11 Plus Exams Forum

So I thought gcse options would be fairly straightforward for DD ...but it seems not due to the option blocks she has to choose from.
She wants to do computing .....a new subject but she has taken to it seems to enjoy coding and programming and is seemingly ahead of the rest of her class at it. I could suggest she carries on with coding club after school but I don't think it would go down that well.

That leaves a block where she has history or french as options (She is L7 for history so it seems a shame to give that up for french where she is 5c). Then the last block she has picked german or graphic design as possible options - I guess she could do history and german ( slightly better level than french) but she prefers french .... but the graphic design was something she would like to do as an art/ creative subject as she is a pretty good artist and would probably get a really good grade.

So I guess I am asking should she be aiming for the subjects where she can get the best grades over doing a MFL where she might be a bit mediocre?

I expect lots of people will say 'take a MFL' but it is her choice and it won't stop her getting in to a good uni if she doesn't have a GCSE.

Check the period she will study in History; is it of interest to her? Is the technology option called 'graphics'?

Personally I'd always recommend choosing what she enjoys the most; she'll work harder.

Hi G55 thanks for the reply - the History is 20th century and does look good....but that might b more me speaking than dd but history has been an interest for dd for a long time. Yes the technology subject is graphics - she wanted art but that clashed with computing. I am very much in favour of her doing what she is happy to do ...but it seems like she cannot do what she would have chosen which would have been french, history art and computing because they are limited to 9 GCSEs and some subjects clash

What a shame she can't choose what she prefers.

Some schools get the students to chose and then block the options to match the choices.

Graphics does overlap a bit with Art as it requires drawing skills. It's a good choice; my DC enjoyed it and found it complemented his more academic subjects.

Guest55 wrote:What a shame she can't choose what she prefers.

Some schools get the students to chose and then block the options to match the choices.

Graphics does overlap a bit with Art as it requires drawing skills. It's a good choice; my DC enjoyed it and found it complemented his more academic subjects.

Well that is reassuring to know....I think graphics will suit dd having read the spec. Just the history vs french thing to sort out.

I would do some checking on uni admissions without MFL. There are some who do look for it.
However atm they are very limited so it probably wouldn't be a major stumbling block.

I would also check the perceived value of computing and graphic design. If she is 'only' doing 9 & these two are not rated highly enough then again admissions to some courses could be hindered.
As you say, you need to balance the subject v the grade likely to be achieved.

Does she have any idea what she might be interested in at university ( if that is her likely route) as that might tip the balance one way or the other.
If she isn't set on a highly competitive course/ university then I would also advise going for what she will do best in. If she is then it might be a case of figuring out which subjects they prefer and working her socks off to get the grades in those subjects.

I'm led to believe that computing is actually reasonably well regarded, it is ICT gcse that isn't.

Happy to be corrected though if I'm wrong.

If she is 'only' doing 9 & these two are not rated highly enough

Sorry, this is incorrect. Computing is not IT and is highly rated; Technology is fine as a 9th.

Thanks -Yes it will be the OCR GCSE in Computer science and programming. I thought it was OK I have warned DD she will need maths a level if she really wants to do computing at a higher level though.....

Just for clarification. If you look at the previous sentence my suggestion was to do some checking about how the subjects were perceived by university admissions & IF there was an issue with the standing of those two subjects then to be left with only 7 academic ones could be an issue.
I did not proffer an opinion on their value, only suggest it might be worth checking.