kenyancowgirl wrote:
If I had my way I would make everyone study Geography - and I say this from the point of view of someone who gave it up for O level and has regretted it (and did Economics at A level and disliked it!) Geography is such an interesting subject covering so much variety of themes - environmental issues, (which are so much more pertinent to this generation than ours), town planning, countries, disasters and so much more in between. It "fits" so well with so many other subjects, helping understanding in them, has science, essay writing, maths involved, for example, and is not difficult per se.
I do agree (but then I have 3 geographers!). I have been amazed at what a Geography degree entails and can encompass - so much of it is overlap with social sciences like sociology and politics; with chemistry and physics; and with just what I would call a really good education. It has been much maligned but I would always say do Geography now - it is a fascinating subject with so many possibilities far beyond town planning and disaster management - lots of charity and third sector organisations use geographers to help manage their space (both real and metaphorical); there are opportunities in music and the arts for specialist geographers and things like rural geography and historical geography as well as Geopolitics are fascinating fields. Looby, with your son's ambitions I would say Geography is a 'must' to be honest.
As for the others, I would say forget Economics as it is not a highly regarded GCSE and can be picked up at any stage, right through to undergraduate. I heard someone say recently that it is a dying subject - once viable alternative models to capitalism are being seriously sought (oh, I wish!) the whole subject will crumble. That may be untrue or the stuff of dreams (or nightmares, depending on your point of view) but it is a very niche subject for a 14 year old and the syllabus reflects that. After that - let him choose between the other two which one he is likely to enjoy most.
Other advice is of course available - just my personal views!