GCSE options, DD wants to take music but I'm not sure it's a good idea.

[WhenTheDragonsCame]

At the moment DD1 wants to work with children who have special needs when she grows up. She struggles with Maths and English so the school are saying they will use one of her selections to give her extra help with them.

This means she has two subjects to pick. Her first choice is child development and her second choice is music. At the moment she is unable to play an instrument and I'm not sure she will be able to get up to the standard required in two years. I have said that I will get her private guitar lessons and she has had keyboard lessons in the past but due to her keyboard breaking did not practice at home (though the teacher did say that she made adequate progress in just 30 minutes a week) and she has had ukulele lessons at her old school.

Should I encourage her to take a subject with a higher chance of success, such as catering which she does enjoy?

Thank you.

Foodtech woul probably benefit her more imo its practical and enjoyable music is fine if you play an instrument Dds both took Music at Standard grade Dd1 did higher (scotland) Dd1 played guitar Dd2 struggled with keyboard they need to do a performance Dd2 failed her exam

I have found the gcse options booklet online. It doesn't specify and requirements for taking music other than saying you will probably enjoy the course if you enjoy performing music, listening to music and want to know more about other musical cultures.

The food related course are either gcse preparation and nutrition or NCFE level 2 certificate in food and cookery.

Even though the level 2 is supposed to be gcse equivalent it doesn't look as indepth. For example the unit 1 of the level 2 course is preparing to cook which is "the safe and hygienic preparation of the cooking environment and ingredients" this is 25% of thr course.

Should I encourage her to take the gcse?

Thank you. I'm unfamiliar with this as I took my gcses 20 years ago and picked my options based on what my friends were doing, and failed them all

Head of Music in a Secondary school here!!

We use computers to compose (Garage Band) so that shouldn't be a barrier for your DD. Ask her teacher how composition is assessed/taught.

Performance-wise, she can be below standard and get an 'Easier' tariff - she'll lose a couple of marks for difficulty but she'll make up for it if she plays perfectly.

The exam is tough but a good teacher will give her adequate preparation.

I don't think 4.5% A/A* is accurate - we regularly get 50% in our department (mixed comp).

That sounds about right for a level 2. Also look at how it is assessed compared to the gcse. Usually the course units are taken as you go along so may be better suited to those who struggle with exams.

If she wants to go into childcare she really will need her maths when i went into it you didnt but did a maths and English module on the course so what I am trying to say is she should take what she is better at than a new subject so she can concentrate on her core subjects (does that make sense)

Thank you all for your help.

I have spoken to DD and we have decided between us that she will do a food subject as part of her gcses and do guitar lessons as a hobby, possibly doing gradings if she practices enough.

The gcse is 50% coursework and 50% exam whereas the level 2 is 75% coursework and 25% exam.

I will email her head of year (unfortunately had a lot of contact this year) and ask her suggestion for which is best for DD. She has loved doing food tech this year, and her teacher in thar subject is the only one to have had anything positive to say about her.

If she finds school a struggle then there is a lot to be said for having some options which are mainly coursework. It will cut down on the revision load in the summer of year 11. There is a lot of content to double science and also to history/geography. Some less revision heavy subjects could be just the ticket.
tbh If she struggles with maths and English I am slightly surprised they are requiring history/geography. (Well not surprised as it will help their statistics, but not convinced it is best for your DD)

I would firstly check the curriculum with the school - the balance between performance/ end exam may well differ and this could make or break it for you. My DD is taking Music GCSE this Summer - she's very capable academically and has found Music by far the most challenging of her 10. She went into it with her Grade 5 theory and Grade 8 on instrument. For the first half-term she was seriously considering whether or not she'd made the right choice - the composition element was the sticking block, but once she cracked this, she's never looked back. At least 3 girls, none of whom had Grade 5 theory, dropped out in the first term, finding the catch-up required too much. I'm so glad she stuck with it, is expected to do very well and most importantly, she's probably developed more by doing this subject than many of her others. It hasn't been overly time consuming, however if she'd gone in with a lower level of Music attainment, I can see this would have been very different. So in summary, if the school feels she can do it from an aptitude perspective and she's prepared to put in lots of extra work if required, go for it!

Sounds like a good plan Dragons.

If she can't play an instrument she can sing. If she can't sing I wouldn't let her do it. Some exam boards are harder. In my day we had to compose two pieces so you have to be able to read music.

To be honest I don't get it when kids who can't play an instrument are allowed to do music, as it should be a prerequisite.

The ncfe vcert is becoming a popular course in many subjects. It is equivalent to a GCSE (for league table purposes) and will have 25% based on an external assessment.

Whilst I can't comment on the food course (our food dept are starting with this in September) for my subject (business) the external unit requires students to complete a task in exam conditions for 1 hour (about why businesses need marketing and to explain different aspects of marketing, for example niche, mass, product oriented etc). The remaining tasks have to be completed within a 2 week period and they have a maximum 4 hours to complete. This is based on a case study so they can plan prior to the invigulated sessions). This unit can be resat once more if they fail.

The students for whom this type of qualification suits are those who would struggle with the terminal exams and the ever increasing grade boundaries.

I wouldn't let her do music. Like another poster said, my DS1 found it among the most difficult and definitely most time-consuming of his GCSE subjects. He is musical, was Grade 4 or 5 on classical guitar at the beginning of Yr10 and Grade 6 on drums, he found composition easy and performance even easier but it just took up so much time. He got an A* and did AS music as well, so he's in a different place to your DD, but I just posed your question to him about how easy/difficult it would be for your DD to get a reasonable grade at GCSE and I'm afraid he gave it a thumbs down. He did also ask what would happen after options if it turns out that she hates music lessons or doesn't have any aptitude for guitar?

If she struggles with maths, she may well struggle with Music too. Not necessarily, but I have learned recently that there is a often a link between the two.

As PP has said, I think you have got a good plan Dragons. If she enjoys music and wants to work with young children, then doing some singing (maybe school choir/school shows?) would be a useful way to build vocal confidence. Always handy to be able to sing confidently, and if it is something that "clicks" for her, it might help foster a positive attitude to school. Best of luck with the options.

Another who doesn't think it would be a good plan to do music if she neither plays an instrument nor reads music. My dd took music last year, and the general advice (at options time) was that it would be a real struggle for anyone who wasn't expecting to be Grade 5 standard by the time they took their GCSEs.