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Greek or Media Studies!

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:56 pm
by guest43
Around 68,000 UK pupils take Media Studies GCSE per annum. Of these 4% get A*.

Less than 1,000 take Greek GCSE, but of those 55% get A*.

Discuss!

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:11 am
by Charl39
Perhaps you could post under "Everything Else" as not sure if this is just relevant to Independent Schools?

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:12 am
by Alice Wonder
I'll keep that in mind for the next four years just in case Ds is faced with such a choice for his options.

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:46 am
by Loopyloulou
deleted

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:12 am
by Amber
Greek.

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:19 am
by guest43
Very perceptive Loupyloulou. It is of course a rhetorical question as DD school wouldn't countenance Media Studies (or Combined "Science" for that matter).

But the real question is, given that this country can churn out thousands and thousands of Media Studies GCSEs and with all these so-called self-proclaimed Specialist Schools, why are there approximately nil pupils studying Greek in the State sector?


According the website the purpose of a GCSE course in Classical Greek is:

to acquire an understanding of some of the elements of classical civilisation, literature and language which have had a profound influence on modern societies;

to fire imagination and to deepen and develop experience by considering a wide range of issues, such as aesthetic, ethical, linguistic, political, religious and social questions.

Is that not as worthwhile as Media Studies for at least some of our children?

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:45 pm
by Tree
Hi guest43
approximately nil pupils studying Greek in the State sector
I'm not sure you are completely correct my ds's grammar offers classics and at my daughters gcse choices evening last week at her comp there was a very enthusiastic group of students studying ethics and philosophy or something like this which contained much about ancient greek philosophy so although they may not offer greek gcse doesn't mean they are not studying 'elements of classical civilisation, literature and language which have had a profound influence on modern societies'

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:39 am
by guest43
Of course another reason for the unpopularity of Greek GCSE amongst the State sector might be apparent from perusing the method of assessment!

Exam specifications 2009-10 (including coursework information)

Year 10 Greek Board: OCR

Specification name and code: The GCSE Classical Greek Course is OCR Specification 1941

Modules:


Coursework: None

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:15 pm
by another mother
some comprehensives - eg Camden Girls - do Greek -and get just as good results.

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:54 pm
by Tree
I'm not sure exactly where I stand on the coursework issue in the 80's I did loads of o'levels and got mostly a's from the local grammar and apart form art there was no coursework. I did as little work as possible during 4th and 5th years crammed for the exams like crazy in the last 3 months but all those facts i crammed in left within weeks of the exam. I remember writing in huge detail about the poem of the ancient mariner or whatever and quoting huge chunks of it but I can't remember anything about it at all now, maybe if i'd studied it properly during the course had to write a quality essay about it for assessed coursework I would remember it better. So if we assume school is about learning stuff rather than passing exams the system was pretty hopeless. I am actually quite impressed as my daughter starts her various GCSE curricula they actually looks really interesting and engaging take history for example my o level consisted mainly of regurgitating huge lists of facts there was very little discussion about the quality of sources, bias, evidence etc. I do think that some form of formal assesment is important but we shouldn't look back at no coursework exams with over rose tinted specs.