GSCE options - choices not possible

[DuaNinja]

We found out today that our child is unable to do the GCSE Options combination they originally chose and will have to choose a different subject. I have been sent the option blocks, as the school calls them, and can see that DT (3 different courses - textiles, graphics and product design), PE, drama, Art & Design all sit in the same block so can't be studied together. I find this really frustrating as our child chose PE, DT Product Design and another DT course as a backup (they have chosen Geography and Spanish as well). All the more practical subjects are in the same block so it has really limited the choices available to those who would prefer these types of subjects. All the talk was about choosing something you really enjoy and only 2 children didn’t get their preferred choices last year. Food technology will now not be offered at all. No mention was made that choosing a different DT subject as a backup was a wasted choice.

The choices left are Sociology, Computer Science, Media Studies and Business Studies. None of them feel like a good fit for our child but they will have to choose one of them and.then probably struggle for 2 years with it.

This is just a moan really there is nothing we can do about it. Such a disappointment though as our child is going to struggle to pass Maths and English (and Science and everything else) so it would have been nice to think there could be some sort of balance to their GCSEs and at least the chance to pass something and have some sense of achievement at the end of year 11.

Also, the head of year tried to explain this to my child this week and expected them to choose something on the spot whilst standing in her office. Our child was very confused and said they left the office not sure what to do as they couldn't suddenly decide on a subject from a list that they had no knowledge about.

It all feels a bit rubbish basically.

Sorry you have experienced this @DuaNinja. Option blocks are actually a really standard way of structuring GCSE choices, as schools have to be able to timetable the students' lessons.

It's also not that unusual IME for a school to limit practical subjects to one choice, tho it is a shame this was not clarified.

It’s not super clear – did your child want to take geog, Spanish, DT PD and PE? And they can't take both of the latter two? That's frustrating I see but it sounds as tho the school may also be struggling for DT teachers if it has dropped food tech.

I suggest they pick their favourite out of DT and PE and then one out of sociology, business or media. Business is interesting and reasonably accessible IME; sociology is also interesting. Can you find the specs online over the weekend and talk to your DC about what they might enjoy?

If they love PE they can still keep it up in school and with their sport outside school as well.

That does sound annoying, any you and your child have my sympathies. However - at the other end of these 2 years I can say that schools may be wise to restrict how many practical subjects a student can take, because these tend to be courses with a heavy amount of coursework and my own DC has struggled juggling two such, and a friend who had 3 has found it too overwhelming and has dropped one.

So your child is already signed up for
EnglishLang&Lit
Maths
Double Science
Spanish
Geography
DT
-to be honest it's perfectly OK to just take 8 GCSEs. You only need 5 good passes at GCSE for ANY possible next step, including A Levels. So if none of the other options appeal, stick to 8.

I agree it's a bit rubbish.

Yes, they play sports outside of school and everyone still does PE in years 10 and 11 anyway. So DT will be one choice. Our child is dyslexic and we are very concerned about the other choices in terms of workload and also maths content as that is another weak point. There seems to be very little coursework these days which would probably lift some of the burden off exams.

Very few schools would allow multiple practical subjects - there is not a lot of maths in Sociology or media studies I would imagine .

The school only does 3 separate sciences which is another issue...

I see other people mention BTECHS etc but our school doesn't offer them or any alternatives to GCSES.

I can't imagine our child having any interest in Sociology and we have ruled out computer science as basically being too hard. So it will be a choice between Media or Business Studies. They don't want to do either though so i may as well tell the school to pick one out of a hat!

So if none of the other options appeal, stick to 8.

Not sure how that would work tho! The school will require the student to be doing something in option block 4.

It’s true that very few subjects have CW @DuaNinja but in fact even for those that do, there is a good deal of writing involved – planning, assessment etc – and also written exams.

Many schools do not offer any Btecs as they are not often admissible as part of the way schools are assessed. My old school offered a Btec in animal care but even H&S is usually a GCSE now.

If you look at the specs for business (not studies btw) and media there may be something that catches your DC's interest? I imagine they are both new subjects so are they sure they don”t like either? Most DC do one or more subjects they are not keen on. DS2 hated Eng lit and Spanish but had to take both; DD the same for physics and frankly maths.

Science subjects btw even separate GCSEs can be done at foundation tier is a student is struggling with the content, so that may be helpful.

Unfortunately I don’t think I can say they don't want to do another GCSE as what would they do instead?

It is very hard if your child is unlikely to pass many subjects as they will still put the effort in, our child tries so hard! I just feel really sad as I think in the main GCSEs are a memory test, quick reading test and fast writing test and at the end of the day and that doesn't suit everyone.

It may feel like small consolation now but the art and various courseworks all tend to fall at the same time, so doing multiple of them can create its own deadline crisis.

The back up choice is always a bit of a fiction anyway. They have to write something on the form, but really what they choose usually needs to vary depending on what subject they are denied, both in terms of their preferences and because in practice, the school can only offer your child a second choice from the same option block as the subject they are being denied. Whatever backup your child put down would be meaningless if the subject they were denied was in any of the other blocks.

It's disappointing but it sounds like it comes down to your child missing out on one of PE and DT. It's not ideal but in the grand scheme of things it's not the end of the world.

I wonder if the shortage of DT teachers might be part of the problem. There is a bit of a recruitment crisis I think, yet all KS3s need to study the subject. Perhaps it is difficult for schools to offer multiple timetable slots for GCSE students, on top of them teaching all KS3.Whereas in contrast KS3s don't need to study media or Business, so teachers for those subjects have more time and spaces available for GCSE students.

PE is quite tough if you aren’t good at science. It’s basically 60% biology exam. Media studies may be a good option as it includes coursework and it is understood by most students. The business course is very dry. My DD2 thought she wanted to do it until I showed her a past paper! Are there any other options except geography? My dyslexic daughter dropped it in the end as there is loads of content which she struggled to remember. She also didn’t do a language as being dyslexic made it very hard.

I would go for Media out of those options.

My very dyslexic child has done the BTEC version of this and absolutely loved it.

And yes, I totally hear you: "I just feel really sad as I think in the main GCSEs are a memory test, quick reading test and fast writing test and at the end of the day and that doesn't suit everyone."

My honest advice would be to see if they have a learning support option available for SEN kids.

We have had to reduce the exam burden for DD by dropping some subjects. We had an agreement that she would attend the classes in the interests of a broad education but was not expected to do homework, and now in the run up to exams, she uses the lesson times for revision in the SEN department.

Thanks for all the advice. We are hoping they can drop Spanish but had to choose it at this stage. Extra Maths / English support will take place instead of a language if approved they can drop the subject. Either Geography or History has to be chosen. I will look into Medua Studies more closely.