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Secondary education

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Original poster

GCSE options

98 replies

BetterWithCake · 08/01/2018 15:18

DS has to make subject choices for GCSEs in the next few weeks. He has no idea what he might like to do after school career wise. Is the best thing to keep things as broad as possible and stick with the things he enjoys and hopefully will do well in? I am concerned he will leave something out that he might later regret.

TIA

OP posts:
loveisenough · 08/01/2018 15:23

How many choices does he have to make? Does he have to take a language? My dc school has decided that they will take a 1-year RE GCSE and then have three options to choose. A language is not compulsory at their school.
I would say if they have no idea of a career path it is probably best to take a broad range of options.

TeenTimesTwo · 08/01/2018 15:26

Yes. Broad, Enjoys, Will do Well. Perfect.

drummersmum · 08/01/2018 15:35

Agree. Also may be useful to check a level requirements at his school. Some a level subjects do not require to have taken the gcse, others do.

BubblesBuddy · 08/01/2018 15:37

You will not leave anything out if you keep it broad because a broad choice means your A level choices are wide open. Some A levels require the GCSE such as Ebac subjects and MFL. I would keep an MFL if he can but you do not need to go down niche routes because you think it will prevent him doing the A level. So subjects like Psychology, Sociology, Economics, ICT, niche sciences, media studies and some others are not necessary at GCSE. If he does the Ebac plus an art, a technology, maybe a second humanity and a second language if he is talented in this (or whatever he is talented in). Then you have all bases covered. Do not do any more than 10.

Oblomov18 · 08/01/2018 17:53

Same here. Parents options evening meeting in next few weeks.
So hard to advise Ds1.

Should I also be encouraging him to do an online careers advice quiz to work out what job/career might suit him? If so, which one?

MaisyPops · 08/01/2018 18:03

Teacher and form tutor here.

I usually advise my pupils to pick things they are good at and enjoy. They have to have Maths, English, Science anyway. Some schools also specifiy a language for some pupils.

If they think they might be considering university then I tend to suggest the EBacc route & if they are academically high performers then I tend to encourage some thought before going down the BTEC route because like it or not I think there is still a view that they are softer options as schools typically have their weaker students doing them (no judgement before anyone says 'but my child does BTEC travel and a distinction is the same as an A / my child is straight 8s and 9s and does one).

If they are considering anything in STEM fields then triple science tends to be a better platform for a level but it's certainly not essential.

Often the discussion I tend to end up having at options evening is when a child wants to art, music and drama and the parents are worrying about how it will look/whether it's too narrow. My ususal guidance is if they enjoy it, they'll work hard. If they are taking drama/art because they think it will be soft because there's no writing then they won't do very wrll because the practical element is demanding.

At the end of the day the G in GCSE is for general.

I agree with other posters about not doing too many. Nobody is going to go further in life because they had 13 GCSEs vs 10. Do 10 and have room to study and have hobbies.

CrumpettyTree · 08/01/2018 18:17

Is it ok to drop all Art subjects or is it best to keep one to keep things broad?

Ginorchoc · 08/01/2018 18:24

My daughters school gives little option, they have to do Maths , English, Triple Science, a Language, RS, either History or Geography and can choose 2 of their own. If they want to do History and Geography they can only chose one from what’s left, art, PE, Tech etc.

RedSkyAtNight · 08/01/2018 18:27

Is it ok to drop all Art subjects or is it best to keep one to keep things broad?
Depends on the child's aptitude interest ... I wouldn't force an uncreative, uninterested child to do a "non-academic" subject just to keep things broad!

MaisyPops · 08/01/2018 19:11

Is it ok to drop all Art subjects or is it best to keep one to keep things broad?
If they aren't good at the subjects then there's nothing gained by doing them and you'd have a miserable child who may not work as hard.

CrumpettyTree · 08/01/2018 19:18

Thanks. I think she will drop them all. We haven't had the options meeting yet and i was going to wait for that to make sure i fully understood how it worked. She is more middling than bad at Art subjects. She gets better grades in other subjects. I knew she wanted to drop Art and drama, but she plays an instrument (only at grade 2 so far) and enjoys orchestra. Just asked her and she wants to drop music too so that's fine, she can drop it and continue with instrument/orchestra as long as she wants. (We had to take an art subject to keep things broad when i was at school)

TheSecondOfHerName · 08/01/2018 19:20

Maths
English language
English literature
Science x 2 (or 3)
History or Geography (or RS)

That makes 7 (or 8)

A foreign language if there's one they're good at and enjoy

That usually only leaves a couple of slots, which should be subjects they enjoy and are good at.

