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Any thoughts gratefully received.
DS has compulsory subjects in Maths, English Lit/Lang, French and Computing. He intends to take all 3 sciences and Music. This leaves him with 2 options - he has short-listed it down to Latin, Geography and Design Tech but can't decide which to drop? (And no, he has no idea what he wants to do in the future!)
DS has compulsory subjects in Maths, English Lit/Lang, French and Computing. He intends to take all 3 sciences and Music. This leaves him with 2 options - he has short-listed it down to Latin, Geography and Design Tech but can't decide which to drop? (And no, he has no idea what he wants to do in the future!)
Re: Options
Bear in mind that all the Tec subjects take huge amounts of time. Nothing else helpful to say!
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I would just ask which he enjoys the most, whether he has previously managed decent grades and whether the teacher is good/your DS likes them (you could check out previous results for each subject, even grammar schools sometimes have a dodgy teacher with not such great results) and go from there. Has he done Latin before?
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I would say definitely geography if he enjoys it as he doesn't have a humanity in there (I don't think - they weren't called that when I were a lass!!). He already has something creative, so maybe Latin would be better than DT depending on his skills/ interests. As long as he isn't cutting out any potential A level options I would say go with whatever he enjoys the most.
scary mum
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Under the eBacc either history or geography is necessary. Tech. Is time consuming, but fun perhaps in a sea of academic GCSEs. However, I am biased towards Latin!
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Ignore the ebacc - it is an artificial and non-statutory 'measure' of a school.
Which DT is it? The amount of time does vary and the coursework does count towards the final mark.
My advice would be go with what is enjoyed but check the school's historic results are good in that subject.
Which DT is it? The amount of time does vary and the coursework does count towards the final mark.
My advice would be go with what is enjoyed but check the school's historic results are good in that subject.
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The three we are considering are all enjoyed, likes teachers / reasonably good at (we have already rejected History, RSS, Art, Ancient Greek, PE on those grounds).
The Tech options are - engineering or graphic design.
He has done Latin since year 7 so has a good grounding. Geography counts as the least of the evils if he is has to take a humanity.
I am concerned on coursework if he takes Tech and Music. Has anyone's DC done both - is this likely to be a problem?
The Tech options are - engineering or graphic design.
He has done Latin since year 7 so has a good grounding. Geography counts as the least of the evils if he is has to take a humanity.
I am concerned on coursework if he takes Tech and Music. Has anyone's DC done both - is this likely to be a problem?
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My DC did Tech and music - not a problem. The music came in 3 chunks - the solo was a recycled exam piece so that was easy! Graphics was well organised with mini deadlines - I think it mught be even more 'controlled' now but again took the stress out of the exam period. (you are welcome to PM me for more info)
Remember ALL GCSEs will be terminally assessed from September so some coursework subjects will be a good idea.
Remember ALL GCSEs will be terminally assessed from September so some coursework subjects will be a good idea.