Classical civilisation v history GCSE

[Bosephine]

DD trying to choose between these and struggling. She's always been very keen on Greek and Roman myths so CC really appeals but history is perhaps taken more seriously as subject. She's not v interested in the stuff they would do in history GCSE though- 20th C, WWI, Russia.

Her thoughts for A level (obviously some way off) are art, history of art, English, ancient history. She's been told by her classics teacher that Class civ GCSE is just as a good a preparation for ancient history as history. Class civ perhaps a better preparation for history of art.

DH fretting that class civ is the subject kids at his school did who were not bright enough for Latin and Greek- think he may be a bit out of date on that.

Any thought very welcome!

My thoughts are:

As long as you take maths, English and science, the other GCSEs you choose don't matter hugely as long as you don't drop subjects you want to take further, especially linear ones like MFL.

There is nothing wrong with class civ GCSE and no one will look down on it.

I would not be ecstatic at the prospect of a very academic child taking (for example) PE, drama, dance and food tech (and before you start, my DC took three of those four, alongside other choices), mainly bc I would fear their A level options would thus be limited, and also it would be a lot of practical, but tbh even if those were your choices, I doubt it would hamper you in the future very much (bearing in mind above caveat).

A child who does not take history GCSE can choose history A level (and I have known it happen) - the reason you suggest OP would be a good one.

However, I would be slightly surprised that a child who knew at 14 that they wanted to do a history A level, didn't choose to take it at GCSE. I hear your DD's reason but still my concern is there. Is there any way she can take both and drop something else? If so, what?

Thank you. I think if she wanted to take history A level then she would definitely take history GCSE. The course she is interested in is ancient history and (according to the school) class civ leads into it just as well as history. It's a really tricky one. She doesn't want to drop any of her others.

Yes if she fancies Ancient History rather than History then Classical Civilisation is a good gcse to have. Is she taking any other humanities such as geography or rs?

Sometimes if they already have an inkling as to what degree they might want to do then it is good to start there, ascertain what A levels they need for that and what gcses feed into that. Obviously most kids don't know what degree they may want to do but some do.

Thank you. Yes, she's doing religion and philosophy (one subject).

In terms of degree, she's talked about history of art or archeology but obviously that could totally change.

I studied history of art at uni and also teach A Levels. I would say classical civ is more her bag. It combines a little ancient history, literature and art (certainly the A Level does). It would be a good prep for History of Art A Level. I don’t think it’s seen as less academic (not the sixth form where I work anyway).

In her case, I’d do Class. Civ.

Thank you, everyone. I will pass all this on.

"Classiv" as it was called back in the day was yes very much a non-starter subject, for the 'thick ones' who couldn't cope with the rigours of History.

My DC is very academic and would love to study classiv instead of History but I'm similarly challenged as your DH, OP.

I don't know what to say. Has it really lost it's bad, non-academic name? I'd struggling to allow it. I hope someone else can comment as I'm still not fully persuaded.

I did classical civ for GCSE and A level. Absolutely loved it. It absolutely teaches exactly the same skills as history - looking at the evidence, lots of analysis and essay writing. It also encompasses a lot of looking at classic texts and art too (or it did when I studied it) so actually has a huge breadth.

DD did classics, it is not just myths there is a lot about the politics of the age and she learnt to use tricolons.
It made her nosier about history than her siblings who did history.

Class Civ is quite a demanding subject actually, especially since the specification change. Quite content heavy, but a very varied look at the ancient world through literature, material sources etc. It leads well into ancient history at A Level and, in my eyes, teaches a broader skills range than GCSE history.

I maybe share some of your DH’s prejudices, OP, in that I’d see Class Civ as a less challenging route for those who aren’t strong at classical languages But I don’t see why it shouldn’t be a good preparation for History of Art. I can see why the subject matter looks more appealing than the 20th Century-heavy curriculum for History GCSE. If you have had advice from your school about whether it would fit the bill for future A Level choices that must be worth more than the collective but sometimes prejudiced wisdom of MNers!

I did both of these subjects at A Level (and neither at GCSE). I really enjoyed them both, although I got a higher grade in modern history, which I found easier. I have never had the opportunity to study Latin or Ancient Greek, so 'being too thick for classical languages' was a moot point really, but I didn't find CC easy, there was a lot to learn. As a pp said, it was quite content heavy (and I did it pre-A Level reforms). If your DD likes the myths and history of art then I think she'll enjoy CC.

Class Civ is every bit as demanding as History - my DS did both. I too was concerned about CC being a 'softer' option, but it is absoutely not the case. (He ended up with a 9 in History and only an 8 is CC! ) Lots of writing, using sources etc.
History is a huge amount of work though, and I'd advise against it if the course really doesn't interest her.

I wanted to drop History A level after a very poor first term exam result and switch to Classics instead (I thought it would go well with the English Lit & Theatre Studies A levels I was taking especially as I wanted to study Drama at university. The syllabus back then was studying Greek plays and poems etc which I had a big interest in.

I ended up really struggling with history and ended up getting a D grade. I'm convinced I'd have got B in Classics in line with my English Lit grade. It massively impacted my university options.

Sorry I meant to say I didn't switch because my parents didn't let me.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing- I'll pass it all on to DD. @Comefromaway, I'm sorry to hear your experience.