Year 9 options

[PenguinPandas]

DD has to choose year 9 options soon and this will restrict GCSE options. Standard are English x 2, Maths, French and/or Spanish (top set do both in half time each), Double or Triple Science (Triple takes out PE as is an extra subject not a replacement) and compulsory RE short course GCSE.

She has to choose whether to do double or triple science and forgo some PE. She wants double, I would prefer triple. Then choices are 4 of Art, Music, Drama, Dance - must choose 1 min, 3 max and Bus Studies (does not go to GCSE), Engineering, Food tech, and Design and Tech - you cannot take D&T and Engineering both as GCSEs.

DD is good all round but especially at maths and veres towards sciences rather than arts. She wants to do double science plus engineering - I am keen on engineering as an option out of above but if takes 3 to GCSE would there be any disadvantage over triple science. With this combination she would take 9.5 GCSEs, with triple 10.5 - I am not a fan of lots of GCSEs without good reason. She is interested in being an engineer but no real interest in biology - she's also vegetarian so that may limit Food Tech. She does a bit of music outside school but a bit half heartedly. She is keen on Bus Studies but not GCSE so not sure that's the best option. Any views on these subjects as options? She is a bit meh about all the arts options, maybe dance is her favourite.

Can you clarify. is this a mini options process in y8, just cutting things down a bit for y9, or is this full blown GCSE options choosing?

At DD's school there is a mini options y8->y9 where you pick your 2 favourite creative arts and tech subjects and drop the others, then a 'proper' GCSE choices time now in y9 where you actually pick your GCSEs.

I am going to assume it is a 'mini options' situation.

So some questions:

• does picking triple science now force triple for GCSE or can she change her mind next year?
• does not picking stuff now prevent her from picking it for GCSE?
• is she seriously considering doing any or Art, Drama, Music, Dance for GCSE?

Presumably for 'real' options in y9 there will be other things in the mix such as History, Geography, RE, MFLs, Computer science?

Food tech as a 1 year option isn't really going to be impacted by being vegetarian. But the GCSE could be impacted as she wouldn't be able to show skills such as jointing meat or descaling fish.

I'd go with triple now if she can drop to double later.
And then let her go with what interests her out of the other options.
Don't overthink it.

Thanks very much - yes its mini options but if you drop those subjects you can't take them to GCSE. I think of the 8 though she would only want to take Engineering to GCSE. Business studies isn't a GCSE, D&T you can't take as a GCSE with engineering, food tech is out at GCSE as vegetarian. Drama, well she hates English and not keen on drama so that's out at GCSE, dance she doesn't do outside school so wouldn't take to GCSE, never shown much interest in art. Music she has done a few grade things outside school but luke warm about them and no requirement to do a practical subject so doubt she would take to GCSE. So only one we need not to cut GCSE options down is engineering then guess its what she enjoys after that.

Triple science, I was just wandering that. I would be keen for her to do triple next year but she wants the PE. She's very bright but not keen on hard work so we may have a battle there though I am not overly keen on taking 10.5. I think double plus engineering would be OK. Thanks for your help.

What you would need to double check is what is your 6th form's view on doing Physics A level on combined science rather than triple. They should be fine with it but worth checking. (They might say they assume triple as far as starting knowledge so someone with only double might need to do catch up work before starting A levels. Also check on Chemistry just in case.)

Is she being allowed to completely drop PE? I thought that was 'core' and had to be done? At our school everyone has to do 1hr PE per week right through to end y11 No harm is some forced activity..

It says all local schools take with combined onto A Levels so think that's fine but yes she would need to catch up the missing third, think that should be fine though would prefer her on triple for year 9 at least. Will need to check if they can drop to double in year 10 or not.

PE some is compulsory but they do extra PE or the triple science, think its an hour extra per week. However, she has said dance is like PE so will see. She's very sporty.

I would let her do the PE is she is sporty. DS does it & it is more academic than I anticipated. He is loving it.

