GCSE History and Geography. A bad idea?

[MayBlossom]

DD is in the process of picking her options. She is contemplating taking both GCSE History and Geography, both subjects she enjoys and is doing well in. At her options chat with a member of the SLT she was warned that this combination would be "very content heavy" and it was almost portrayed as not the done thing. I am concerned she may also end up inadvertently limiting her future A Level choices if she does not do both as she is not going to do anything science or maths based and is highly unlikely to do either Drama or PE at A Level (these are the other two GCSE subjects in the mix). Is doing both HIstory and Geography really such a bad idea? Years ago I did both and also did both at A Level but it was a long time ago and I suspect things have changed considerably since then. Any advice, positive or negative, would be appreciated.

"both subjects she enjoys and is doing well in"

There's your answer.

Both great subjects and both leave loads of options still open.

But if she enjoys the content then go for it! My DC did those plus RE and double science. No-one says that three different science subjects is a lot but in reality I'm sure quite a few children would rather do more humanities and drop a science subject.

My DC (who has problems remembering things) definitely found there to be lots of history but she enjoyed most of the course whereas physics could well have been a Hogwarts subject for the amount she understood it!

Ds1 did both.
Loved both.
Got an 8 in both.
But....yes. They are both VERY content heavy, especially history.
I would say its more manageable if her school starts the gcse content in year 9 which ds1s did.

I'd say a great idea and the best way of keeping her options open for the future!

DD1 did both history & geography and we were trying to persuade DD2 to do the same (form due in tomorrow) but I think she'll opt for Drama instead of the Geography.

I did both, went on to do a levels in Biology, geography and classics, did a degree in classics.

My Ds did both a couple of years back, and he really wasn't into essay writing. But he was genuinely interested in both and enjoyed the subjects. It is a lot of work, but I think most GSCEs are these days. So it really helps if it is something you enjoy.

Thanks all for the replies. Glad to hear plenty of positives for doing both. DD definitely prefers humanities to sciences so will end up going down that route for A Levels more than likely. Similar to your DC GU24Mum, Physics may as well be taught in Ancient Greek for all DD understands of it at the moment!

Entirely normal and quite doable for a child who is interested in these subjects. It would not be seen as strange at all in our school (which is a 'normal' comprehensive) and indeed many children do take both. Over 50% take History and nearly 50% take Geography, of those about half take both. Yes, they are content heavy, esp History, but that style of learning suits some DC better than time heavy Art or Tech subjects (no reason you can't do both of course).

I mean both Humanities and Arts/Tech.

Dd did both and RS and got 9s in all three. She only did 2 Sciences as she knew humanities were her thing. She was originally planning on History, Geography and Psychology for A Level but RS surged ahead of Geography at the last minute. At academic schools like hers there aren't loads of A Level options (no Sociology, Politics etc) so we felt she needed to keep her humanities options open for A Level purposes.

Dd found History GCSE very content heavy, but not Geography - she found that much easier (she occasionally wonders if she should have chosen it for A Level instead of History, as people tell her the same about A Level Geography!).

I recently discounted one of our high school options because they didn't offer both history and geography. The two subjects go very well with skills learnt in each that are useful in other areas

DD who is currently in Year 10 is doing both History and Geography. She goes to a catholic school and RE is mandatory also so she is actually doing all 3 humanity subjects. There is a lot of content but DD is very good at writing essays so this is definitely her skill set. She liked both subjects equally when she was deciding her options last year but now much prefers History. At the moment she thinks she will be taking History and English Lit for A level and is undecided about the 3rd.

DS does both without any issues. His opinion is that history is far more content heavy than geography.

My DD only found it a problem in Mocks season... History, Geography and English - back to back exams on the Monday of one week, then over 2 days the following week... she found week one painful!

DD is choosing both as they're two of her favourite subjects. I can't see the logic of her picking something else she likes less and/or may not do as well at just because it seems less content heavy. As PP said, it seems like all GCSEs are very hard in some way now, so I'd rather she worked hard at subjects that she enjoys.

DS did both at GCSE and at A level. If humanities are her thing and she enjoys them and is good at them of course she should do them.

DS also did RS and English too at GCSE both of which are essay subjects too and Econimics another essay subject at A level.

And he is dyslexic/dyspraxic and has slow processing but still got top grades in all.

It really shouldn't be an issue.

• economics

If they're her thing, go for it. Even if she just enjoys them, as long as she knows there may be a lot to learn, go for it.
Mine is likely to go a maths-y route, but is thoroughly enjoying doing both history and geography.

My son does history and geography, he is managing OK( despite his SEN) as he is interested in both subjects.

It's better than going for a subject you don't have much enthusiasm for.

Both my DDs did both as well as triple science. DD1 did RE as well (wasn't being taught as a GCSE by the time DD2's time rolled around).

DD2 did very well, found History far more content heavy than Geography, would have done Geography A level rather than Psychology if it had been on offer. DD1 also did very well in both, but took a different direction for A levels. It's perfectly doable.

My DD in Y9 also starting to choose options. We asked both History and Geography teachers about their views on her doing both and, while stressing the amount of content (as others have said), their responses encouraged her to do both. My only question to you would be that there is no mention of a language? I have encouraged my DD to think about one (if not two) languages because they are less about revising lots of content and more about keeping up as you go along.

I have taught both subjects- if she likes them both then let her do them. I didn't have this option so it meant I could only pursue one.

My DS is doing both and they are still two of his favourite subjects. He’s not overly keen on hard work but I think they’re interesting enough that he enjoys them. It does depend on the teacher and he misses being in school.

Strange response from school. If the child’s interest and ability is humanities why fight that? I did history and geography gcse and a level and dd doing both history and geography for gcse.

Thank you all for the continued responses. I have no idea why the school were negative about the prospect of doing both - timetabling or teaching availability maybe? DD has asked around and many other Yr 9s are doing RS and either History or Geography but in the current circumstances she can only ask a limited number of people so there are likely to be others in her year wanting to do both. She is going to put both on the form as she is interested in both so we shall have to see what the school then do, if anything.