GCSEs 2021 - choosing options **Thread title edited by MNHQ**

[brizzledrizzle]

Year 9s will be choosing their GCSEs after xmas, including my youngest. I couldn't find a support thread.

Roly Thank you. Are all schools expected to offer Comp Sci GCSE these days then?

All children now have an entitlement to study Computer Science / Computing.

It also counts as a science in Ebacc and Progress 8

Our school offers Further Maths IGCSE. Does anyone have any experience with this qualification? Dd plans to take 2 Eng, Math, mfl, 3 sciences, humanity, comp sci and considering taking it (she can drop it if it becomes too much).

Really interesting options evening last night. They have done something new since DD1 did her options, enabling those wanting to take triple science to do so without it being either accelerated or using an option. (Not that that affects us).

I'm just a bit concerned over the number and length of exams. I've calculated DD2 will have 20, and on average these are longer than DD1's were. DD2 gets extra time, so the longest (English Lit paper 2) will be nearly 3 hours long.

Apparently the sports science BTEC might be phased out before this cohort do GCSEs so we're having a rethink now.

Dd2 had parents evening last night and has set her heart on the following GCSEs:
English x 2
Maths
Physics
Chemistry
Ancient History
Italian
Art
DT
Drama

I’m worried that taking art, DT and drama is too much coursework but she really wants to do this. School say other dc have managed this in past and done well.

Thoughts anyone please?

Art & DT were too much for one of mine.

The problem is if you either have a conscientious child, who doesn't know when to stop, or a last minute child, in which case you may have a final month with the entire family involved in trying to help put together a portfolio including initial & worked on projects plus final artwork & sketchbooks which should have been progressively created over the previous 18 months.

I've experience of both types, it is VERY stressful either way.

Throw in Drama, where either personality type will either carry the group performance workload or massively piss off their harder working counterparts, & you're on a hiding to nothing.

My older children have very sternly told younger NOT to do ANY of those 3 subjects, as far too high a workload ie endless, unless they actually plan to do them at A level/BTec etc. Since younger DC don't, but saw them as light relief, have been perfectly happy to continue with Art & Drama outside school & chosen traditional subjects for GCSEs.

"Other children have managed this"....with good passes?
Does it matter to your daughter what her grade is?
If she wants to do it for fun, & high grades aren't the priority, go for it but open eyes. It will take time away from other subjects.

DD will be in this cohort. Just added up DDs options (3 x science, maths, 2 x English, history, German, Engineering, compulsory RE) exam time = 34 hours. Plus 30 hours for Engineering practicals. How many weeks are the exams spread over? Seems a huge amount of hours.

Anyone been through it before? I can buy extra leave from work and I was thinking whilst DD is capable and independent if I am around to supply tea and help test maybe doing four days a week for five weeks during the exam period might be an option.

DDs state school she is very fortunate that they don’t put subjects in blocks that mean some can’t be studied with others. She got to meet with one of the leadership team to discuss her options which she found hugely helpful.

Time is passing too fast.

We are having to make a choice of 1 from photography, drama, media studies or geography. Anyone got experience of these, DD is so torn. Rest will be standard ebacc stuff.

My dd that did art as her 'fun' GCSE because of loving it has told the younger dcs not to do it under any circumstances because it became a chore, it took three years for her to pick up her hobby again.

We had our options evening yesterday and have a month before we submit final choices. My DD has chose eng Lang, literature, maths, combined science, economics, psychology, art and geography. She still wants to take history as well but has time until March to decide which subject to drop to take history or not. I just hope she makes the right choice for her. My saying anything will backfire, I know.

Chosen not chose

My youngest is this cohort, don't think we've heard anything about options yet - but he is at an independent senior school so only 1st year there, I can understand they may leave discussing choices till later. I suspect there is only a little choice the way they structure things anyway. My eldest is starting to make A level choices and I foresee at least a couple of disappointed teachers next parents evening!

Meant to say, DD nearly did music + art, changed her mind a couple of times and then the combination wasn't possible any more. Probably a very good thing time wise.

We had the meeting today so now it's decision time.

It's either going to be: Engineering, Triple Sci, Geography and Sports Science or Triple Sci, Geography, Engineering and French plus the compulsory ones.

How long do you have to decide?
Our form has to be in by the end of Feb. Parents evening this week.

Very jealous of the engineering gcse. DS would love that. Ours too have been in by end of Feb. Hoping will decide by half term.

We've got a week to decide but will do it tomorrow I expect as it looks like the decision is made.

Following parents evening, options decision firmed up I think.

Hello everyone! Sorry I am late to the discussion here, I have been thinking about this for a while. My dd is choosing her options. Well, she has already chosen them, and I am crossing my fingers they will let her do them.

Englishx2, maths, triple science, R.E. Are the core subjects, which leave her with 3options, one of which must be language and one humanity. She has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia and essay writing is a something she is still working on, but has not had any support as yet to help her overcome her problems, so although she loves history, she has decided that what will suit her better in terms of exam load at the end of the course will be: French Music and Art.
The school will want her to pick one of music and art and do history or geography. I feel that RE is a humanity and gives her enough essays along with English. Plus Music does have a listening exam which involves writing an analysis of a piece of music.

