GCSE Options - DS is interested in & thinks he wants to do some kind of astro engineering type career but not sure what options - any advice?

[123lookatme]

So all very new to me with only have 1 DC. School have spoken to them about options...he;s getting panicky! Our meeting is in mid Feb. DS says they have to do all the usual core subjects like English, Maths, a Science, etc. and then 2 options - is this right? Was 3 he said but now it is only 2.

He likes Geography and wants to do this over History plus he said one of the Tech categories has engineering so he would prob pick that.

The sciences which are key are mandatory like you said, so is English and Maths, there really isn't much to choose from after that. so whatever he 'chooses' doesn't really matter. He's got enough subjects to follow any career path. Its his A'levels subjects that really matter.

Ds1 wants to do similar. Watching with interest.

Only one science? If he's only got 2 or 3 options isn't he likely to be doing compulsory 3 sciences? I hope so.

He must have physics (and maths and English) above all, but I should think he will have.

Sciences are a must and I would have thought IT would come in useful. His A levels choices are more important.

The son of a friend is doing auronautical engineering and he did Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry A Levels.

Different schools handle options differently.
No doubt in Feb you'll see the blocks and what they are offering and the combinations.
Cross out everything he doesn't want to do and see what's left.

No point getting too set on things before you see what's on offer.
Make sure if a new subject (and actually also for geog/history) you find out what the syllabus really is as it may not be what he expects.

DS1 about to start a PhD in Astro Physics - he did Maths, Physics, English and Drama AS and dropped Drama (obviously!).

DS2 applying for Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering - he did Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry AS and dropped Chemistry at A2.
He's got a solid offer from UCL and waiting to hear from Cambridge now. Maths & Further Maths is essential. I think Physics is preferred too as essentially it is applied mathematics.

Both did triple science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology rather than double science) at GCSE and have a strong aptitude for maths.

IT is useful - DS1 uses lots of programming.

IT is useful - DS1 uses lots of programming.

IT has NO programming in it, Computer Science does.

OP

Science, maths and more science, triple if he can do it, double if not. Computer Science/Computing GCSE is classed as science so might be useful.

ITCS GCSE is being phased out, anyway, this is last yr.

DT in any form is useful for OP's son or others wanting to do engineering.

Op my DS studied for an engineering Masters in Astro & Aerospace Engineering with Spacecraft Design. As others have advised, your DS should be looking to do as well as possible in his maths and science exams.
Geography is a great complementary GCSE, as is anything design related eg resistant materials.
At A level, DS took maths, FM, Physics and Chemistry plus Geogrsphy to AS. But that was under the old system and may not be possible/sensible now. Maths and Physics were compulsory A levels for the course.
Students without at least AS Chemistry had to study an extra option in the first year whereas DS was able to use that time for studying.
They also used a lot of IT and coding programmes such as MATLAB, so an interest in IT or computing would be helpful.

But basically, he needs to love Maths.

If your ds will be 16 by the end of the summer I recommend the International Astronomical Youth Camp, which is in the UK this summer. I did this, in my own youth, and spent 3 weeks in the summer doing fabulous Astro stuff with 16-24 year olds from all over Europe. It was brilliant fun and a great thing to have on the UCAS form when applying for university.

Should rephrase that;

An interest in IT is useful

Not sure that GCSE in that area is particularly useful as the content is often basic and a little outdated as it's such a fast paced area.

Echo what error says above; interest in science and a love of maths.

I think there was a thread on MN about how kids are sometimes entering secondary without basic keyboard skills, actually. And other basic desktop PC skills. It's assumed kids will pick them up, but may not in the 'tap and swipe' generation.

DS is doing ITCS GCSE precisely b/c his basic MS Office skills were so bad (well, that's why I wanted him to).

That's a really good point lljkk.

Slightly off at a tangent, but you could see if there are any observatories in your area and if they have meetings your son could go to.
It is a fun way to learn about astronomy.

kids are sometimes entering secondary without basic keyboard skills, actually. And other basic desktop PC skills. It's assumed kids will pick them up, but may not in the 'tap and swipe' generation

As an IT/CS teacher I fully echo this point...We have yr7 students who can fully annotate blocks of code, explaining what it is doing, why it is doing it, the faults this code has but ask them to capitalise a letter without hitting caps lock, ask them what a cell reference is and we just get blank looks.

We have had to go so basic in lessons that CS is the furthest from our minds - just because they can use FB does not mean they can use a computer