When do your dcs choose their gcse subjects?

[lemon888]

Beginning of yr9 or end of yr9 or yr8?

DD's school: June of yr 8 (only they start calling them yr9s at this point). They can have 12 GCSEs by end of yr11.

DS's school: first day back after Whitsun break, when the yr9s become yr10s. They have max. 10 GCSEs at end of yr11.

Mid year 9. Before the exams!

Choose options February Year 8, start course the beginning of Year 9.

Year 9, but allowed to drop subjects in readiness at the end of Year 8. No more Art, Cookery or Music for DS2. Hurrah!

Never again will I have the 10pm trip to the 24 hour Tesco for cookery ingredients.

Mid year 8 to start beginning of year 9

Jan/Feb of year 9. To start in yr 10/maybe the end of yr 9.

Options choices came out in January Year 9. DD has until after half term hols to decide and had her choices confirmed in June.

Sorry, I'm an idiot. I gave dates when they start the actual courses. They actually choose 3-4 months before, so December-Feb period of yr8/9.

Do some schools spend 3 years to prepare GCSEs?

My yr8 dd s just texted me to say they will choose GCSE subjects around Xmas. That s early? I thought they've just settled in!

DS chose last term (Y8) and starts from Monday (Y9).

Spring term year 9. All decided by Easter, lots of departments start the work after May half term.

March Yr 8 to start year 9. One teacher said with the extra year it was nicer that they had a chance to give a broader spectrum of the subject and not just teach to syllabus.

DD's school they choose mid y9 for starting y10.

I am glad it is like this, if DD had had to choose mid y8 she wouldn't have made such good choices. Though the chance to drop some tech subjects would have been appreciated I suppose as she was pretty rubbish at them.

Also, the young-in-years will only be just 13 at the start of y9 which seems very young to be starting courses.

Nobody needs a million GCSEs anyway.

Express broad preferences autumn term year 9, restate preferences within a moderately fixed set of options blocks spring term year 9, poor HoY reshuffles after they all moan, finally fixed summer term yr 9 to start in yr 10. They only get about 2 free choices anyway!

Spring term of year 8, starting in year 9. I looked at DDs new timetable yesterday and felt quite sorry for her not having any art, music etc for the next 3 years, but she'll survive.

Spring term of Year 9, to start the courses at the beginning of Year 10. Can make changes at any time, as long as it fits into the timetable.

DDs school has just changed to year 8 for her year - the year above get one less option. They say there isn't enough teaching time otherwise.

I'm worried as at present DD is not mature enough to choose.

DS1: March of Y9.

DS2 (same school, two years later): April of Y8. In order to spend three years studying for GCSEs.

This move to choosing options in year 8 concerns me somewhat,.

In effect, students are being asked whether they want to continue to study subjects they have studied, in some cases, for just over a year. At my school, because of the way we teach arts, they will have had about a term of eg music and art and drama. And they can choose to drop it or continue? It's a bit nonsensical IMO.

If they have to decide during yr8 should they choose their gcse subjects based on their current grades? Or sets?

Mine had to pick 3 subjects including 1 from French, Spanish, history, geography or computing. They had to take maths, stats, English, ethics & beliefs, IT & science. There was no chance to take a second language. She could have taken art, drama, music, gcse PE, tech, photography etc as the 2nd & 3rd subjects. It's very hard making the choice at 13.

School will advise, Lemon. Usually only science or maths can get a bit selective about meeting a threshold to be allowed to take it.

DD (chose in yr8) can rejig her choices at end of yr9 & yr10, too.

replying to other posts, wrt to how DD's school does it with kids choosing in yr8:

Do some schools spend 3 years to prepare GCSEs?

core subjects, yes, same for most schools I think. Other GCSEs done over 1-2 yrs.

I dunno, I had "electives" to choose at similar ages, so did everyone it seemed fine for us. Because the system is flexible (they can change some of their choices at end of yr9/10, they can make more mature choices as they grow & develop I suppose.

Lemon: in our system they get info presented about the options in December-January-early Feb. They get individual consultations to make choices end Feb, the timetable then gets designed around demand for choices. The kids are given their timetable in mid May and have a chance to change their minds if spaces are available for alternatives. Then they can still swap in the first 4 weeks of starting the GCSE if they find it really doesn't suit (DD did this).

DD had drama-DT-art-music at least once a fortnight all the thru to end of yr8, only tiny tasters I suppose, but so much else to fit in the curriculum.

February of Yr9 - both my older 2 dcs, at different schools.