I think the school are very attached to their ebacc success rate, so they will be pushing all kids to do ebacc, unless they are not likely to pass MFL.

I don’t know whether I am going to be able to get any flexiblity from the school at all on this.

It is interesting that some of your schools seem to have a more flexible approach towards ebacc. I wonder why this is variable? Do some schools have such good results that they can afford to give the kids that freedom? I think our school has to work really hard to get good results.

Also people are saying not both art and music as the workload is too much... I hope dd will be ok with this, as she works extremely hard all year, but can’t deal with exam week at all.

If anybody has any insight, i’d Welcome your comments!

Thanks

I think there is a different approach due to different types of schools, different level of intake, schools with different ethos and/or concern on league tables.

So in a grammar school your could reasonably expect everyone to be capable of passing all the ebacc subjects and, so they might timetable it for everyone.

Another school may want to give flexibility for all, and not insist that anyone does it.

This year our (leafy) comp has said that their data shows that anyone doing an MFL ends up performing better across the board, irrespective of their starting point. So they are insisting that all triple science pupils also do a language (Hist / Geog are compulsory for everyone). It still leaves 2 completely free choices.

Whether you get flexibility from the school may well depend on how they set their timetables. If there are other subjects being taught at the same time, it may be possible, but if not you are probably stuffed.

I do feel your pain. DD1 didn't pass a humanity, but did get 2 MFLs. DD2 is doing 2 humanities but no MFLs.

At my DC's school they have to do:

English Language, English Literature, Maths, Science, RE and Sport (combined or triple) and one of History, Geography, French and German.

First they choose a route - science specialist, combined science or a more vocational route. The school didn't mention the EBACC at all in the presentation, they emphasised the need not to copy what your friends are doing and to do what you enjoy and what you are good at.
Once they have picked their route they have a massive range of GCSEs to choose from, it's possible to pick a good mix of subjects pitched at whatever your specialism is or keep it broad for a variety of options at A level.

Personally I think that their approach is spot on. They are very good at putting the needs of the pupils ahead of the needs of the school when it comes to EBACC and league tables etc.

My fourteen year old son picked his options last year. We looked at the option booklet and circled his choices.
I told him to pick sensibly. I talked with him about the importance of making the decision. Since we are a homeschooling family things were a little bit different for us.
We have the option of doing it online.

Hi, thanks for your comments!
Teen, that is interesting that they are pushing mfl for the triple scientists... at parents evening the mfl teacher said they were encouraging everyone to do it if they could, as medical schools were beginning to have it as an entry requirement, and anybody starting medicine without an mfl at gcse were being expected to pick that up alongside their medical studies. Also some of the more prestigious universities.

I think it is interesting that more flexibility on mfl is given in general than for humanities. Our school’s mfl department has already dumped the bottom set in year 9. These kids now get extra pe and science I think.

But everyone is expected to do a humanity, on top of compulsory R.E. Across the board.

I think 2 completely free choices sounds good; my problem is that for triple scientists there is only 1 free choice.

This school has pulled itself up to outstanding by its bootstraps in a rough estate in a poor borough, and I think it has done this by being a disciplinarian school focussed on results over student choice. So not a leafy comp. helpful to have some context on this.

I don’t think they call it science specialist route, drizzle, but I will find out more at options evening in March. It sounds like kids get given different booklets with different criteria in depending on their sets. It strikes me that the higher the set, the less choice you get.

Being poor at mfl is excuseable, and allowances will be made, but being poor at essay writing due to a diagnosed specific learning disability doesn’t cut it to be excused from humanities. I hope I am wrong, but this is what the senco suggested.

@Boulardii
Music teacher here

We had a cohort of 20 go through the new 9-1 AQA GCSE Music last June.

The 1hr 30 listening exam (40% of marks) is not really essay based. Only the first 60mins is listening-based now. Answers are one word/bullet points for the most part. So, better for slower writers or those who struggle to structure their writing.

Since the 9-1 specification came in, the last 30 mins now consists of writing more extended answers to questions about two set works studied during the course. It is retention of facts rather than application of skill, so quite old fashioned. But only 15 mins writing per set work, so not like an essay really.

This year, Haydn’s Clock Symphony mvt 2 was the compulsory set work that everyone had to answer on. It is pretty much essential to read musical notation to succeed at this question due to the score studying done during the course. Non readers really struggled and got fed up during the course.

There are three more set works in the pop, folk and World genres but you can choose which one to answer on so you answer on two set works in total.

Composition coursework (30%) is completed in class time unless the pupil is behind, in which case they will have to put extra hours in.

Performance (30%) needs practice out of class time although we do have performance lessons where pupils work on their ensemble performances.

There is not that much demand outside class time but the skills required upon starting the course are much more specialist than they used to be. This GCSE is designed for people like me, who learnt a traditional instrument from an early age; not for the pupils I teach, who have often picked up a pop-based instrument aged 11/12.

Our current year 11’s are taking BTEC Music instead as few of them are fluent notation readers and would have hated the course.

Year 10 and year 9 will be taking the GCSE as the cohorts should cope better.

Hope this provides a little insight as to whether this might suit your DD.