GCSE options, what would you do?

[Hellocatshome]

DS has had all his options bunf since before the holidays but still can't decide. He either wants to go into a sports based career such as Personal Trainer or a coach of some description or he wants to work in construction/engineering. These are the two routes he's wanted to go down for years but can't decide between them. The only options he is remotely interested in are PE or Engineering but he can only choose one. We have looked at college courses he is likely to do after leaving school in both areas and all they need is 5 GCSEs at 4 or above so he doesnt need to do a specific subject to access his future education. PE would be BTEC or GCSE dependant on what the teachers think would be best for him, Engineering would be a BTEC. He is predicted 6/7 in all subjects apart from maths where he is going to have to really pull his finger out to get a 4! Apart from just telling him to picknone he would enjoy (which is both so that doesn't help) I'm at a loss as to what to advise him. So if you were me/him which would you choose? Oh and he wouldn't have a problem with the sports element of PE he already plays cricket and football at a high level and has a black belt in karate so could probably pick up another martial.art quite easily for his individual sport.

and he definitely can't do both?

if he is going to struggle to get a 4 in maths, then i would have thought engineering would be off the cards. don't you have to be good at maths to do that?

I would say PE. If he is interested in Engineering they would be looking at Maths and Science rather than definitely needing a BTEC in Engineering. Also , if he decided he wanted to do A levels instead of BTECs at 16, he wouldn’t be able to do A level PE unless he had done it at the lower level. DS1 missed out with this and wished he’d done it.

He isnt planning on doing A level anything he wants to go straight to college to do a vocational course. I did think that Engineering may be a bit maths heavy. He definitely can't do both as the school are making him to Spanish to fit into their Ebacc criteria which they are insistent on despite people on here telling me it no longer exists.

why are you writing off the option of A levels at such a young age?

I'm not writing off A levels he is, he i not an academic type at all. He has looked into the option of going to college at 14 to do vocational courses but I have persuaded him to stay to do his GCSEs. He has pretty much been told he will get onto a football scholarship at 16 but wants to keep his options open as he may decide over the next 2 years construction/engineering is the one for him. He found an engineering apprenticeship that starts at £13,000 a year and I had to stop him applying as he is only 13!

What are the career/job prospects for the PE route? Are there many vacancies in coaching etc?
Personally I'd have thought the construction/engineering route would be more advantageous in terms of scope & future-proofing.

TBH OP, he doesn't need a KS4 -level BTEC in engineering to do anything - not even engineering post-16. And the reason for that is - lots of schools don't offer it.

The main advantage of the engineering choice now would be that it would show him if he liked it or not. Which might be helpful.

I agree with others tho, a struggle to get 4 in maths GCSE doesn't sound like an engineering natural tbf.

PE GCSE means he can do PE A level. Which mght be a good choice if he wants to go into coaching or sports management. Not essential tho. Also PE A level is not offered everywhere - DS2 was certain he wanted to do it and that meant a good number of post-16 possibilities were a no.

So what I am saying is, best to do what he thinks he will most enjoy. If he does a post-16 football course then he will get a BTEC in sports science or similar. Is there a chance of him being a pro footballer?

Or you could push back at the school and suggest he will do better in engineering and PE than Spanish. My kids' school insisted on MFL for DS2's year but a contemporary had a very persuasive mum who got them to let him do business instead.

I’d go with PE. Not many schools offer engineering at GCSE level so he could easily do it later on. But if he decides to do something sports related PE would likely be very helpful. Also, as others have said engineering is likely to be maths heavy. I’ve got a few friends who work in various engineering jobs and they all have at least A’level maths.

Believe me I have tried to be as persuasive as possible re the school letting him do both but its a no go. Seems the consensus is his maths really needs to be stronger for engineering which is a shame as it seems the better career path in terms of opportunities.

I’d choose PE. Engineering is such a rarity to be offered at a school it won’t be to his detriment at all.

I would have thought engineering would be better in terms of opportunties but he really needs to get the maths up to at least a pass, ideally higher. I would really be pushing the maths and showing him adverts saying about the maths as well as trying to help him with it or ask school best way to help.

If those are the two routes he is interested in I would keep pushing school to let him take both. If they absolutely won't (I've always got our school to budge eventually) then if there is a realistic chance of him passing maths I would vere towards engineering. Otherwise PE. I know someone who did PE though and said it was great in their 20s and 30s but not great after that when they were older and not as fit and they had to change career so best to have a plan B for older if go down that route.

What does he think he will enjoy in engineering apprenticeships and what are the entry requirements for maths?
It is possible that the engineering BTEC through a more practical application of maths may help improve his understanding and therefore maths GCSE grade.

If he does n’t do PE GCSE or BTEC could he supplement his sport outside school by some coaching or qualifying as a referee?

My son is at college getting his PT qualification. You don't need anything to start - but you have to get a 4 in English and math while there if you haven't got it before. PE GCSE is useful and gives you the groundwork needed, but they stretch the course out so it isn't essential (I mean he would just soend more time studying to catch up). PT is considered a growing field but it doesn't get you the big bucks. For every Joe Wicks there are tens of thousands just about earning a living. You have to keep adding to your repertoire- my son has taken Les Mills course for example and will probably get a NVQ 4 eventually. It is a lifestyle choice - you are your best advertisement. But he doesn't see himself doing it in his 40s, but I think most people expect to change careers at least once in their lifetime now.

I can see the dilemma. Has he really looked at the content of the engineering course? My son was initially interested but then decided the course content sounded less interesting and less hands-on than the headlines implied. He will learn about circuits in Physics, and design in another subject, instead. But, he is not looking for a vocational route at 16.

I see you've pushed on the language. Would you have any more luck pushing for him to drop history or geography instead? Ours is not that bothered about Ebacc but they still really push MFL.

@FeelinHappy he already gets to choose between geography or history and has chosen geography so he cant drop anything else there or he wouldn't have a humanity as they automatically drop Religious Studies but can take it as an evening class if they want.

Thank you everybody, we have sat down this morning and have had a good talk including looking at these posts. He has decided he is going to put down Engineering as his choice and put PE as his reserve choice in case of timetabling clashes. He is aware about the maths element of engineering and seems to think he can bring his maths up which we have agreed we will monitor and if necessary will get him some tutoring for. His reasoning being he knows he has options open to him sports wise if he wants to do them and he knows he enjoys sports, he doesnt really have any engineering experience but thinks it is something he may want to do so he is going to use the Engineering course to see if it may be something he wants to pursue.
I'm happy he has made a choice finally and told him no doors are shut to him as education is life long. His Grandad started doinsome GCSEs and now A levels at evening class after he retired so he knows its never too late.

He does realise if he is going for engineering apprenticeships they are very competitive and maths is what they need. There will be people with much higher than grade 4 gcse at Maths applying. If yes, he does realise then that is fine as long as he knows what an uphill struggle it may be but if he doesn't it would be a case of having to be cruel to be kind to point out this reality.

That's good he if he can bring his maths up to at least a pass - think you need that for quite a few things.

Around us there are quite a lot of engineering apprenticeships (not sure how covid has affected) but we are in a heavy science / engineering area so may vary locally. The children that get them from our school are similar ability to your son but may vary by area. It might be worth discussing with whoever manages apprenticeships at your school or engineering teacher as they should know more about what is required / who normally gets them by you.