GCSE Options

[teenmum13]

Youngest is about to take her options and is being told she needs to do a language and a humanities subject alongside the compulsory ones which only actually leaves one subject to choose.
Eldest had more options due to being on a different pathway to the youngest.
Youngest really wants to pick two options that will help with their career more than only one option.
Anyone been told that their child had to do certain subjects and if yes did they end up doing those picked for them by school or were you able to get school to agree to them doing a different subject?
If they were on the next pathway then they would have two choices which would allow them to study what they want.
When talking to the form tutor last week she told them something about having to do the pathway school put them on which DD said but that pathway doesn't give me the option to study two subjects I'm interested in and want to study and hopefully do well in.

Thanks all, we only wanted to know if anyone had successfully changed their child's pathway but now have plenty to think about.
We know that GCSE dance and GCSE drama aren't necessarily needed to study them further but the school keeps saying about choosing subjects you like etc and these are two that suit her career path but maybe a Spanish/French or history/geography wont be so bad if she does have to stay on that pathway.
She's scores highly in the written sections of tests so would have been fine with written work of dance and drama.

It’s always a language people don't want to take!

I would suggest humanity, language & drama. Then apply to do something with drama & dance for 6th form.

I imagine if you make a fuss they might allow no MFL. But I don't know they would allow both dance & drama.

It sounds like it daughter has lots of creative talent and also opportunities outside school. As she is already participating so much, would follow the schools lead and take a broader range of gcses. There will be no limitations on her and if she's only in y9 now there us much water to pass under the bridge before she chooses her career. Her interest may change, her ability may not be enough or she could ge injured. In all these situations some other subjects won't do her any harm. There is areason options are fairly limited at this age and it's to keep lots of realistic possibilities open.

@converseandjeans Yes. Always a language!

My DDs did drama GCSE and it’s a lot of work and collaborative working with others. I’d do drama over dance if it’s well taught.Definitely not both. At DDs school teaching of drama was exceptional. At most schools high grades are illusive.

Often dance and drama grades attained in the dance/drama/musical theatre exams outside school mean more. Audition means most and that requirement is not gained from GCSE. The GCSE prepares for A level.

There’s loads of drama schools so look at what they need. I would concentrate on getting the external examined grades in dance and drama. Then work on audition pieces.

Schools don’t really mean do what you enjoy if it’s not a sensible choice!

School says choose what you enjoy for the choices we are offering you.

Strongly suspect DS1 would have taken RS, CS, food tech and PE if he hadn’t had to take Spanish and history! But as others say, it’s never a bad thing to take a good range of subjects for GCSE, and it would be a lot easier to take A level history with a GCSE, and impossible to take A level French without one. And she may just decide she wants to do that, as others say. If she is bright enough to be allocated this academic pathway, it’s not the end of the world to have to take a challenging subject that you do not love and try your best. That's a good skill on the whole.

If deciding between dance and drama GCSE in the end, I agree it’s a good idea to look at the marks gained at the school. Like I say, my own experience suggests they may not be that good.

Thanks for the last replies since my last post.

"There is a reason options are fairly limited at this age and it's to keep lots of realistic possibilities open"
I fully understand this but when a child's known from before starting secondary school the career they want and you chose that secondary over another for it's performing arts department it's not something we expected that they wouldn't be allowed to do both subjects.
"Her interest may change, her ability may not be enough or she could get injured" The only one that could happen from this is injured but based on reports etc she will do well in Maths, Science & English. She's also currently doing well in humanities and languages.
Now we need to have a think about whether exams taken from her activities will be the better option and not contact school this week to see if she can change pathways.
Clary thanks for suggesting we look at the grades for the last couple of years. We will see if they will provide us this info.

@teenmum13 3 of my DDs friends from school went to drama school. None had Dance GCSE. It wasn’t offered. They did do drama GCSE and school plays etc.

You don’t really do GCSEs for your career. At our school nearly everyone got the top grade for drama. A 5 or 6 is worth very little and dc are dependent on others. They work with others and it’s not unusual for some dc to be less than motivated. They are doing it for a laugh. At my DDs school no one was like this. In DD2’s year, one DD was already in East Enders. Nothing to do with GCSE though.

Drama is a good academic GCSE but dance is so low when compared to external ballet/modern/tap/musical theatre exams it’s not worth having. She would be so much better off doing external exams.

