Year 9 GCSE options have arrived

[justmeandmy3minions]

Hi everyone i do not know where to start i feel like I have blinked and my first born is now starting year 10. This will be long so bear with me.

My son knows what he wants to do as a future career it will be relating to computers so he has told
me however he is struggling to decide on his options for his GCSEs he has also found a college course he is very keen on once he leaves school and that will be centred around animation and gaming graphics (he currently has been working over the years on his own game) however the options doesn’t have a separate computer science course due to no current computer science teacher which is a bummer for him he is extremely tech focused.

His current assessment grades are between 6-8 grading which funny enough French being his top grade (8). I had to google these as I am from the era of alphabet grading showing my age now lol.

He will complete the core subjects of English, maths and science along with his chosen humanities subject (they have to pick one it’s compulsory) which will be geography for him currently grading a 7 on this one he would also like to do the extra science but not sure if that will take away one of his options and his grading is only a 6 so not sure if he will get accepted I need to speak to the school.

now this is when it gets tricky for him the 2 chosen options he has already said he isn’t sure wether to take on French current grading is an 8 he doesn’t want to do vocational pe, performing arts, hospitality and catering.

so this leaves us with vocational enterprise and marketing (if someone could explain this I would
appreciate it), art and design (he isn’t keen on this as he isn’t particularly good at drawing so he tells me) and 3-dimensional design ( he said again he isn’t sure on this one either as we don’t no what the actual course would like for example would it be more graphics focused (if someone could explain this for us we would really appreciate it).

so to sum up this lengthy post I do apologise I am just a mum trying to support her son in the best way I can.

core subjects he has to take are as follows..

English literature
English language
maths
science
Core pe (this will not be assessed according to the booklet)

Choice of either geography or history (he has chosen geography on this one)

2 optional subjects ( I will only mention the ones he is considering)

Art and design (very unsure)
3-dimensional design (unsure as we don’t no what the syllabus will look like)
French (currently his highest grade and he is unsure on this one)
Enterprise and marketing (unsure of this one)

so yes we have lots of thinking to do well more
him than me I am just here for support and guidance but want to get as much information as possible
for him to make the right decision as once he starts these subjects they cannot be changed.

If anyone could shed some light on what would be best for his future career we would really appreciate it. I am hoping the school will do an options evening as the booklet was a head spin and half the links they provided don’t seem to work.

thanks so much for reading and good luck to everyone in a similar position. Xx

3 dimensional design seems a good pick if he’s interested in animation - This is the AQA syllabus if it helps.

Design and French seem the obvious choices. He’s good at French so should get a good grade. Language skills are never wasted. And Design would be linked to his possible future career. Either way he doesn’t have to take any of them past GCSE level.

Design and French

If he has no distinct favourites, he should pick those he’s likely to do best in (French) and those that link to what he thinks he might want to do (Design).

To decide between design options, look at the syllabus for both, and also consider how much work is needed for each. I believe ‘art’ is very time consuming these days.

I’d check the 3D design is not sculpture based like it is at my daughter’s school.

I would say art if he wants to go into animation? Art at GCSE is usually much more individual and he can pick the subject for his own art and if he is animating already at home this seems like a no-brainer?

My dd has already chosen her options, just waiting to see if she can do them all. (Timetable clashes/unpopular subjects may not run that sort of thing)
before they chose, the school ran an evening in the hall with subject leaders/teachers/current gcse students on a “stall” for each subject with examples of work, the syllabus, other info etc.
will the school be running something like this?

I have a career in a very similar field. If he wants to go into computer science or the techy side of creative industries then double science would be great or stand alone physics would be even better.

If it's more the design side I'd say art as a good foundation and/or 3D design for animation and graphics specifically, but at this stage you do not need to specialise particularly and you can always add art or design with extra curricular or a one year art foundation course before uni.

I also wouldn't sniff at a good grade in French as it will make him more well rounded and could give him the opportunity to live and work in France or Montreal in the future, both of which have good animation industries though they can be a bit cyclical. And could open up EU or Canadian residence or citizenship.

Overall for what it sounds like he wants to do I would say Double Science or Physics and French

Have a look at what options the school offers as part of the Art GCSE. You don't have to be able to draw!

otherwise it sounds as though French (as he's doing well) and Design (to support his future career aims) would be best options.

The main thing I'd stress is that I don't think he has any bad choices to make. So if he is keen or interested in one particular subject, he should absolutely study. He is more likely to do well if he is invested.

(Incidentally the 9-1 GCSEs were introduced in 2017. All parents of current Year 9s will have been brought up with the alphabet system if they themselves went to school in England. That really isn't showing your age :) )

Can he do History, along with Geography? Does that appeal?
You also mentioned triple science. Does that use an option block? If he's predicted 6s, and triple uses an option block, that sounds feasible. If they teach triple and combined in the same number of hours, I'd stick with combined.