TheSecondOfHerName · 08/01/2018 19:21

Sorry, I meant 7 (or 8) including an MFL if they choose one.

CrumpettyTree · 08/01/2018 19:26

That's helpful. Ours have to do RE so will probably just get the one choice.

Oblomov18 · 08/01/2018 19:36

Thank you Maisy.
Ds1 is quite bright, but my main concern is that he'll take too many difficult subjects and overload himself.

This was the brochure from last year. I'm waiting to see if anything has changed.

Ours have to take:

Maths
English
Science
RE
PE

I'm waiting, for the meeting, to hear if you have to take a language. This year. He struggles with French. But I think some uni's demand a language these days.

But, he loves science, but is it too much to do science as a compulsory and also take triple science.... instead of French....

I just don't know.

He wants to do cooking.

GCSE options
Original poster
BetterWithCake · 08/01/2018 20:01

Thanks for your helpful replies.

I think it’s looking like he will probably do a language and history, so Ebac is a possibility. RE, as this is compulsory. Science, but maybe not triple as he likes the biology aspect but finds some of chemistry and physics tough. Then he has to choose 2 more - he has narrowed this down to PE and either IT, DT or Food Tech GCSE. Is this a good balance?

OP posts:
TeenTimesTwo · 08/01/2018 20:09

Oblomov From reading here there is ~1 university that requires a language, I think UCL but I may be wrong. But even that doesn't require the language, it just makes you study a language alongside or something if you don't have a GCSE.

And no, for someone who likes science, triple science is not 'too much' science!

TeenTimesTwo · 08/01/2018 20:11

... Oh, and I had a look at the Food tech spec the other day (my DD2 is y8) and it seems quite sciencey in parts, so as a 'lighter' subject it might go well.

Amoregentlemanlikemanner · 08/01/2018 20:16

Oblomov I agree that no uni requires a language.

Original poster
BetterWithCake · 08/01/2018 20:28

Are things like food tech and PE seen a ‘soft’ subjects?

OP posts:
TeenTimesTwo · 08/01/2018 20:36

Op. Yes, they re seen as soft.
Whether or not they should be is another matter!

An 'academic' child should not generally pick PE AND Drama AND Food Tech AND Media Studies.
However one or 2 'lighter'/more creative GCSE won't do any harm at all for an academic pupil. It will add variety to their curriculum.

On the other hand, it would be better to do all the 4 I mention and enjoy and pass them, than pick 'better looking' options and hate them and fail them.

tbh If he has History and a Language then he will have a broad range whatever the other 2 options.

TeenTimesTwo · 08/01/2018 20:38

NB the above is my personal opinion. I am neither a teacher nor careers advisor.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 08/01/2018 20:56

Seems like sound common sense, Teen.

One ‘softer’ subject amongst 9 academic ones isn’t going to close doors in terms of uni applications. If you have no idea what you want to pick for A Level or study after school then a range of subjects will keep the most doors open but don’t necessarily prioritise breadth over ability.

If you hate languages or both humanities and are going to do badly, don’t pick one. choose something you will get a better grade in.

MaisyPops · 08/01/2018 22:11

I agree teen.
Having one 'lighter/softer' subject / creative one isn't a terrible thing.

Like you, I would also advise caution if a very academic students was wanting to do media and PE and DT etc. We build up a reasonable picture of what sorts of profiles tend to suit pupils.

Maybe this is my 11-18 head showing, but I am always skeptixal of teachers telling all their students 'pick my subject for GCSE/A level' as it tends to translate to 'i want numbers to be good to reduce the likelihood of my subject being culled'. When talking to teachers about options, I would place more weight on those who give a more measured and balanced view of how their subject suits students e.g. what's great, but also what's challenging? What type of student would be ideally suited to X?

cleofatra · 09/01/2018 07:36

Its a tragic system. Mine is choosing and starting in year 9 so has spent a whole 2 years in education on subjects such as art and music. He will also have to say good bye to geography. 2 years...not a well rounded education but I suppose something's gotta give.