Too IT heavy? GCSE's

[pansycake]

DD wants to do the following GCSE's;

Compulsory
Maths
English Language
English Literature
Combined Science
RE

Then her additional choices would be;
Citizenship
Computer Science
IT
Business

Using PE OR Media as a back up in case she can't get a place on one of her choices.

Wants to study politics & law at A level and college confirmed she doesn't need history for this.

We have been told that non core subjects chosen are looked at when applying for college/uni and there is a preference for the ‘usual suspect’ ones - geog/history/French/Latin - to ‘round off’ the compulsory ones.

Can she also do a separate science?

I agree with others, if she is a bright child I would ditch IT (yy cannot be a GCSE) and citizenship and encourage history/geography and MFL. She wouldn't be allowed the choices she wants at my DCs' school.

Don't let dyslexia put you off "harder" subjects - the best geography teacher I know is dyslexic.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to imply that RS was a soft option at all - just surprised that it was compulsory.

At DS's school PE is not allowed for GCSE at all, although it is at A-level for the less academic students.

People saying you need history for politics - it may have changed, but I studied Politics & Economics at Uni with Science & Maths A levels, and didn't even do a history O level.

How many GCSEs do they take at the end of Y11?
Combined Science is the new Double award qualification so that's 6 compulsory subjects and 4 options so 10 GCSEs altogether.
Can she also do a separate science?
No that's not possible - it's not allowed under exam regulations due to common content between the 2 courses.
Pupils in state schools taking GCSEs can either take the Combined Science which counts as 2 GCSEs and covers all 3 sciences or 3 separate sciences (triple award) i.e. Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

I'd rather my dd did 9 than 10 silly ones.

PE is a good A level if you want a sports or teaching career. Dd1 did 9 gcses and PE btec, is now doing PE A level and has a place at Loughborough for sports science. I wouldn't bother unless that's what you are thinking of doing (she also did triple science and biology a level)

For comparison, dd2 is a bright hardworker, but not top set. She's a B with a smattering of As student. She is doing Maths, English x2, double science, drama, Spanish, classical civilisation and religious studies. She wants to do English Literature at a level and possibly history which her school have said will be fine if she does well in class civ and RS.

What are your school advising OP?

For those asking, yes it is an actual IT GCSE.

OK I don't usually say people are telling lies without strong evidence. There is no GCSE IT any more unless she is sitting the exam this June. I think the school may have lied or at least mislead you and your dd.

schoolsweek.co.uk/government-to-scrap-gcse-and-a-level-ict-qualifications/

www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/computer-science-and-it/gcse/information-and-communication-technology-4520

Grr, I specifically asked about the IT as I knew that it was under review a few years ago. Mind you, the usual teacher wasn't available on the options evening and I've not chased yet as it's the one I was hoping she could be dissuaded from.

Anyway I think she is now going for
Combined Science
Maths
English Language
English Literature
RS
Computer Science
Geography
Citizenship
Buisness

The revised list of options is great imo. You have to go with the child's interests and likes - especially with students with dyslexia who have to work threefold as hard as their peers despite being bright (I have a bright but dyslexic dd and because of processing and working memory issues she has to revise so much more than other students to make information 'stick' and to build the neural pathways)

Whilst history is a good GCSE I agree that if your dd dislikes the teacher then it is best avoided. My dd is doing history and is predicted a 6/7 (mainly because her mother has a first class honours in history and is pushing supporting her when her motivation drops ) but has found it "boring" with "too much detail" and "constantly going over" the post war treaties etc. She wishes she had done geography in hindsight.

I don't know what Business involves at GCSE but if it is anything like the Business studies I did in the first year of Uni as a subsidiary to my main degree, it should be interesting - involving marketing, economics, theories of motivation, operations management eg the Ford production line

I notice a couple of people mentioned an MFL - so for their benefit rather than yours, an MFL is best avoided for students with dyslexia. At my dd's small independent school of the 6 students with dyslexia in her year group only 5 are doing an MFL (and he is predicted a 3!) Just a reminder folks - dyslexia means "difficulty with words" (from Greek dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + lexis "word," from legein "speak") - not a great basis for acquiring a second language

Great that she has swapped ICT for Geography but I would still be inclined to lose the Citizenship- PE which was her back up would be a much stronger option.

My children are at a selective school (Grammar) and their school (and the other Grammar schools locally) do not offer Media, Citizenship or ICT and the majority do not offer Business at GCSE - the feeling being that these are not very robust subjects. Sports Science is very highly regarded however.