If she's bright and you think her main reason for not wanting to do triple science is because it's more work when she could be having fun doing PE (I'm assuming in year 9 it's just playing sport, not starting the PE GCSE syllabus), I would try to persuade her to give triple science a go for at least a year. My rationale would be that if she's planning on doing science A-levels, she is going to have to catch up on that part of the syllabus at some point. It's easier to do that now and miss PE than extra work in the sixth form alongside A-levels. If she's really struggling with the workload of an extra GCSE, she can always change to double science in year 10.

Thanks - I wish she could do the extra PE too. It's a shame its extra PE or triple science - one thing forgot to mention is sometimes she says she wants to do psychology - half the time she wants to be an engineer, half a psychologist. I think she would make a great child psychologist - her brother is ASD and she's amazing at understanding his thinking and she's interested in criminal psychology too. I think she may need biology for that - I would prefer she took triple to leave options open another year but if she prefers double and the PE that's fine too.

Atm she seems uncertain - she says she doesn't want any of the arts side but suggested she do dance as its like PE. It's a bit annoying having to give up either third science or extra PE to do 2 options she doesn't want to do. She says she wants Engineering and D&T now and her friends have said no to Business Studies, it doesn't go to GCSE.

If she wants engineering she will need physics a level, if she can do that from double science then it's not the end of the world, but she will be in much better shape for a levels as they will go into more detail in each area on the triple.

I'm not understanding the no GCSE business- do you mean it's a vocational qualification rather than GCSE or are they doing general learning which leads to no qualification?

Having a DS who has just gone through GCSEs and another who is halfway through I have one piece of advice. Let her choose what she enjoys most. Don't force her to choose a GCSE because you think she should. They are hard and intense and lots of work and only made mildly more bearable if they are subjects she enjoys...

I think the double science is partly its the easier option and partly as she loves PE. She was at a London grammar in y7 and got above average (average is an 8) last year in science so she's definitely capable of doing the 3. She did get very lazy on moving from grammar to comprehensive at start of this year not doing some homework etc but seems to be improving now and friends seem to be shifting from the cool kids who disrupt lessons to the harder working ones. She's bright but will often take the least work option whenever given a free choice though she has asked me for advice on this. Very unusual as normally she think she and her friends know far more than me!

re content on double/combined v triple.

I've just looked up our info for Edexcel.

Triple has the following Physics topics not covered in double: Astronomy, and Static Electricity only.

(There may well be other topics done in more detail by triple, but I can't see that from my headline list.)

The Business Studies one leads to a qualification but not a GCSE, not sure what it is but seemed to lead to a more vocational route.

I want her to do what she enjoys but want to make sure she's not ruling out the careers she wants atm. Of course that could well change but I knew what I wanted to do at that age and stuck with it. She also makes has made some bad choices when given a free range recently and her marks have gone down a fair bit since joining the comprehensive - partly their system but partly she needs guiding sometimes.

Thanks very much Teen I think she could catch up - Dad has engineering PhD though you need a PhD to understand his teaching I only did chemistry GCSE though so I won't be much help. When I just said about triple to her she didn't seem to have a strong opinion one way or another only what would be point in starting triple to move to double, that's extra work. I think will depend what her friends are doing too which way she will go.

She's now decided she wants to do triple science, engineering, design tech, dance and business studies so we are sorted - thanks everyone. She wants to do triple science and engineering to GCSE, rest will drop following year.

Apparently a couple of boys have told her she needs to work harder, think about where her life is going and she seems to have listened to them after ignoring me. So she has said she wants to try for Cambridge, has looked at local sixth forms and asked me to get her colleges results by subject, decided on 6th form, decided on triple science and all GCSES and has ordered herself 27 books (after refusing to read last few years!). How long this will last I don't know but she was always keen, able and a reasonable worker at primary. It's really good too having the boys do the lecturing so I don't need to say anything. I would prefer she could take 9.5 rather than 10.5 subjects for GCSE so she isn't overwhelmed by work but will see later about that if its an issue. The GCSE scores in triple at the school are excellent, the ones in combined much lower with hardly any grades above a 6 so it seems its split by ability.