Definitely worth digging into the details of the design course. Is there a booklet or open event available with a summary of each course? Or an old one floating around on the internet from covid years, when all this was done remotely?

Given the other choices, French sounds like a very sensible option.

Not being able to do GCSE computer science, for a kid who already messes about with computers and programming won't be massively disadvantaged.

Thank you all so so much for this I really do appreciate it.. I will reply individually xx

@urbanbuddhathanks so much for this I did suggest this subject to him but I think the weekend brain has kicked in now 😅 I am going to ask the school for some more information on it xx

@carben thanks so much. I did say French to him but he really isn’t sure if he wants to do another 2 years of it he is currently predicted an 8 in it which I think is roughly in the bracket of an A according to an online search xx

@OxfordInklingyes I think this is what needs to be done he is also going to take advantage of the careers advisor drop in sessions and I said I would support him with an email to gather more information he is really reserved always has been but academically bright I am incredibly proud of him he has seen a college course he wants to do post school xx

@Scarydinosaursyes this is what he is concerned about and when I had a look it could be more sculpture based. Yes I suggested art I will look more into it with him xx

@hockityponktasyes this is what we’re doing have until Wednesday to give the pre options so the school can then create the option blocks I am hoping they run and evening so I can go with him he is also taking advantage of the careers drop in sessions. Thankfully my son isn’t just picking subjects that his friends are doing he wants the ones that he no only enjoys bit will also be beneficial in the long run xx

@telestrationsthank you so so much for this. He really wants to do the double science and the extra science but I am not sure if he will accepted onto it as the school decide based on past performance etc so we need to ask he has found a course he wants to take post school which is gaming and animation based as far as I can tell. Yes I said this regarding French as he can travel if he want to it will most definitely open some doors up for him. I cannot get my head around it he is my first born I feel like I have just had him 😂 xx

@RedSkyDelights thanks so much yes he has some really good choices I feel very fortunate as I know some of his friends mums are in a panic as their children don’t want to do any of them where as my son is indecisive about the choices. Yes I had the alphabet system I feel like I am showing my age as I had to google the number system 😂 xx

@GoatCatTacohe really doesn’t want to do history he cannot stand the subject and it is his lowest grade he has no interest in it. He loves geography I always get phone calls from his teacher telling me how well he is doing.

The triple science thing is something I need to speak to the school about as they all do the double as part of the core however there is an option to do the extra single science along side it which is based on the child’s past performance and grade. I am not sure if it uses a block up or not if it does then he will take that on then either 3D or French I am presuming.

The booklet was more of a copy and paste job from the awarding body he just wanted more clear information rather than jargon. I am hoping an open event will be happening so we can go to it however we need to preselect for option blocks to be created by the school and this needs to be done by Wednesday. My son will be taking advantage of the careers advisor drop in sessions. I said the same thing regarding no computer science he will be doing this all in college anyway xx

If they want to go into computer animation then I know someone who went into this industry and is highly successful. They did a Fine Art degree followed by a Computer Animation masters degree.
Anything else in Computing/Computer Science will require excellent Maths skills. The college course may be interesting but I'd wonder at the success rate of the students actually getting into what is a highly competitive industry.
Also worth bearing in mind a lot of boys that age say they want to go into gaming/design due to their love of gaming!
In your situation I would advise your son to pick the subjects he's best at.

Triple science is normally for kids who are doing well and will take ten GCSEs not nine. If your son has this option then that would be good.

Ds’s friend is a games animator. He did a games art BTEC followed by a games art degree. He didn’t do comp sci gcse - school didn’t offer it but did do art. Why is your ds unsure on art? It seems a natural fit for an animator.

@Seafloralthank you for your reply much appreciated he is currently graded at a 7 for
maths he has always been good at math. The masters degree sounds very interesting I will have a look into this. He has said if he gets the option to do the extra science he will take it as he loves science xx

Def one of the art or design if he’s into computer graphics; there’s likely to be relevant options but he should speak to the art department
also for CG drawing is really important and shouldn’t education be about learning skills? He has time to improve doesn’t need to be top grade already surely

@Arseynalsame as my son’s school they cannot offer it anymore they did before but no longer have a computer science teacher he left a year ago. I think the reason behind not being 100% on the art is simply because the booklet wasn’t very in depth regarding this subject so we’re now researching it. Hopefully the school options evening if they have one and the careers drop in sessions will give him some more information on what the subject will cover xx

@LottieMarythank you for your reply. This is exactly what I told him not to be put off if he feels he isn’t quite there yet he is only young xx