DandT or History -

[newtothis15]

My DD liked both when choosing subjects, then said that hated DandT ( prefered History), then said hated History (preferred DandT),
Now in mocks History marks were not very good, and she said she would rather drop History...

I just trying her to have good analysis, before making a decision...
I am aware that D andT considered a soft subject too, but not sure if it matters for uni

( A levels would not be based on History or DandT)- only for GCSE

Thank you

I'd go with whatever she wants to go with!

Wanting to drop something at GCSE and being allowed to drop it are two different things. School will have policies on this. They mat not align with what you want.

Does she have to drop something? Usually your don't drop GCSEs once chosen. DT has coursework - advantage and disadvantage. Also there's not many teachers flying about, classes can be very disruptive full of kids who chose it because they didn't want to do anything else.

What do the teachers of these subjects say about your DD? What is the best grade she could get in each subject, with putting in effort, and what would the effort needed be? That's where I would start.

School won't want her dropping history as it is worth more to them than subjects like DT, Art etc (speaking as an Art teacher!). Government supporting Ebacc subjects had put paid to this :( anyway, schools tend to not allow students to drop GCSEs once the course is started. She would be better off getting on with it & dropping it when she gets to A Levels.
DT is definitely not a soft choice! That and others such engineering courses are absolutely flying right now in terms of popularity and securing choices in FE.

What are her other subjects?

What year is your child in at the moment? As that will make a difference as to whether the school will let you drop/change a subject.

I would say DT is not a soft subject - depends where your skills are. The course work is very time consuming particularly at a time when you should be revising for all your other subjects.

Surely if she's done mocks she's beyond the stage of choosing now? I wouldn't be encouraging the dropping of a subject in Y10 or 11.

Assuming your child is in year 11 as most schools won't do mock exams this early into year 10, then it will be too late to switch subjects, and probably too late to drop a subject too. I would focus on helping them prepare for the history exams.

When I first read this I assumed that she was just choosing her GCSE subjects, but on reading the replies realise she is already doing both subjects at GCSE and wants to drop one. If this is the case, I would choose to continue with D&T as she will already have done some of the coursework, and she is getting better marks in it. There's nothing to stop her continuing having history as a hobby or returning to it later in life.

Who considers DT a soft subject?
Agree with others that she may not be allowed to just "drop" history at this stage (is this a state or independent school? Is she y10 or y11?). Does she "hate" either at the moment, or just disappointed in her mock history grade?

As others say, DT is not a soft subject, it is a demanding GCSE with a lot more written work than some people assume.

Secondly, are you sure she will be allowed to drop a subject? In a state school it is unusual IME unless marks are through the floor and everyone agrees the student will do badly (like fail to get a grade at all). But there remains the issue of what they do in the timetabled lesson time and who supervises them.

If, as I infer she is in year 11 (bc you mention mocks and that would be unusual this early in year 10) then there's really only four months to go, and that includes holiday time. I would just suggest she does her best with both subjects. It's not a terrible lesson tbh to try hard at a subject that does not enthuse you and do the best you can. We all have to do it at work after all. What sort of grades is she looking at in each?

DT is not pure coursework but exams for some boards, which needs a decent level of Maths and Sciences. Check exam board requirements.

My son got a 5 in his GCSE and a B at A level! The 5 was mostly due to the awful class and they lost a teacher. Mind you, at A level they lost the teacher for all of Y13 as well but had a very very good TA.

I would say at A level it was a lot easier than other A levels but he did Maths/ Physics which were in another league (for him).

Where are you proposing she goes when she should be in the lessons for the subject she drops? Is dropping a subject even an option? What do you mean by a not good grade in the mock? Is it an actual poor grade (1/2) or a Mumsnet poor grade (7)?

Op, the choice of GCSE between history and DT is likely to have no consequence whatsoever on university applications. If she wants to do A-Levels in either the GCSE might be a prerequisite which would be easily checked.

She won't be allowed to "drop" either. She'll just have to carry on.
What does the tracking indicate, and what's the teacher feedback?

Are we sure the child is not still in Year 9 and about to choose her GCSE options, hence the talk about dropping subjects?

Child in yr 11 school allows to drop

That's very surprising, because schools normally don't allow this. What provision is in place for those who do this?.

What’s the teacher feedback? Are they suggesting she drop one? Or have they suggested ways she can pass them both without dropping either? Is she taking more than the usual number? Has she done any coursework towards DT? What are her thoughts?