GCSE's

panthro

panthro

panthro

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Hi All

My sister is currently choosing her options for GCSE's and wants to do French, German, Geography and History. Her teachers are trying to force her to to a design and technology subject, which she doesnt want to do.
I have advised her to do what she enjoys the most, which is her original choice. Shes very upset atm as she seems to think the school are going to enforce her to do the D&T subject. Im pretty sure this isnt the case, as they cant force you to do a subject unless it is core, which S&T isnt.

Ive explained to her that once she is at a stage where she chooses a degree, it will only matter that she gets 5 C's and above, and that her A levels are more important. Although my mum has been told by her French, German, Geography and History teachers that she will get an A* in all of these subjects if she took them for GCSE. Any advice as to whether her choice is the right one? I personally think it is, as she enjoys them and she will get good marks in them.

EDIT: she is considering business studies too, but can you take business studies at A level if you didnt do it for GCSE?
 
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Ofcourse it is. The school have no place to force it upon her. She is right! If they persist i would get your parents to write in about it.
 
If they are only going to serve as a passport to the next level of education then yes, I'd agree with you that she should go with whatever she feels most comfortable with to maximise her chances later on.
 
panthro said:
Hi All

My sister is currently choosing her options for GCSE's and wants to do French, German, Geography and History. Her teachers are trying to force her to to a design and technology subject, which she doesnt want to do.
I have advised her to do what she enjoys the most, which is her original choice. Shes very upset atm as she seems to think the school are going to enforce her to do the D&T subject. Im pretty sure this isnt the case, as they cant force you to do a subject unless it is core, which S&T isnt.

Ive explained to her that once she is at a stage where she chooses a degree, it will only matter that she gets 5 C's and above, and that her A levels are more important. Although my mum has been told by her French, German, Geography and History teachers that she will get an A* in all of these subjects if she took them for GCSE. Any advice as to whether her choice is the right one? I personally think it is, as she enjoys them and she will get good marks in them.
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I know plenty of people who have done the same thing and are at a similar level to your sister. The only reason to do DT is if she is goin to a collage with a lot of competion to get in but with A* i don't think she'd have a problem anyway.
 
You can take an ALevel in Business Sutdies without the GCSE. Subjects like Economics, Business Studies etc at A Level are taught from the basics ie the syllabus assumes not having done the GCSE, since very few schools offer it.
 
Right, I have had this problem too, Im 14 years of age picking my subjects aswell...

They tried to force me to do a "arts" subject because it is an "arts" school, which i and my mother firmly disagree'd with therfore we have left that.

I am currently choosing : English, English literature, Express maths (2 GCSE'S 1 in maths and 1 in statistics), Double Science, Geography,Business, I.T. (4 GCSE equivalent)

Thanks hope this helps, I reccommend if the school is pressuring your sister, your parents to visit the school, and "lay down the rules" ... this should not occur to a 14 yera old child... ;)

P.s. Tell her not to worry, she will do well :D Of course she will shes got you to help :p :p
 
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Hrrrm, I dunno.

People can never do *exactly* what they want, as timetabling won't allow it.

Let me think, when I chose my GCSEs (back in 1998 I think), the following is the structure inside which we had to choose:

Core:
English (just lang or lit & lang depending on ability)
Maths
Science (double-award)
Short-Course IT (could be taken as full)
Short-Course RE (could be taken as full)

Then:
At least 1 Modern Language from French, German, Spanish
At least 1 Humanity from Geog, History, Business Studies

Either a full Technology (Graphic Products, Resistant Materials, Food Tech)
OR Short-Course Tech and an Art (Music, Art)

Then some free choices too.


Something like that anyway - it was a while ago! I don't think a broad base of subjects at GCSE is a bad idea at all, tbh. I remember I chose Geog and Business Studies, but my tutor told me Business Studies "wasn't very academic" and that I'd be much better off with History. I was a good girl and did what she said in the end. History was my lowest grade. Sigh.
 
Im in the same situation, actually i just this minute picked my subjects. Tell her to do what she wants to do, not the school.
 
Just about any decent school will "force" people to do certain GCSEs - indeed, until a few years ago a GCSE in D&T was a legal requirement, it's for the sake of a rounded education. I personally was "forced" to take Electronic Products when I'd have chosen something else given a free choice and for a while it was my favourite subject.
 
I got forced into doing a design course...Systems & Control if I recall correctly...duly got a U in it :p

Also, you don't have to do business studies at GCSE to do it at A-Level.
 
I got forced to do GNVQ ICT due to me being predicted all B's but my attendence was aaround 88% and was working at level C's so they thought the solution would to make me do GNVQ ICT whih is equivelant to 4 GCSE's which i got 3 pass's and 1 fail due to not even being told i had a exam :O , oh and they took me out of my form and lobbed me in with the worst behaved people of the school who was also under achieving .. which made me worse and not help so sometimes the school does not help
 
is the system where she choses which subjects based on a "selection" where you chose a subject from a certain column set? sometimes if this is the case it is because they are unable to timetable such a set with the available teachers/rooms/students. my sister is currently going through the same, but as our school has an engineering status they are trying to enforce it, however it does not have a good reputation for it.
 
To be honest she should go with what she feels is best for her and what suits her because it is her that is going to have to live and work with the results for the rest of her life, not the school. I am currently in my last year of secondary school and I am undergoing my GCSE's this year, I have chosen what I think is best for me and not the school considering the Physical Education teachers were pressuring me into taking their subject, instead I took IT and I feel I have benefited from it more. In times like these it helps to be independent.
 
It could depend on timetables, some schools set timetables according to what the pupils choose and some set them to the subject choices and limit pupils to fit the timetable.
 
Hi there,

You will find that the DT Coursework and the BS Coursework are both very large, so I would stick to what she originally chose. Also tell her that the Geography coursework is also known for being very big.

She would also find it particuarlly hard to get an A or A* in DT (assuming its graphics) if she isn't artisitically tallented.

There is nothing in the BS GCSE syllibus which is in AS level BS according to my knowledge and best of all there is no coursework at AS level but there is optional coursework at A level.

It does help to have done GCSE BS because you do learn how to answer exam style questions and how to apply knowledge (I have had the experience of this)

Hope this helps.

Bottom line: tell her to do what she would like to do.

Thanks...
 
At the high school I went to we were forced to do 1 modern language, 1 technology, 1 humanities course etc.

You can try the writing to the school thing, but I very much doubt the timetabling will allow it to be possible.
 
You have to remember that if the school wants everybody to do a D&T subject, then they will timetable in space for a D&T subject. If she doesn't do that course, what's she going to be doing in the meantime?

You don't have completely free choice when choosing your GCSEs. I couldn't do GCSE Art because of timetabling issues, for example, and had to do Drama instead. I'd advise her to stop being so prissy, and suck it up and do the Design Tech course. It's not exactly a massive hardship, and she can always do the minimum amount of work required and take the hit of a low grade. That's what I did, and it doesn't seem to have held me back in any way.
 
sjohal2006 said:
I am currently choosing : English, English literature, Express maths (2 GCSE'S 1 in maths and 1 in statistics), Double Science, Geography,Business, I.T. (4 GCSE equivalent)
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You're doing a 4 GCSE IT course? You do realise that IT is one of the most worthless courses you can do in school, right?

I'm going to take a stab in the dark, and guess that you're quite a bright kid and that you'd like to do a Computer Science degree eventually - if not that, then either another science or Maths. I will give you some fantastic advice now, and tell you that an IT GCSE or an IT A Level will be utterly worthless to you. Learn to program in your spare time if you want to do something computer-related, you'll find that far more useful.
 
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