At secondary school children can choose subjects to study for their GCSEs. This usually happens at the end of year 9. To ensure that your child makes the right decision and has access to a range of opportunities in the future, we share some guidance below from a leading independent school.
Career Prospects
Before anything else we’d recommend talking to your child about the future and what they want to do for a career. While it might feel premature, it will allow your child to make the right choices for GCSE and have access to the relevant A Levels they must have to complete a degree or enter a particular profession. If this is something that they struggle with, start by looking at their interests, things they enjoy at both school and in their free time, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. For help see if you can schedule an appointment with their school careers advisor.
Ask Their Teachers
Encourage them to also speak to their teachers and ask them for an honest answer as to whether they would be capable of completing their subject choices at GCSE. Having taught them, they can provide advice and tell them if completing a BTEC would be a better choice.
Understand the Options Available
First your child will need to understand the options available and the subjects they can pick between. Some school options must be chosen from particular categories, such as MFL (modern foreign languages), humanities, the arts and technical subjects such as graphic design and computer science. Having a clear understanding can help your child select the right combination of subjects.
University
If their long-term plan involves going to university, there are some core subjects your child should choose. Many universities have a standard they require all their pupils to meet.
Enjoyment
What’s most important is that your child actually enjoys the subjects that they’ve chosen. Their long-term goal of course should be kept in mind, but what’s arguably more important is that they are happy with their options as they will be studying them to some depth for the next two years.
Specifications
Course specifications can give your child an indication as to whether they will enjoy the subjects or not. They also explain how they are assessed. If your child is more practical, they can see whether they will have controlled assessments and coursework they will need to complete.
Balance of Hard and Soft Subjects
By hard and soft subjects, we mean those that are technical in nature such as computer science and those that are art based such as drama. Having a mix of the two can help your child keep their sanity and not become overwhelmed by the workload and pressure that come with studying all technical subjects.
Doing What’s Right for Them
Children should not however choose their GCSE options based on what their friends are studying, if their favourite teacher will be teaching them or what you think they should study. At the end of the day the decision will affect their future, not their friends’, teachers’, or yours.
The Alternatives
As touched on earlier, it may be better for children to complete a BTEC. They are just highly regarded and can give access to many of the same opportunities. In comparison they involve fewer exams and instead they are assessed through the means of coursework.
GCSEs provide children a steppingstone for where they want to go next and while it is important to make the right selection, they aren’t the end all and be all as there’s often more than one career pathway children can go down. They also can be studied at a later date should they need them.
Thank you for reading.
