GCSE's can you help me with this process?

[SoTiredNeedHoliday]

Hi,
I don't know much about GCSE's however we are nearing selection time. I have advised that we need to select:

• subjects that they really like
• Subjects that they might need for any A levels that they want to do or any career that they are (at 14! ) thinking of.
• Some are more difficult that others DEPENDING on the particular students strengths and weaknesses

What I was very surprised to hear is that Universities will look at GCSE results when reviewing student applications as the A levels are not yet finished. I am from a system where university places are offered after the results are in for the final year of school so you find where you are offered a place in the summer, & not before.

So can anyone particularly tell me about: I'd be forever grateful for your honest experienced comments as parents.

HISTORY GCSE - how was it ?

ART GCSE?

DESIGN GCSE?

GEOGRAPHY GCSE?

Most importantly, are there any pitfalls that I need to know before we have finalised our selection?

thanks!

Both Art and DT involve a lot of work in terms of the projects, but if you consistently set aside time each week to keep up with your art notebook then it isn't actually that bad. I don't think my dd has particularly struggled.

Also dd found the DT mock exams pretty straightforward.
And she has found both subjects quite enjoyable and a nice break from some of the other more academic subjects.

thanks everyone! Armed with that knowledge I have some good questions to ask his teachers in the consultation process about what will be his best subjects.

Though he is dead set on Art and DT!

dd took Product Design GCSE. She enjoyed it but you need to be aware that there are more marks for actually making the product than designing it. If your ds prefers making things then DT is the way to go and if he prefers designing then the best subject would be Art.
There is also a written exam for DT, but that is a lower percentage of the marks than the project.

DD does both Art and a DT subject (her school offers 3 DT options: they all have very similar structures, but obviously a different focus in the thing 'made') as well as history & 2 languages.

History is a mixture of question types at GCSE - but does need essays - and it is as well to enquire whether the time periods studied in your particular school match your child's interests.

DT is MUCH less time consuming than Art, and has a theory element that is extremely straightforward for an able child so some 'banked marks'.

To help your DS pick between History or Geography, find out what Board your school will be studying and take a look at the syllabus as they vary so much. Actually worth looking at syllabuses for all the subjects.

My DDs school produced a brochure including details for every subject offered with Board and full syllabus - do you know if your school will do the same before it's time to pick.

"I am from a system where university places are offered after the results are in for the final year of school so you find where you are offered a place in the summer, & not before."

I doubt it would be physically possible to sort out all the admin required between results day and the start of term - a timescale of 3 - 4 weeks. I'm talking about timetabling, student finance, accommodation etc. Obviously it can be done for students going through clearing, but not for all students.

cantkeepawayforever I'd love to hear more about how your child copes with ART and DT. Mine really wants to do both and history is the love not geography, despite the essays. The replies to my post here are all highlighting that ART is a huge burden on time.....

The school has allocated the choice options in blocks so I know that the mix he wants will work from a timetable perspective.
As for after class and weekend work, I mean I had to do a lot out of hours when I was at school I am just not sure what a lot is nowadays?

So everyone, another question - in year 10 and year 11 how much time do the children spend on homework on average per day and then on weekends?

Thanks for helping to educate me here on the way the GCSE's system works

Heifer thank you! His school is doing the Cambridge IGCSE course which has an element of course work (27%)

The Geography is the new GCSE specification with 3 units and exams

I have a booklet that the school has produced that covers all the options.

The new species GCSEs are far harder and more content heavy than the igsce.

Be aware of that if school does a mix. The content in history and geography is huge, and requires good recall skills and ability to retain a lot of information.

If he has a passion for hosting though, go with that. They have to enjoy their work.

I was told to do physics (could have dropped and done two sciences) because I was looking at Oxford/Cambridge. Dutifully I did GCSE physics and loathed every second. Wish I'd taken something I actually enjoyed instead.

Happy to help, but it would be really useful to know the breakdown of iGCSEs and new 9-1 GCSEs.

Essentially, iGCSEs are very akin to the 'old' GCSEs (A* to G) and are significantly reduced in content and time, while often containing more coursework (rather than final exams), than the 'new' GCSEs.

DD is doing all 9 - 1 GCSEs (x10) and 1 'old' GCSE (Further Maths) as an extracurricular 'extra'. It's hard going, and the workload in each subject is higher than for DS, who did only Maths and English as 'new' GCSEs and the rest as 'old' ones.

If the majority of your DS's choices are iGCSEs, then Art + DT would probably be fine. If all bar History are 'new' GCSEs, then unless he is exceptionally disciplined and able (DD is; which is lucky as she balances the above GCSEs with 10 hours a week of high level dance) then I would probably advise against it!

