GSCE choices

[wonderfulworld]

histor v geog - any input would be great

I did both through school and at uni too.

Does your DC want to use either of them career wise? eg work in a museum or be a volcanologist?

History is better for people who are good at English and like writing lots of essays.

Geography has more of a mix of science and social studies so need to be a bit more of a multi-tasker.

I'd ask what the specifics of each course are as there are elements of each I really like and really dislike.

Simple answer - which does the student prefer/enjoy?

If equal, find out which topics are studied at GCSE in each subject, and ask the question again.

It often seems to come down to one or the other

ds1 had this dilemma. In the end both teachers sat down with us and told us that history was more about longer answers and ds1 was prone to go off track geog was mainly short answers and less about interpreting sources, more factual.

If he took Geography he would be on course for an A if he took history he would be on course for a C possibly B. Though he marginally preferred history it was Geography that won the day. Both the teachers agreed it would be a better choice for him.

Ask the teachers what they would expect the final GCSE grade to be.

ds doing both for GCSE plus RE at home.

Whichever one he likes best. Don't overthink choices - he should go for what he enjoys.

I agree with seeker on this - unless he's fairly evenly minded about both and there's a chance he may want to do History A level. Most schools insist on GCSE History as a pre-requisite to A-level, but you can sometimes get away without Geography GCSE for A-level Geography.