DD was doing ballet (competitively) and contemporary/street etc (for fun) and I've never seen a non-vocational school that would offer dance at a level anywhere near the standard required for career in dance. I may be wrong but dance GCSE seems a waste of time to me... Unless your school offers pre-vocational or vocational pathways in performing arts and dance specifically.

We enquired about Dance GCSE as DD was interested m, but coming from the other end.... shes never had a formal dance lesson except at school. Her level of dance training was sufficient.
Shes on the school dance team, and you can tell the few like her who aren't properly trained. But they all have fin.

Thanks for the further replies.
It's not just dance that she wants to do. It's dance and drama.
However I think we are going to leave her on the pathway the school have put her on.
She doesn't want to have to choose between dance and drama so we are going to look at her other strengths and see what other subject she may enjoy/be good at and then do a language, a humanities and option subject.
She's not happy especially seeing her sister got 3 actual options (lower pathway) but like people have said her activities outside should provide enough for her to have the career she wants.

Why not use the spare option for drama then? That is more academic and goes well with English lit if she’s doing that. It’s also a good A level. I would look into where she might go at 18 and do what she needs for entry to drama school.

Did you say that she doesn't want to choose between Dance and Drama so she's going to do neither or did I read that wrong? They're not people - one won't be offended!

No, she can't decide which she wants to do because she hoped to do both and really really enjoys them both. Nothing to do with being offended. She's reviewing what option she would prefer instead because people have pointed out that with her extra curricular activities she doesn't need to do dance or drama in school. For example she's enjoyed art & computing the last few years so is going to look into that more. She may end up back at dance or drama but is reviewing options.

Speaking from a y11 parent perspective I would say if she loves dance and drama then studying GCSEs in them is a terrible idea. The GCSE courses are not designed to edify and enhance a talented individual to learn more about their interests, but have more an effect to crush any former enthusiasm and suck any joy out if it. Talented actors and dancers do not necessarily get high grades. There are very few marks for talent. You get the marks for soul-destroyingly dull writing about theories.

If dance & drama are where she wants to go does she attend a dance/drama outside of school at all?

Both my daughters did their dance GCSE at their dance school. They could have also take Drama but able to do that through school but a number of the students did also do drama at the dance school,

My children didn’t go onto dance subjects in further education - they did it at the time as they enjoyed it as extra curricular. I know my eldest when she finished her grading at 18 now is 21 and still misses dance!

A number of the students at the dance school have gone onto uni and few are now still within the profession for shows in London, cruise ships and some are now dance teachers themselves! But it’s hard work!

Broadly speaking, I completely agree with you. The syllabus is designed so that anyone can do the GCSE even if they have never danced before, so it can be good for young people looking for something a bit different, particularly if they are interested in drama or singing but don't currently dance.

They syllabus leans strongly towards contemporary dance for the most part.

The quality of teaching depends very heavily on the GCSE dance teachers. In our personal experience, they are often PE teachers who have then learned dance as part of their teacher training, or who have done a certain amount of contemporary dance themselves. They tend not to be former professional dancers who have then moved into teaching.

For a young dancer already training at a high level in any genre elsewhere, there is absolutely no point in doing a dance GCSE unless they have no experience at all of contemporary dance and would like to explore the choreographic side.

No vocational dance school or college will be the slightest bit interested in seeing a dance GCSE on anyone's list of qualifications. As a member of staff at a vocational school once said to me: "It's an audition - we don't look at bits of paper, we look at the dancer".

Yes. So the DD needs to work on her dance grades that will go into an audition piece or two.

If the two pathways are timetabled entirely separately, then moving pathway might mean she is not with the other academic kids for other subjects. If she's borderline for the academic pathway that might not make much difference, but if she's a very high achiever, she might be best with the other high achievers.

I know someone who wanted to do musical theatre. She changed her mind by the time she chose her A-levels, and ended up reading law!

@teenmum13 I would say don’t write off Drama. As I said, my DD worked with a young professional actress in the GCSE group and they all worked well together. It’s also a good academic GCSE from which you can build to A level. If she’s good at English, it’s a decent companion A level. The key is teaching and the other dc actually wanting to do their best. DD2 did art as well. The same applies. Quality of teaching is vital. Both need time to execute well.