[To be absolutely fair, iGCSEs were - depending on subject - sometimes higher than the corresponding GCSEs. However, unless completely reformed, they are definitely lower in workload and content than new GCSEs]

Ok thank you, some more questions I need to ask the school. It seems only geography and history have which course it is (iGCSE or the New GCSE)!

Any more details on the average amount of homework your children do would be very useful as well.

Art would be pointless unless they were incredibly creative and eying up a creative career. Choose subjects that give a variety of skills like numeracy, written communication, problem solving etc the wider the skill set the more flexible options will be.

Depends on the school. Depends on the child. If able and motivated they can start making revision notes each week from the first week, obviously hammer home it's ok to miss weeks etc untill the year of exams but if they do this it cuts the pressure for them.

DD wanted to do Art out of passion for it. She still draws great stuff for fun. She decided not to endanger her hard academic grades, though. & that 2nd best is to earn lots of money so she can buy the best art. My mother was arty & bought art. I get it.

Thanks TeaBea2019 doesn't art also help if you perhaps want to become and archaeologist (Art and History) or a journalist that focuses on Art and design (Art and English) or perhaps a teacher, or maybe a historian or to possibly someone who create documentaries (art, history, geography)?

I think with the core of sciences, maths, english They are pretty covered with the numeracy, written communication and problem solving, and all the students will have results in these subjects..... remember we're talking GCSE not A levels here.

I think complementing the core subjects with a creative subject is exactly what the children of the future will need - to be able to think out of the box, see things a different way etc.

Its not all reading writing and arithmetic these days in many careers.

DSs chose art/DT as that block of options was all subjects like that. Their actual choices were quite limited. I wonder if it was engineered that way to give a more rounded set of qualifications? Certainly they didn't choose them over a more obviously useful subject.

DD wants to be an architect - so Art in combination with the Sciences / Maths are critical. The DT option she has chosen also links to possible areas of 'art-type design' that are a possible way forward.

It's not at the expense of anything else: she does a humanity, 2 languages and all the normal core subjects too.

Essentially, in terms of homework, DD works on 'non DT / Art homework' every evening until she goes out to dance (earliest start there 5.45; latest 7.30, all finish 9 or later). At weekends, she does Art portfolio work and any DT practical, which she also does on the one evening she doesn't dance, once all other subjects are finished.

She doesn't have a lot of 'teenage hanging around down time'....

DS did GCSEs last year and they included Drama and DT (Product Design)
In retrospect he and we were soooo glad that he'd chosen some subjects that had an element of coursework as it meant he'd completed 60% of both of these subjects (and knew his internally assessed, recommended marks) before he reached the exam period.
He ended up getting an 8 and 9 in those two subjects, so it was a good strategy.

Don't underestimate the volume of exams they now have to sit in GCSES - it's gone up from about 23 in the old system to over 30 now.
It's exhausting for them and I'd say anything you can do to reduce that number is a good thing.
So long as they have good English, Maths, Sciences and at least one humanity then anything else is fine. Obviously, if they know they want to go into Art, Drama, Music then it's worth following that course.

Further to previous post - it helps a lot that DD's DT subject is one we have most of the equipment for at home, so it is easier for her to work on it at the weekends (after school sessions are held, but are hard for her to attend due to dance). something involving lathes or 3D printers would be a lot trickier to timetable.

As year 11 has progressed, she has given up playing for the school's 1st teams in both netball and hockey. Y10 was fine, though - she played both sports for the whole of that year.

I don’t know if this is just a local problem but keeping good dt teachers seems hard where we are and my dc enjoys dt as a subject but the class is progressing slowly (and behaviour is not great as it is apparently taken by many who think they won’t have to do as much work) it is becoming a bit of a worry.

The only subjects they must opt for at GCSE to continue at A level are languages. All other option subjects can be done at A level without the GCSE.

DD did geography at GCSE and A level. A lot of the basics were covered at GCSE, so while A level is doable without the GCSE I think it would be better to take it before the A level.

"I disagree about group work, if they love drama, go for drama."

It only works if everyone pulls their weight.

DD was in a small "group" of two for Citizenship and did all the work (the subject was compulsory for her at the time). The other girl did no work at all, and managed to lose the letter she had received from the prime minister. DD was panicking that she would fail because of the other girl. The teacher was angry with the other girl for letting DD down. In the end DD got a D for her coursework, but aced the exam and managed to end up with a B. The other girl failed.

My eldest did her GCSEs in 2017/2018. There was some indecisiveness at first. Eventually she did GCSEs in English, history, math, science, geography and music.
DS aged 14 wants to do French GCSE. She also wants to take GCSE PE and GCSE RE as well. I have advised him to pick his choices carefully. It was the same thing I told his older sister at the time. Your options need to help you later on in life.
My advice is to read any career literature and options booklets available from the school prior to making a decision. If possible look at the specification on the website of the exam board too.