Option choices, worried child will hate it

[whichspidermummy]

DD (Yr 9) goes to a selective school, but we are very, very far from rich (she went to a primary that is considered 'bad' in our town and was deemed 'inadequate' when she was there. Very, very few children passed, but even without any tutoring (as we really couldn't afford it), she passed. Her Dbro also passed 18 years before, again no tutoring (I was a single parent then) - I know this sounds irrelevant, but I wanted to point out that unlike most of her classmates she has a different start and we can't afford half the extra curricular activities and tutoring her friends have.

She wants to do drama for her GCSE, I think it's because she sees it as an easy option and she wants to be a screenwriter or director. This is fine, but she is very, very shy/self-conscious. I think she may do OK in performances, but I know when she gives presentations in other classes, she cries and shakes.

I've tried to get her to go to drama classes out of school, but she's never been interested. I don't know how much script writing would occur in GCSE drama (DS did it, but I can't remember much about it, nearly two decades on).

The other things that she is naturally flying in is engineering and computing. She is in way above in these two and finds them easy. I'm not even sure if it would be possible to do both, as they may clash, but I'm wondering if they would be more useful?

She needs to pick subjects she enjoys, but also that she is good in, as average GCSE grades will mean she won't be able to go to the sixth form, plus if she feels it's too hard she won't bother (she can be very lazy).

She has to do triple science and one language, but needs to choose between Geography, RE and History (chosen Geography) and two additional subjects.

Does anyone know how drama GCSE is and is it suitable for her? Also are engineering and computing good subjects?

TIA

I'd ask to meet with the drama teacher and bring DD along. Ask for a brief overview of the course requirements and what they'd expect the coursework to look like.
This is how I convinced my parents to let me take drama (though I loved performing - a drama queen from a young age - and was mostly rebelling against their plan for me to take Latin). Scriptwriting wasn't part of the syllabus we followed at all; it was very much performance-based. One of our class did focus on the backstage management side of things, and has since carved out an incredible career for herself, however our school had a lot of sound/lighting facilities that she was able to display her skills on.
She needs to look into how she can focus on her strengths in the class, and accept that if there is a focus on her performance skills she may need to really up her prep for those.

She does not have to perform for drama, other roles can be assessed and there is a written paper about plays and productions.

depends on the board, in ours they all perform but that is not a major part of it, lots of devising, analysing even set design. My dd has absolutely loved it, lots of group work. Good grounding for future work I think.

Encourage her to research what GCSE drama is like at her school with the exam board they use, and then back off and let her choose. She has the major academic areas covered and by your own description she won't struggle to get strong grades overall. Don't begrudge her one single option block that's just about what she wants to try instead of grades and maximizing strengths and career paths.

One thing to consider would be could she pick a subject back up at A level, if she has dropped it for gcse? My dc (now in yr 11) struggled with the decision for gcse options, so I emailed the teachers of the subjects he was considering, about whether he could pick it back up at A-level. In fact, one of the subjects then went on to change their requirements to do the A-level (computer science), from having to get a certain grade in the comp Sci gcse, to only having to have coding experience. So it takes the pressure off the choice somewhat. Also, I think there is potentially the option to switch options in the first few weeks of September (subject to timetabling and teacher agreement), if they have made a mistake.