gosh would you be doing that at 13? I suppose it makes sense as GCSEs lead to A-levels. Feel like this is ramping up very quickly.

Interesting! Thank you.

Another thought is do children get to take more GCSEs at state school if they are able or do all the children take the same amount of GCSEs regardless?

No, children in different schools will be offered different numbers of subjects, dependent on what blocks or options are available. Different abilities will be catered for. Not everyone is capable of doing GCSES at all.

Schools tend to have a 'standard' with then maybe extra / dropping.

So e.g.
May have a standard of 9 (2 English, 2 science, Maths, humanity + 4)

But those doing triple science may get an extra 1
Those in top set maths may be offered ad maths
Occasionally a 'twilight' subject may be offered e.g. latin

Less able may for example drop an option for extra Maths & English lessons

It’s really easy to look on university websites and see what entry requirements are for engineering subjects. My son is applying at the moment so we’ve been doing a lot of that recently!

As everyone has said, maths (as much as you can get) and physics are the only required ones. DT is a great complementary thing to do, but is in no way required. It does give good things to talk about as an aspiring engineer, particularly if taken up to a level, but in no way necessary. My son took it at gcse as he loved it, nearly took it for a levels but went with history instead, alongside maths FM and physics. All while planning to do engineering.

This has helped immensely. I’m really grateful to you all. They are in top set maths and was told yesterday by the teacher that they are top of top set maths so hopefully they’ll get an options to do advanced maths or whatever that option is.

When choosing GCSEs it’s important to ensure no doors are closed to potential future degree choices as opposed to specifically saying “I’m definitely going to study x at university”. Many of them won’t have a clue what they want to do aged 13 😂😂

It’s smart to take separate sciences if they are STEM focussed. Both A-level computer science and DT USUALLY require you to have studied them at GCSE, but interestingly computer science isn’t needed for degree entry at a lot of places - they just want the highest grades in maths.

I think there’s a lot to be said for one or two more downtime subjects at GCSE if it’s something they really enjoy. Everyone talks about workload but the key is to do little and often and try and be a little ahead of the game. My DD had one week of DT where she felt a bit rushed getting the physical product she had made finished, but she had done pretty much all the written work. Some of her friends hadn’t stayed on top of the written side and had a very stressful time in the run up to submission date.

There’s also no point in taking more GCSEs than nine unless your school requires it or you have a burning desire to study something. Universities mostly look at your best eight grades sat at the same time. It’s better to get 9 grade 9s than 11 grade 8s!