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Secondary education

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Original poster

Year 9 - choosing options - how is it going?

143 replies

roisin · 20/01/2011 02:32

I was looking back at an old thread and wondering how everyone is?

MaryAnnSingleton
LadyGlencoraSnape
bellavita
OrmIrian
Polgara2

magentadreamer

deaddei

cocolepew

GrapefruitMoon
stleger

cory

.. and I'm sure lots of others I can't recall!

Are you all into the swing of options choosing?

Ds1 has to do Maths, Science (2), English (2), IT (2); the has thre options.
He has very high end of yr9 targets (mostly L8), but is on/above target for almost all, so has plenty of choice.
His current thoughts are triple science, German and History. He would have liked to do Spanish or Latin as well, but I think that will be plenty to keep him busy!

OP posts:
webwiz · 20/01/2011 08:15

We have parents evening next week so the whole thing starts then. DS will have to do triple science, IT, RS and a language and so just has three options. He wants to do History and Drama for two of them and has no clue for the last one.

RatherBeOnThePiste · 20/01/2011 08:18

I don't think I was on the old thread, but this is about to come to us too. At the moment DD doesn't want to give anything up except DT! Our Parents' Evening is just before Half Term so I expect that will be the decision time.

doggytreats · 20/01/2011 08:23

I'm new to mumsnet and this thread but we're going through it with DS1 at the moment.

He thinks he know what he wants to on top of the core subjects at his school (Eng/Eng Lit, Maths, Triple Science, RE, ICT) and is currently looking at City and Guilds in Engineering (2 GCSE Equiv.), Business Studies. Triple science takes up an option too as they only do double science as standard.

We're rather annoyed that he has to do RE though as both hubby and I feel its a pointless subject and don't understand why he has to do it as it's not a C of E school. He would have liked to have done spanish as well but can't.

Meeting at school tonight and I'm going to question them about it.

RatherBeOnThePiste · 20/01/2011 17:59

I would be annoyed at that too I think!

I hadn't really taken it in the triple science would remove an option choice. Thick I know. DD wants to do trip sci but is going to end up choosing one from history, geog, RS. I think. Lol.

webwiz · 20/01/2011 18:33

It doesn't remove an option choice at my DCs school RatherBeOnThePiste - the top set just do it in the available time.

RatherBeOnThePiste · 20/01/2011 18:39

Ah webwiz. Perhaps I am making the wrong assumption. How many GCSEs do yours do?

webwiz · 20/01/2011 18:47

Assuming that there is no change this year DS will do Science x3, English x2, Maths, RS, IT (not GCSE - OCR nationals whatever they are!) a language plus 3 others so 11 GCSEs and the IT thing.

Decorhate · 20/01/2011 19:31

GrapefruitMoon as was signing in!

We have a meeting in a couple of weeks to talk about the options. The compulsory ones are Maths, English (2), Science, Core MFL & RE. RE seems to be compulsory in most of our local schools... There is also talk that it will be compulsory to take History or Geography because of the new English Bacc thing... if that is the case there will only be two real choices left I think.

DD wants to do triple science, hope that works out as her grades are not what they should be, same goes for History & Geography but won't bore you with the details as I have done enough threads about it!

I'm not sure what she will choose for her remaining options - she's not keen on keeping on any of the Tech ones or IT, PE or Art. So maybe an additional language or Drama

RatherBeOnThePiste · 20/01/2011 20:10

I think DD will be doing 10

Original poster
roisin · 20/01/2011 20:39

Hello all!

Webwiz - that is a LOT of subjects as standard Shock

ds1 will do 8 plus IT afaik.
I'm happy with that: his targets are very high and he's highly motivated.

OP posts:
webwiz · 20/01/2011 21:24

It just seems normal to me roisin as DS is my third child to go through this school!

Deaddei · 20/01/2011 22:02

Dd is dropping FRench in favourite of Spanish.
She is gutted that Ict is compulsory, and is debating between history and drama. Drama being the easier option.
She still loves school and has not succumbed to year 9 angst.