She will cover the content of Citizenship in PSHE (non examined) and tge Philosophy and Ethics paper in RS.

I'd be surprised if schools would allow IT and computer science as some subjects are deemed too close in content to be counted as separate subjects in the league tables.
E.g. GCSE Business Studies and BTEC in soemthing essentially businessy.
Or a performance qualification and GCSE Performing arts.

And within DT you can't take 2 option pathways at GCSE because the strands are so similar so a GCSE in electronics and a GCSE resistant materials can'r be counted separatelu too.

I wouldn't take IT and Computer Science. Too close together and i'm surprised a school wpuld offer it.

GCSE PE is done by all the naughty boys (and some naughty girls) at my school and at DS's school. I am sure Citizenship is done by open minded, thoughtful and reflective people.

PE may well be 'hard' (I have not had that impression) but it is the one subject I forbade DS1 from doing at GCSE (as it goes he didn't want to anyway for the same reason I gave...)

That was thr case for PE at one of my former schools.

Maybe it's because we are a good school with generally lovely students, but we tend to find our GCSE PE is 25% keen young sports people who already play netball/cricket/hockey etc at district or county level or are on thr junior squad of local football teams/ do athletics for local regional clubs / dance lots out of school / compete in gymnastics etc.
The middle 50% are students who are involved in school sports regularly or school dance often with a club outside of school too but not to a high level.
About 20% do school sport only but aren't on the A teams. They don't do much out of school but are nice and hard working.
5% take it because they don't like writing and think it will be easy.

We tend to find most of our 'naughty' or disengaged students end up taking the BTEC and DT options.

I would say, though, that these are only GCSEs and MN does tend to overthink them. I have been to several Cambridge taster days and their mantra always is ' we don't care what GCSEs you have'.

There is ONE university (UCL possibly) that demands an MFL at GCSE, for example. Since they all claim to be trying to improve their rates of state school applicants and offers of places, they would be hung, drawn and quartered if they were shown to be discriminating ain favour of subjects typically offered at more elite establishments and against those offered in state comps.

So, I'd go for : what does she enjoy (and best not to base that on teachers as that can change but it does have an influencing factor), what does she do well in, what subject seems most stable, well staffed and organised and so on. And , more controversially, what the typical student of that subject is like - not academically but attitude to learning wise. If it's a good mix,that's great. If it tends towards the less motivated, not so good, unless counterbalanced by excellent teaching and behaviour systems.

PE A level is not a naughty kids subject at dds school. I wouldn't say it's as hard as biology or chemistry a level! But it's actually surprisingly interesting. They don't offer PE GCSE though, only btec.

Worth looking into this then OP as we have different views of PE form different schools the PE teachers at mine are always moaning about the laddish lads despite being laddish lads themselves

GCSE PE is done by all the naughty boys (and some naughty girls) at my school and at DS's school. I am sure Citizenship is done by open minded, thoughtful and reflective people

Wow. Hopefully it teaches them not to be judgemental as well

I don’t really think anyone has suggested subjects only taught at elite establishments (history, geography, MFL and PE being part of the national curriculum after all ). Yes the are only GCSEs but if the OP dd is planning on taking challenging essay based A levels (such as Politics) then she would be disadvantaged by not taking GCSEs which start to develop these skills- Citizenship has a fair bit of multiple choice box ticking so isn’t particularly helping her.

I am not being judgemental : I am basing this on long experience as a HOY having to mop up the issues n GCSE PE lessons, honest.

As I said above, I don't think it much matters what subject anyone does if they love it. DS2 does Spanish and loves it and his teacher is not very good and lots of the kids muck about. He rises above it and works hard regardless, bless him. He'll do it for GCSE even though I'd rather he did French.

I’d get her to broaden her choices. She may change her mind about what she wants to do between now and starting a degree and I think it and computer science are too similar.

Ds is choosing his options next year and I’ve spoken to careers advisors where I work and they’ve all said to just make sure his choices are broad.

I do agree with that olly. I didn't know that was how Citizenship was assessed as I am only vaguely aware it is a GCSE (I am sort of surprised it was allowed through 'reform' as A level comms, which was amazing, wasn't!) OP says DD is now taking geography so that should help .But, yes DS1 does politics and business A level and they are essay subjects, although not quite in the same way as, say, history , film, English lit etc. I agree economics A level in future looks a a god fit.

A btec level 2 is the same level as gcse and they all now have an end point assessment so are not an easy option.