GCSE options - DD still can’t decide

[mrsapollo]

DD is in Y10, she weekly boards. She is the type of kid who seems to be naturally good at everything which is making subject choices hard!!

We send her to a quite pushy high expectation boarding school, she likes this environment but the timetable is demanding.

She will be training for her sport every day, 3 days a week before school, every day after school. Plus on Saturdays at home for a few hours. She attends Saturday school for her German (she is bilingual this is her dad’s first language). Sundays we try to keep free.

We pay for piano lessons before school starts on the other two days where she isn’t training her sport (school offer this).

Her schedule isn’t unique lots of kids at her school do sport as much as she does and instruments on the other mornings, many compete on Saturdays or train more.

In Y10/11 they have allocated 2.5 hours on the 4 week nights for personal study so she will get 10 hours of study time every week guaranteed.

Now here is the problem, as DD moves into Y10 she doesn’t want to drop any sports time of the instrument or Saturday school. School won’t let her have German as one of her GCSEs (well they have said she can sit it at the end of Y10 as they got her to do some practice papers and she passed with flying colours). So she has to pick between doing 9 or 10 GCSEs, subjects being so far DD is certain she will do

• English language and literature
• Maths
• French
• History
• Geography

Possible combinations for remaining spots are

• Combined Science, Music & Latin
• Triple Science & Latin
• Triple Science & Music

School have said she needs to make a choice ASAP, DD is leaning towards combined science and both or triple science and Latin but then I’m thinking why am I paying for music lessons twice a week if she isn’t going to do the GCSE, DD says she will still do the ABRSM grades.

Any advice here? I worry her schedule isn’t maintainable at all?!

All the choices are 10 GCSEs OP because Combined Science is 2 GCSEs and "Triple" Science is 3 GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
If your dd really enjoys Science then choose "triple". However if she is an all-rounder who would like to keep her options open choose combined science with Music and Latin.

No need for a music GCSE. You don't learn an instrument to help you get a music GCSE, you learn an instrument for enjoyment and a lifelong hobby. We checked with our local sixth forms, and if DD had wanted to do A-level music they would have taken her on the strength of ABRSM practical and grade 5 theory. Grade 6+ also give UCAS points, although that doesn't make much difference with most universities. Triple science and Latin gives her the greatest breadth, as she will have the practical music as well. Not everything has to be a GCSE.

You would be at a significant disadvantage doing A Level music without the GCSE as ABRSM exams and G5 theory do not provide you with any experience of composition (1/3 of the Edexcel syllabus), use of DAWs or analysis of set works.

Ultimately it depends on what OP's DD enjoys - if she would enjoy taking music GCSE then it seems sensible to take that, Latin and Combined Science and have a broader range of subjects. Given she is already a G6, that is beyond what is required to get the top marks in the performance part and should make it less onerous. In our experience, composition work all has to be completed in class so it's not a heavy load option in the way that Art or Drama can be.