Deaddei · 20/01/2011 22:03

Favour that should read- hate predictive text on iPad.
Dd is also doing Pe.

amicissima · 20/01/2011 22:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Polgara2 · 20/01/2011 22:49

Well we haven't been informed of very much from dd1's school (no surprise there then!). She has a Learn4Life day tomorrow and Monday in which they are having 'taster' sessions of the subjects? We won't get anything 'official' until March I don't think - which seems a lot later than all of you? DD1 was talking about Pathways but she doesn't really know which she will be on or what it means properly.

shabbapinkfrog · 20/01/2011 22:57

My DS4 (13yrs) and the rest of Year 9 have picked their own subjects, signed up for them, all done and dusted and the parents will be able to talk about it to the teachers at Parents evening in February Angry Shock

They have had no careers advice - in fact DS4 asked his favourite teacher (Maths) what subjects she would do if she wanted to create and design video games for a career??????? Luckily for him, and us, she seems to have advised him well.

A local high school with 2,200 pupils....a small minority of clever, interested, studious students - glad to say my son is one of the minority - he says the rest of the students call them 'The Geek club!!!'

He, and the rest of his set are going to be fast-tracked so that they will do some GCSE's in Year 10 Shock all I can say is 'Hang on to your hats ladies....its going to be a bumpy ride!!!!'

shabbapinkfrog · 20/01/2011 22:58

Forgot to mention.....he is doing a Btech (???) in Music....he DOES NOT play a musical instrument but is (according to his Music teacher) 'an amazing singer???' Yes he does sing well - but OMG......

RatherBeOnThePiste · 21/01/2011 07:15

As we say ...the Geek shall inherit the earth!

DD is doing maths early but that doesn't mean getting it out of the way, they just move on to do half an A level.

Re the drama being an easier option, my friends son did it and found it heavy going, maybe not academically but it took an awful lot of his time. Loads of coursework.

shabbapinkfrog · 21/01/2011 07:26

Half an A level in Maths?

His Maths homework baffles me now!!!!

Abr1de · 21/01/2011 07:39

You need to look at the English Bacc requirements. I think you need a humanities subject such as History or Geography.

RatherBeOnThePiste · 21/01/2011 08:07

Shabba - you and me both. And physics Confused

PositiveAttitude · 21/01/2011 08:12

I am going through this with my 5th Dc at the moment. You would think I have done it 4 times before, so some idea and no panic. Reality is that she does not have a clue what she wants to do, short-term, or long term! Confused
I may result in sticking pins into lists at this rate!!!

webwiz · 21/01/2011 08:14

amicissima DD1 did Geography GCSE (she hated history) she really enjoyed it even though it had a fairly in depth coursework worth 25% of the marks. I assume that has changed to a controlled assessment now. She went on to take it to full A level as well and is doing now Biological Sciences at university. It complemented her Biology A level and is helpful for some of the ecology and environmental science modules she does.

DD2 preferred History and was better at essay writing. She enjoyed the GCSE and went on to take History to AS as a change from the Maths and Science she was also doing (she has offers to do Maths at university this year). She found some of the source based work difficult at the beginning but got better at it over the course.

DS prefers History as well but has been getting better levels in Geography. He is still going to take History though as knowing where he's at compared to DD2 he'll be fine. He has plans to do something Englishy so History A level is a better match with that. He may end up taking Geography as well because he doesn't know what to do with his last choice.

thetasigmamum · 21/01/2011 08:41

DD1 is in year 8 bit since they do GCSEs a year early at her school (and maybe even two years early in some cases) she is about to choose her options. Officially, we (parents) have heard nothing at all. The kids have been told its options after half term, and we have a parents evening just before half term. The kids have been doing a lot of careers sty lee stuff on the web during PHSE sessions, apparently.

In previous years, the core compulsory subjects were

English x2
Maths
MFLx1
Sciencex3
RE
Then perm any 3 from a relatively restricted set of options including art, drama, music, hist. Geog. IT, DT, German, B. Studies, PE and I think that's it.

Obv this has EBacc implications which might be why we parents have yet to receive an official communication about it.

DD1 wants to choose History, Geography and music. But she is concerned that this may not be possible since as things stand we wonder whether there will be enough capacity for kids to do both hist and geog when in the last few years more than 10% of kids have opted for neither and therefore the staffing in the school probably reflects this. It's a worry.

webwiz · 21/01/2011 08:47

I was wondering about that thetasigmamum as well, although at my DCs school around 45% do History or Geography so there is a bit more infrastructure there. I wonder if DS is going to end up with a lot of History haters in the class because they have to take a humanities.

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