Year 9 options (Secondary School) questions.

dp1

My daughter has just chosen her options - she is in year 9 and they start these options in year 10. I basically did the same as I had done with her sister 2 years earlier - I told her the choice was hers but to choose subjects she both liked and thought she could do well in; not to choose subjects based on either liking or disliking the current teacher or based on what her friends were choosing. She had to choose 3 subjects and decided on history, food technology as she might want to be a chef and product design because she likes the idea of designing and making things.
She seemed to have a lot more idea of what she wanted to do than a lot of her friends, who didn't know what to pick.

pigpen

Foggster wrote: »

I wouldnt dismiss "mickey mouse" subjects, my daughter has chosen PE because she would like to go into teaching and this is a subject she favours. The same about the Arts, if a talent lies there then why not allow a child to choose a subject which they will enjoy and carry out to the best of their ability.

PE isn't optional there are 4 different levels at the high school mine are at and all 3 did/are doing very very poorly in it because they hate it.. I think it should be optional! I didn't partake after I was about 12.

It is stuff like drama I feel isn't much use. I told mine if they wanted to do that then they should go to the theatre groups on a weekend and after school might not give you a GCSE but do get you into RADA and other assorted colleges (as one of my oldest friends did) She got a recommendation from her dance school she had attended since she was 5 and another from the theatre group leader, she is still performing at 38 so it wasn't a total waste of time. There are other ways to get to do this kind of stuff if that is what their interest is without replacing academic learning.

Media studies is actually really good.. they are taught to use video cameras, digital photography and editting, communications websites, letters, phone etc and how to choose the best media to get your info across, consumer marketting... loads of stuff.

Languages have proven a waste of time for mine too.. I have 1 did french, 1 doing german and french and she loathes both, and 4 did/are doing german.. They all hated the subjects.

My middle boy did resistant materials though he really struggled with it, he is not talented in the arty manner and his teacher was a limp dishrag and offered no support or guidance they also went through 4 different teachers in the 2 years he was studying it which can't have helped and none was any better than the previous. It did look like a really interesting subject though. DS is now studying IT and computer programming/game design at college.. probaly also useless but he is enjoying it!

Dunroamin

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback so far.
I think the school that my son goes to has got quite a good selection of subjects to choose from.
As well as the core subjects (English, Maths, Science, PE), there are a few that he finds interesting

Engineering
Computer Science
Resistant Materials Tech (DTech)

i am happy for him to choose those as he likes the, and are good at them, but we have to find another 3 (1 more choice necessary, plus 2 reserve choices).

I wouldn't encourage him to do all of those because, although they sound vocational, they're all rather vague, and less useful than traditional subjects.

If he wants to go into Engineering he'd be better to do separate sciences and Further Maths if these are available. What other oprions does he have?

WantToBeSE

Dunroamin wrote: »

I wouldn't encourage him to do all of those because, although they sound vocational, they're all rather vague, and less useful than traditional subjects.

If he wants to go into Engineering he'd be better to do separate sciences and Further Maths if these are available. What other oprions does he have?

Triple science (bio, chem and physics) is one of the mandatory subjects anyway, and no further maths is available unless choosing the English baccalaureate.

Rebecca01

pigpen wrote: »

PE isn't optional there are 4 different levels at the high school mine are at and all 3 did/are doing very very poorly in it because they hate it.. I think it should be optional! I didn't partake after I was about 12.

It is stuff like drama I feel isn't much use. I told mine if they wanted to do that then they should go to the theatre groups on a weekend and after school might not give you a GCSE but do get you into RADA and other assorted colleges (as one of my oldest friends did) She got a recommendation from her dance school she had attended since she was 5 and another from the theatre group leader, she is still performing at 38 so it wasn't a total waste of time. There are other ways to get to do this kind of stuff if that is what their interest is without replacing academic learning.

Media studies is actually really good.. they are taught to use video cameras, digital photography and editting, communications websites, letters, phone etc and how to choose the best media to get your info across, consumer marketting... loads of stuff.

Languages have proven a waste of time for mine too.. I have 1 did french, 1 doing german and french and she loathes both, and 4 did/are doing german.. They all hated the subjects.

My middle boy did resistant materials though he really struggled with it, he is not talented in the arty manner and his teacher was a limp dishrag and offered no support or guidance they also went through 4 different teachers in the 2 years he was studying it which can't have helped and none was any better than the previous. It did look like a really interesting subject though. DS is now studying IT and computer programming/game design at college.. probaly also useless but he is enjoying it!

I do agree to some extent about PE. Isn't it supposed to be exercise so that we don't become a nation of obese people?Health is important and exercise should be encouraged but that could be done after school.
However in reality, I have watched and covered a lot of PE lessons, pupils rarely break into a sweat. So it does become pointless. Girls more so than boys, the boys playing football are the exception. They try really hard. However by the time they get Changed,register taken etc there isn't a lot of time left.

Obviously GCSE PE , is better ,as there is a lot more theory.

Rebecca01

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Triple science (bio, chem and physics) is one of the mandatory subjects anyway, and no further maths is available unless choosing the English baccalaureate.

It depends on the school, it can be combined science worth two GCSE's or three separate subjects. Then there's the BTEC.

My favourite is the three separate sciences.:)

Dunroamin

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Triple science (bio, chem and physics) is one of the mandatory subjects anyway, and no further maths is available unless choosing the English baccalaureate.

What do you mean by "triple science" - do you mean the three separate sciences or a combined subject?

WantToBeSE

Dunroamin wrote: »

What do you mean by "triple science" - do you mean the three separate sciences or a combined subject?

Oh, i think i got a bit confused...i think its double science (combined).

Dunroamin

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Oh, i think i got a bit confused...i think its double science (combined).

Thanks.

Does the school offer the option to study separate science subjects?

WantToBeSE

Dunroamin, I am not sure. I have included these photos in the hopes that someone can shed some light.