Why do state schools insist on General Studies?

[ProfRichardDawkins]

I'm assuming it's to improve the schools average points per candidate and bump them up the league tables? It's rubbish for brighter candidates isn't it?

Gen Studies existed as a compulsory subject before league tables though. To just give a wider general knowledge? Don't know, I never did it - went to a 6th Form college

We always called it Pub Quiz...

DD's 6th form college insisted on everyone doing General studies as an extra A level - they did a bit of work in tutor periods on it but otherwise I can pretty much guarantee that DD did no work whatsoever for it (she was too busy concentrating on the other 4) and yet she got an A, In fact she got 100% in 3 of the papers - two were on Politics & the Constitution, I forget what the other was - apparently they were just comprehension papers, with no need for any knowledge of the subject - you just had to read the documents & comment; all you needed was a bit of common sense.

So yes, I'd say it was rubbish - that particular exam board anyway.

my son likes it, what's the problem?

What is it? We didn't do it in Scotland, and neither my school nor my sons' offer it.

Rusty I agree - it is rubbish.

Weblette - LOL at pub quiz.

Most top universities don't count General Studies in their entrance criteria.

Quite. So for brighter students it is truly pointless.

As someone who does uni admissions I would say we don't count General Studies in the UCAS points any more than we count dance qualifications and NVQs in brickbuilding. It is not a good indicator of potential success on a degree course, IMO. Pupils would be better of getting higher grades in their other ALs or spending time learning a foreign language. That's what we're looking for in the main.

DD is at a state COmprehensive, and it is optional, as is Critical Thinking.

She chose to do 5 AS levels anyway so had no time for GS, but DID consider taking up Critical thinking this year now she is down to 4 A2 levels. However, workload got the better of her and she would rather get 4 good academic A2 grades than jeopordise one by taking something not counted by her Uni's.

None of my children's state schools have insisted on General Studies.

Dd1's school don't offer GS but ICT is compulsory. At dd2's school GS and RE are compulsory, ICT isn't. Neither school insists on a language. So IME the schools decide, probably based on the spread of pupils they get.

The thinking at DD's 6th form college - which is one of the top rated in the country, and rated outstanding by OFSTED - is that all students should do at least 4 courses + General studies in both years, so if they drop a subject after the first year, they have to take up subject for an AS course in the second year.

This is based on the deeply cynical, but probably accurate, view of the principal that if teenagers have free time at the beginning or end of the day they either stay in bed or go home - the timetable is deliberately designed so they have enough time between classes to go to the library, but not enough to get into town & do anything else.

DD got 5 A's there (even if one of them was General Studies), so it certainly worked for her...

Yawn - this is really tedious.

Repeat after me: Not all state schools do General Studies.

If you want to start a thread on state school bashing, please try harder.

Message withdrawn

We live in Wales and General Studies is not a compulsary subject here.

They don't insist on it. My local 6th form that I went to 25 yrs ago didn't do GS then and doesn't now.

No state school bashing here! I LOVE DD's comprehensive, the staff are (almost) all extremely motivating - for those in top sets down to those in special needs classes (They have 10 sets per year for Maths!)

{Hides the fact she couldn't afford anything else anyway]

We dont make our students do general studies

General studies is a joke, but not as much a joke as key skills.

We had to do these at Sixth form because they got extre funding, despite the fact most of us were doing A Level maths we had to do GCSE level key skills.

The general point here is the degradation of the curriculum and the rubbish exams pupils are expected to do - rubbish vocational qualitfication such as the new diploma and rubbish GCSE/A levels which many schools are abandoning. General studies is but one of these others include: media studies, business studies, etc.

Just hope none of your children do what my DH did back when he did his a'levels.

He thought general studies a waste of time so wrote 'this is crap' all over the exam paper.

The examining board threatened to withhold all of his a'levels because of his naughtiness - luckily they didn't though.

Agree though its a waste of time.

I thought this was a General Studies bashing thread reather than a state school bashing one. Think I read the title as 'whu do some schools...' rather than 'why do state schools...'

I do know of some schools that make Gen Studies compulsory and the word on the ground is that this is to boost their league table positions. However the head of one such school justifies it by saying that one or two children a year get into university on the strength of it who wouldn't have got enough points from their other grades (We're not talking top universities here). It's a big school though, so there's an awful lot of children taking it & not getting any/much benefit.

When I did my a levels general studies was compulsory for the most able students but only because they planned to use those lessons in the future to coach the select few for our oxbridge interviews. I think it was to ensure we were all free at the same time.

GS is mandatory at the two state comps (v good ones too) local to me.