Three humanities for GCSE - too much?

[SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun]

DS is choosing his options at the moment and is thinking of doing History, Geography and RS (also choosing German as his MFL and the 6 usual compulsory subjects including three sciences).

Does anyone with recent GCSE experience think this will be a bit much in year 11? He could do DT instead of History but this may not be his strength.

I work in a Humanities department. The new(ish) History and Geography GCSE's are very content heavy, staff have to bound through the curriculum pretty sharpish in order to get it all in. The difficulty of some of the Geography concepts has definitely increased. However, your DS is presumably motivated and interested in Hum subjects otherwise he wouldn't be considering them, so much of the battle is won. DT usually has about half marks through coursework - this may ease the pressure a little come exam season, but as I'm sure you know, anything practical tends to have a reasonable ongoing pressure/time commitment. I would not take DT just as a change/relief (although obviously taking it in conjunction with the other subjects named would be perfectly balanced and reasonable) - it depends on what he would rather do.

I’d say that would be quite hard going, especially as he will have a lot of essays for English. If he loves them then go for it though.

Play to strengths and choose what's going to be enjoyed. If they enjoy it, they'll put in the effort.

Plus, plenty of schools make RS compulsory, and choosing History & Geography isn't unusual.

DS2 (year 11) has Geography, History and German as his choices. RS, 2x English, Maths and all three sciences are compulsary. He is not the only one in his year group with three humanities.
DS1 did DT for GCSE and loved it, but it was also a huge amount of work. Different to his other subjects, but over the two years of the course he spend more time on DT than on any of his other subjects. But it was perfect for him.

He should choose what he likes the most. It's a higher chance that he puts more effort in subjects he enjoys.

Thank you. Lots of helpful comments. I will show DS. I wonder if he ‘ought’ to do a creative subject even if it doesn’t come naturally. He is more into maths really but likes the humanities.

I would just let him get on with it. They are his choices, in the nicest possible way, not yours.

Do NOT choose a 'creative' subject if it's not a true passion or talent. They all take up huge amounts of time, especially if it's not a strength. DC1 totally regretted taking art as a contrast.

Dd is sitting history and geography this year and all in her school take RS as well.

It hasn’t been a problem.

She’s now choosing a levels. Toss up between history and geography along with further maths/maths and a science. Keeping options kind of open. She didn’t want to do art/DT/other arts subject despite being pretty good at art - just not keen enough to commit to the subject. Creative subjects notoriously intense and hard work if you’re not enthusiastic I think.

I agree they are his choices but he has no experience of the reality of the subjects at GCSE and some mumsnetters do. He is quite undecided and I am looking for information and showing an interest. The school does say discuss with your parents

I know the new GCSEs are more content heavy than in my day and just wondering if he should be cautious about taking on too much or if it is manageable.

Janleverton Is the IB available at a 6th near you? Can do all 4 subjects, plus English & a language to really keep options open!

Bringonthescience - unfortunately not, unless went private or far.

RE is often compulsory and it's not unusual to do history and geography. They are content heavy exam courses but my gut instinct would be a child who likes humanities and actively wants to do all 3 will do well. I'd see against it if the student wasn't really sure and had a history of finding essay subjects difficult.

They are the exact subjects my DS took - all 10 plus he did an HPQ as well. He got all 9/8s plus one 7 (German)

He is now doing History, Geography and Economics A levels plus an EPQ.

It is definitely doable and as his favourite subjects are humanity based it has kept not only A level but degree options open.

(He is currently thinking History as a degree but hasn't rules out Geography).

If he is into maths and humanities then he will probably like Economics as a subject at A level and there has definitely been advantage for ds having done history and geography as there is some crossover and a similar way of structuring essays.

Dd is taking GCSE History and Geography this year. It is lots of work but our family seems to gravitate towards social sciences.

My daughter did exactly those options, plus D&T last year... 11 is normal in her school. She did fine, but would have been better without D&T which she hated and was time consuming. RS is ceasing to be compulsory in their school but not sure if hey are sticking to 11 subjects - will find out next month when DS makes choices.

Thanks for all the helpful information. DS’s school has dropped down to 10 subjects for his year group and made RS optional so there is a bit less flexibility than we expected as he is very keen to do RS but I think that with these new big courses it is probably a sensible move.

Maths goes better with Economics at A level. Keeps more options open. History at university doesn’t require Geography and vice versa but Economics requires maths at the best universities.

Where my DDs went to school it was history or Geography but RS was compulsory. They did do an arts subject and both did drama which has huge benefits later in life regarding confidence and public speaking. However, play to his strengths. If he likes science and maths, technology is a good fit, and good for budding engineers, but not if he’s not keen.

I left teaching last year. I was an RS teacher. All the new GCSEs are very content heavy and the new geography syllabus contains a lot more skills so he will need to be good at maths. If he likes the subjects and does well in them then he should choose them.

DS wanted to do all 3 humanities but was persuaded by the school to do res mat. Worst decision ever! Teacher was useless and then disappeared for 2 term leaving no qualified alternative, so classes were held by a succession of temps. They didn't even start their project until the Feb half term break and it needed to be handed in by that Easter. The kids with parents/grandparents who were into the trades did fine as they got help from home. Kids like my son who were promised a lot of support fared very badly. At least with an academic subject, the kids can effectively teach themselves if they get a crap teacher (or no teacher) and come out with a half decent grade, but with a "tech" related subject, if they don't have family/friend support, they're on their own and will crash and burn.

Yes BubblesBuddy - my DS started 4 A levels, History Geography Economics and Maths (keeping the Maths so that he could choose Economics as a degree subject if he wanted). His school still start 4 even though no AS levels to keep options open for students. However once he decided he wanted to do either History (most likely) or Geography as a a degree he decided it was the Maths that could go as he was interested enough in Economics at that level, which with the crossover into Human Geography and many History modules having an economic bent it made sense.

DD2 is doing History and Geography, no RE as school has stopped providing it. She loves both subjects and will be taking both to A-level but yes, it is a heavy workload.

She has chosen Drama as an additional option - not an easy subject, also heavy on theory, but it has complemented her English and the performance/devising side has massively boosted her confidence. She started out predicted a 4, she's now predicted 7 or higher so a 'creative' subject can be very good in complementing the academics and bringing out the unexpected best in someone.