DS unhappy with GCSE options he's been given

[HolidayCriminal]

I just want someone to commiserate with! Any takers?

my little brothers in gcse year and is not very academic so it took a lot for him to pick some subjects that he was actually looking forward to doing. then they said he could only do one of them as they clashed which really put him down. One of them was available as a btec so he can do both which he's doing but begrudgingly as that subject is one he is good at and would have been a chance at a higher gcse grade.

DS has changed his mind about priorities... so the item he had as 4th option he now wants as 3rd or maybe 2nd option, this has screwed things up.

He was just FURIOUS about it all earlier. I've fired off an email about a way they could accommodate what he wants. He's a bit happier now that we've proposed a possible solution. But I don't think he'll get it. :(

So hard to explain that these disappointments are "just life".

I think the problem is the discrepancy between expectations and reality, which can lead to disappointment and disillusionment.

DS1 (Y9) said it's like being told you can choose a house, but then you actually only get to choose the colour of paint on the doorframe.

He has seven compulsory subjects, then for the eighth subject he can choose out of two options, and then the ninth and tenth subjects are 'free options'. Out of the possibilities for the 'free options', there were only two subjects he likes and has any aptitude for!

We haven't had confirmation of the subjects yet. He's just glad he can give up Geography.

I think it's ridiculous they haven't more choice in the matter.

When I was at school they had two blocks, for example:

Geography
French
Science A

or

History
Spanish
Science B

Now I wanted Science A, but with History. But couldn't do it as it wasn't in the same block. It's ridiculous.

what annoyed us was that my brothers school splits the years in half, two houses in each half. If they had tried they could have let him do the subject he wanted when the others were.

ds1 is not at all practical but they have to pick a DT subject. The only one he stands a chance of getting a GCSE pass in is Cookery.
It was over subscribed so he will be allocated either textiles or resistant materials.
Both he hates, both he finds really hard & tbh is crap at.
Why he cant be allowed to pick another academic subject that he may actually feel confident about achieving in I really don't know.
They are a huge year group so there are other subjects going on while the DT subjects are taking place so he could be timetabled to do something else.
We are being all upbeat about it and encouraging while telling him " that's life" he'll just have to work hard to pass. But really what a waste of everyones time

DS is being fairly irrational. He doesn't want to study science at A-level but he think he'll be bored witless in double science (possibly true). So he's insisting on triple science at the expense of iMedia (which he got, I'm sure he would have loved). I can't persuade him to just sit thru dull double science, that it's a small sacrifice to make when he likes his other subjects alright.

Meanwhile, music which he was keen on 2 months ago is now considered pointless.

Definitely there's a social strata thing going on here, because it's obvious he doesn't want to be seen as thick for having taken double science rather than triple.

He's so depressed & angry. Convinced that everyone* else has got exactly what they want, only him who's got to accept compromises.

*He knows stories of people who didn't get a majority of choices in their top 6, but they aren't people who matter to him, so not "everyone".

update: deputy head sorted it for DS, at least DS has a set now that he likes. Also found out he's not one of the borderline kids for Triple science.

Anyone else with last minute GCSE wobbles?

Poor Dd was one of only 23 in the year whose subjects clashed, she then had a similar problem for a levels. She wanted to do maths hystory physics and psychology but physics and pyschology clas. She is taking biology now instead of psychology.