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

If you know which exam board ( eg AQA, Edexcel) the art and 3D design are nd the course details then you can look them up online to see:
how each is assessed
is there a coursework component and what % it is
what is to be taught and thus assessed on

i know schools will each have their own way of covering content but it might help you.

i would also look up some previous exam papers “past papers” so you can see how the exam is marked. The mark scheme will also be online.

I’m in virtually the exact same position with my daughter, OP. She wants to do animation eventually. The university courses I’ve looked at require Art, an essay subject and one other subject. Obviously there’s more than one route to get there but that suggests to me that the Art element is considered to be one of the most important elements. Unfortunately, timetabling is making Art look difficult for my daughter so I think it’s going to be Graphics for GCSE then Art for A level.

Don't regret the lack of a Computer Science option. My DC was dead set on a career in computer software coding in y9 and the GCSE course totally killed all love for computing . It is a dreadful course - suitable perhaps as an introductory foundation for someone who might eventually invent a new kind of computing microprocessor hardware but totally unsuitable for someone who wants to design and build the software itself.

Just on the basis of what is in your OP I would advise considering the following on each of your options:

• Art and design : find out from the teacher what the parameters are - does he have to focus on drawing if he doesn't enjoy that? I found out to my surprise that it is perfectly possible to do a GCSE in drama without doing any acting. Find out if there's a similar amount of flex here?
• 3-dimensional design - this is like a combo woodwork/metalwork/textiles making-things course. If it has a strong CAD element that might be beneficial but I would only advise going for this if he loves hands-om practical making.
• French : the benefits of learning a second language during adolescence is huge. During ages 14-16 the brain grows significantly and the type of thinking one becomes skilled at depends on the kind of regular exercise the brain gets, exactly the same as how your body musculature develops differently if you do lots of exercise including strength challenges vs if you avoid all exercise. This is why the government has been trying (unsuccessfully) to get all schools to make a language a compulsory GCSE. It's too much for some pupils but if he's grading at 8 now he clearly has the capacity. It's not about the language itself, it doesn't matter if he never becomes a regular visitor to France/Canada/other francophone countries - having done the GCSE course will have knockon effects beneficial in Marhs, Science and software design because the brain's capacity to translate between two processes (having practiced the skill on language learning) will be permanently increased. I strongly recommend this.
• Enterprise and marketing probably the best 2nd option if neither of the first 2 turn out to become favourites once you've investigated them. This would be a good skillset for a future software developer to have, giving him a combination of skills that will help him whether he's working for a large company and needing to just understand the processes that are happening in other departments between his work and the eventual customer, or whether he's running his own smaller business having created some unique software and needing to know how to turn that into a successful business. It's probably the most applicable career-focussed option of the ones he is considering, so probably the nost useful, but there is no need for GCSEs to be specifically career-focused as all the nost useful bits of knowledge can be picked up later when needed

Fundamentally what is important at GCSE is not the specific subjects, but having a combination that will keep a child motivated, engaged and thinking. Much like it doesn't matter very much whether a school focuses PE lessons on rugby, football or hockey - what's important is getting the kids moving around in fresh air. So with subjects for GCSE, it doesn't matter too much what they are thinking about so long as they are being challenged and stretched to apply their brain to something that doesn't come easy but requires a bit of effort.

I hope this is helpful!

My daughter currently works in computer gaming as an artist/3d modelling specialist after gaining a Games Art Degree.
Her A levels were Art, Photography, Media and Textiles.
Art was given the most weight as they had to provide portfolios during the interviews for the degree course so I'd say Art would be the most beneficial to a career in animation/gaming graphics.

Computer Science GCSE is very dull in terms of content and not a lot of coding but if your son wants to see what they cover in an easy format then Craig n Dave on Youtube cover the different exam boards content.

https://www.youtube.com/@craigndave/playlists

Brilliant post by @RareGoalsVerge and especially the last paragraph. You want your child engaged and excelling. If they can combine those two aspects then they are winning. At the end of the day this is about grades on a sheet of paper, the higher the numbers the more choice they have going forward.

Op just check what the 3D design course is, at my dd’s school it’s in ceramics and sculptures rather than anything related to graphic design! They call graphic design graphic communication, the leaflets we were given were pretty unhelpful so I looked up the exam boards listed and found the school’s subject names were different and v confusing.

I emailed the school and asked for the official exam board subject titles, then was able to have a look online at course content to help dd decide.

It’s a shame your ds can’t do computer science but hopefully given his interest he’ll be able to do it for A level? I’d say graphic communication / graphic design is a good alternative if there’s no computer science option. The marketing subject sounds a bit like business studies?