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Secondary education

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Original poster

GCSE options - Help please!

16 replies

pickledsiblings · 23/02/2015 18:42

DD has to hand in her choices tomorrow.

So far we have the 7 compulsory:
Maths/Eng Lang/Eng Lit/Phys/Chem/Bio

+1 MFL:German

+1 humanities:History

She needs to chose 2 more but there are 3 in the running : Geog/Drama/Music
(she has already ruled out French as doesn't want to take languages further and she's happy to let Latin go despite being v.good at it)

She is a music scholar so will probably do that.

We are stuck between geography and drama. She enjoys drama and doesn't like geography that much. She's academic which is making me think she should do the geography but she's already doing 3 sciences and maybe the drama together with the music could open up another career avenue???

Does anyone have any sage advice please?

OP posts:
SansaUndercover · 23/02/2015 18:47

If she enjoys the drama more, then she should do that. Doing geography won't give her any kind of advantage. She would have 9 more academic GCSEs which is plenty. Doing the drama might be good for her, as it would improve skills that her other GCSEs wouldn't really focus on, and good interpersonal skills can be really useful in life.

If she doesn't like geography, presumably she wouldn't want to do it at A-level, and that is the only option she is closing off by not choosing it.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 23/02/2015 18:47

6 compulsory even

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Leeds2 · 23/02/2015 18:48

My preferred option would always be geography because for me, drama would be an absolute nightmare! If your DD didn't prefer one or the other, I would say geography because I perceive it to be more academic, but if she much prefers drama I would go with that. She has plenty of other academic subjects.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 23/02/2015 18:52

Yes Sansa, she was thinking that the drama may be useful for public speaking. I know that you can do those sorts of things as extra curric. but she is pretty busy with choir/orchestra/sport. She does community service drama (they helped with auditions at a local primary school and then worked with the children on their parts) and that has already taught her things about herself.

OP posts:
Original poster
pickledsiblings · 23/02/2015 18:54

Leeds, she's not naturally dramatic or anything like that but she does enjoy being in plays and she loves literature and going to the theatre.

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HereIAm20 · 23/02/2015 19:02

I have heard that due to the nature of the subject that a lot of the drama is group assessed and therefore if your child is with a poorly performing group then her/his grade can be dragged down through no fault of their own. Is it too late to check with the school how it is marked for whichever board she'll do?

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 23/02/2015 19:24

HereI there is a group element but drama is fairly high profile at her school so hopefully that would be OK.

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BossWitch · 23/02/2015 19:31

Drama. At gcse level it really doesn't matter about the loss of a more 'academic' subject. The confidence in performing / speaking in public that she'll get from drama will serve her better down the line than having a geography gcse that she didn't rely get much out of except a grade.

I'm a secondary teacher with quite a bit of involvement in ucas. And I hate drama personally! But drama is what I'd be recommending to your dd.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 23/02/2015 19:37

Thanks Boss. She plays two instruments and sings in a choir so she has lots of opportunities to perform already. Are there other things that you think the drama could help with?

OP posts:
Molio · 23/02/2015 19:57

Drama. Not geography. Because your DD prefers it and because she's got quite enough 'academic' subjects as it is.

BossWitch · 23/02/2015 20:55

Group work = working with others / leadership / delegation skills / conflict resolution.

Voice training very useful if she ends up in a job where she needs to use her voice a lot (I have spent a lot of time doing voice coaching with trainee teachers!)

Drama can be great for time management skills too as there will be periods of very heavy demand in the run up to and during a run of performances which is a very useful skill in of itself but also good to mention on ucas personal statement!

I would also never underestimate the empathy skills that drama can build - to be exposed to drama texts and possibly take on roles which are worlds away from your own life is a superb bit of personal development and likely to be helpful down the line in most career paths.

I'd also say that having the chance to spend a couple of hours a week being active and out from behind a desk isn't going to do her any harm! Might be a nice stress relief during gcse years (not on run up to assessed performances, obviously, but at other times!).

Drama has been completely cut out of my school's curriculum, even at ks3, which I think is terrible.

roguedad · 23/02/2015 21:24

Communication skills is one of those soft skill thingies that is useful in many areas, so I'd suggest the drama. As others have already said, her choices are dominated by serious academic stuff so it offers a bit of balance.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 23/02/2015 21:49

Thank you all for your help. She is going to sleep on it tonight and hopefully wake up in the morning just 'knowing'.

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MillyMollyMama · 23/02/2015 23:00

Definitely Drama. It teaches collaboration with other students and if your DD likes English Literature, reading plays is part of Drama. It is not all acting! Just make sure the teaching is good and the school has a decent track record in the subject. Can be hard if it is not taken seriously.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 24/02/2015 20:56

She chose drama!! Thanks again for the input.

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BossWitch · 24/02/2015 21:04

Good choice pickled jr! Good luck with gcse years.

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