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Secondary education

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Original poster

GCSE DT - Is it a good choice?

18 replies

Soann83 · 05/09/2023 17:21

Hello,

My dd is interested in taking DT for GCSE. We would like to know from those whose dear children have taken it about how easy/hard it is. Cons/Pros. What we need to keep in mind? What do they enjoy the most/hate the most in the subject. Anything and everything will be of great help. Thank you in advance.

OP posts:
SomersetBrie · 05/09/2023 17:26

My DS loved it. It was a nice change from the other more exam focused subjects.
He enjoyed the making side more than the writing up side but everyone would be different on that.
To keep in mind - you don't want too many subjects with a practical side or March/April is very busy. So I would see how it fits in with everything else.

HardcoreLadyType · 05/09/2023 17:30

Two of my DC did it, and it is A LOT of work. Both of them did Art as well, and it is even more time-consuming than that.

Both seemed to enjoy it, though, and they got good marks.

One did textiles, and the other product design.

Twizbe · 05/09/2023 17:30

We had to do it at my school. Hated it. But then I wouldn’t have chosen to do it.

It was great for some kids though. I remember one lad in my class making a proper guitar for his main project.

user14699084656 · 05/09/2023 17:33

Time consuming. Luckily our school held lots of extra practical work shop sessions!
They enjoyed it though, and I think relatively easy to get a good grade.

MintJulia · 05/09/2023 17:47

My ds loves it although there is a lot of project work. It makes a good, less academic break from three sciences and maths, german, geography.

CMOTDibbler · 05/09/2023 17:53

My ds did it, and is doing it at A level. He absolutely loves it and it was/is a nice mix of artistic, practical and much more theory than you'd think.

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 05/09/2023 17:58

My dc did it for gcse, really enjoyed it and is doing product design for A level.

FrippEnos · 05/09/2023 18:07

As long she doesn't just do it because its "easy" she will be OK, it should be a mix of practical and academic work, something like 20% of the is math based.
Even the practical work for the final NEA is not worth a huge amount as the portfolio has to be of good quality.

If its any help girls do tend to do better on average than boys in the subject.

PerpetualOptimist · 05/09/2023 18:33

One of my DC took AQA DT (Graphic Design) alongside Geog, History and French as their elective GCSEs.

Pros: Nice contrast to the other GCSEs
Cons: Very intense at the coursework stage (50% of total marks)
Surprise: Non-course element was wide ranging, covering properties of materials etc; actually enjoyed that bit more than initially expected
Consequence: Chose not to pursue as an A level but did continue as a hobby.

Original poster
Soann83 · 05/09/2023 19:16

SomersetBrie · 05/09/2023 17:26

My DS loved it. It was a nice change from the other more exam focused subjects.
He enjoyed the making side more than the writing up side but everyone would be different on that.
To keep in mind - you don't want too many subjects with a practical side or March/April is very busy. So I would see how it fits in with everything else.

Thank you SomersetBrie

DD planning to take Spanish and DT apart from the core subjects (English, Math, Science-Triple, Geography, RS, PE-non GCSE)

OP posts:
Original poster
Soann83 · 05/09/2023 19:18

HardcoreLadyType · 05/09/2023 17:30

Two of my DC did it, and it is A LOT of work. Both of them did Art as well, and it is even more time-consuming than that.

Both seemed to enjoy it, though, and they got good marks.

One did textiles, and the other product design.

Thank you HardcoreLadyType.

OP posts:
Original poster
Soann83 · 05/09/2023 19:26

FrippEnos · 05/09/2023 18:07

As long she doesn't just do it because its "easy" she will be OK, it should be a mix of practical and academic work, something like 20% of the is math based.
Even the practical work for the final NEA is not worth a huge amount as the portfolio has to be of good quality.

If its any help girls do tend to do better on average than boys in the subject.

Thank you FrippEnos.

DD is interested in making stuff. Last year they had to make a small something to house a light circuit and she created a replica of the Titanic (100cm long x 80cm high) in cardboard. So we believe she is more than a bit interested.

OP posts:
Aparecium · 05/09/2023 19:27

Ds did DT Systems. Overall he really enjoyed it and it complemented Comp Sci very well. He is now taking it further with 3D Design at A-level.

Big warning, though. Impress upon your dc that they must write up everything to do with the project as they do it. Even if just a set of notes on a Powerpoint slide. Even if they end up not using those notes. Ds had a marathon of work to do because he did not do this, so he had to do his write-up virtually from scratch at the last minute.

Original poster
Soann83 · 05/09/2023 19:28

PerpetualOptimist · 05/09/2023 18:33

One of my DC took AQA DT (Graphic Design) alongside Geog, History and French as their elective GCSEs.

Pros: Nice contrast to the other GCSEs
Cons: Very intense at the coursework stage (50% of total marks)
Surprise: Non-course element was wide ranging, covering properties of materials etc; actually enjoyed that bit more than initially expected
Consequence: Chose not to pursue as an A level but did continue as a hobby.

Thank you PerpetualOptimist for the details.

OP posts:
Original poster
Soann83 · 05/09/2023 19:30

Aparecium · 05/09/2023 19:27

Ds did DT Systems. Overall he really enjoyed it and it complemented Comp Sci very well. He is now taking it further with 3D Design at A-level.

Big warning, though. Impress upon your dc that they must write up everything to do with the project as they do it. Even if just a set of notes on a Powerpoint slide. Even if they end up not using those notes. Ds had a marathon of work to do because he did not do this, so he had to do his write-up virtually from scratch at the last minute.

Thank you so much Aparecium for the warning

OP posts:
happyhippiehippo · 07/09/2023 15:20

My DD did DT.

Enjoyed it but it is a lot of work (in her case, 50% was NEA). Although she did well, it was one of her weaker subjects; bear in mind that some people seem to get near 100% in their NEA so I think the overall grade boundaries were high e.g. overall 73% needed for a 7, 81% for an 8 and 88% for a 9!

I think if your DC can stay on top of the continual writing up of project as you go along (mentioned above), and put in a lot of effort in the project, it's worth it but not many 9s awarded I think on the whole due to these boundaries.

TwigTheWonderKid · 07/09/2023 16:51

My son enjoyed it and went on to do 3D Design at A level which was a nice balance with the essay- heavy History and Geography.

Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky · 07/09/2023 16:56

Aparecium · 05/09/2023 19:27

Ds did DT Systems. Overall he really enjoyed it and it complemented Comp Sci very well. He is now taking it further with 3D Design at A-level.

Big warning, though. Impress upon your dc that they must write up everything to do with the project as they do it. Even if just a set of notes on a Powerpoint slide. Even if they end up not using those notes. Ds had a marathon of work to do because he did not do this, so he had to do his write-up virtually from scratch at the last minute.

My DD did Food Tech so similar setup. Slides and writing up experiments to be completed. Definitely needed to keep up as you went along.

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