GCSE option - Drama or Business Studies - HELP!!!!

[minesawine]

Hi there - my DS is doing:

English Lit
English Lang
Maths
RS
Triple Science
Spanish
Geography

He cant decide between drama and business studies. He has no particular ambitions in either area, but thought they both sounded really interesting.

He doesn't know what he wants to do long term except he is interested in studying economics at A'Level (needs at least a B in maths) and defo wants to go to university.

Any views on either subject? Thanks

hesterton Hi - what is Attainment 8?

Business studies is perceived, at dc school at least, as less academic than drama.

look at the syllabus, which looks more interesting
look at how assessed (CA versus Exam)
does he get on well with others - needed for drama group work
drama he will be dependent on others, BS not
drama acts as a good alternative to normal lessons
doing BS may give an insight into whether he'd enjoy Economics A level
drama good for confidence, speaking out etc

with such a strong set of other options, I don't think it really matters.

Attainment 8 is the new way for schools to be measured (instead of blanket 5A*-C) . You don't need to worry about it. You just need to help your DS pick the best subject for him.

economics ties much more to business studies I reckon.

I got A* in drama, and it's never been of use to me in my life...

I would just business studies, my younger brother ended up going to LSE and he did business studies...

Do*

I wouldn't say Drama acts as a good alternative to normal lessons - BTEC drama maybe, but GCSE drama is fairly academic and involves devising, script study, theory, learning about practitioners etc rather than just larking about pretending to be a tree (not that this is all that BTEC PA is about).

Drama is useful if he wants to do a performance or arts-related subject at university. If he wants to do economics, drama won't be much use to him, business would be better. (But drama is an interesting subject and works wonders for self confidence)

Moomin I only half agree with you. DD is doing Edexcel Drama and it is an alternative. They are not sat at desks writing for the hour, they are doing a lot of moving about whilst doing their learning. Additionally she has had (too) little written work apart from writing responses for the CAs. It's not a doss subject by any means but it does act a break from desk-based lessons.

OP NB drama seems to vary a lot between boards, there has been another thread on this recently. So check the syllabus and the assessment, and definitely get him to talk to a y10/y11 about what it's really like.

Business studies is a good idea if he wants to go on to do economics (I did both at a-level and find they go well together) it also looks better to most future employers than drama would

Drama - is he quite confident and willing to act out in front of other people etc. If his teacher told him to act like a chicken in class could he get up there and do it or would he say he didn't want to and act all shy? I think if you have to do drama then teachers have to accept that kids may be shy etc but if they have chosen it as a subject then they are less understanding.

Of course he should do what he prefers the most. However if it was my own dc and if she likes both subjects equally then I would rather she took drama. I think it may helps with public speaking and presenting oneself which is an important skill in business. I think business is something we do in later life and will find it a lot easier once one has some real work experience. Besides gcse business cann't be that in depth. However one may not have the opportunity to do drama once left school.

Teen My brother is doing OCR, I think, and has found it to be very theory heavy. It may vary by exam board. I did WJEC A Level drama and found it to be incredibly theory heavy, which was why I assumed it was theory-heavy across the board at GCSE too.

Thankfully I'm now studying it at a university where it's a drama school-esque course, so it definitely is an alternative to academic learning

Drama as it'll give him skills in self confidence and getting up in front of others which will help him with presentations at Uni and for interviews

Just do what he will get the highest grade in. If he is not into acting or plays, then is drama right for him? Both my DDs did drama GCSE and really enjoyed it and both got A* but they had acted in house dramas, school productions and had LAMDA lessons so knew what to expect. Business studies is not the same as economics but it would be a start. It's a shame that economics GCSE is not offered.