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My daughter wants to drop German GCSE

My daughter's school were really pushing the English Baccalaureate when her year were choosing their options. She wanted to take Art, Textiles, History and Philosophy/Ethics on top of the Triple Science, Maths and English. Only eight students chose Textiles so the subject was totally dropped and she ended up taking German which she is now really regretting and wants to drop. Her school is now not offering A level Textiles and we can't find any local schools or colleges which will be. She already knew exactly what she wanted to study at uni and has already told her headmaster that he has screwed up her plans. Where do we go from here? Any advice welcome.
I don't see what you can do about the textiles situation, but it is worth remembering that having even a little knowledge of another language does look great on a CV, especially as less and less people in this country are learning another language.

Surely she's not really losing much from taking the German GCSE? I'm a little biased as I'm a language fanatic, but if your daughter has the opportunity and dropping it would not make much of a difference she may as well continue with it.

It's a sad situation if she was dead set on textiles, but if her current school doesn't offer it and there are no other schools/colleges near you who do, then apart from moving away or fighting for the subject I'm not sure what you can do. Maybe she'll find a new passion during her GCSEs and A Levels, a lot of people change their future plans as they go further through education.
You might want to change places i.e. buy a house near some school which offers Textiles?
Hope this helps!
Original post by mollie.harris
You might want to change places i.e. buy a house near some school which offers Textiles?
Hope this helps!


Why would they buy a house just so that she can take one different GCSE? Really?
Reply 4
Are you sure a GCSE or an A Level in Textiles is needed for it at degree level? My sister is currently studying a Textiles based degree and I know she didn't need Textiles at A Level, just an art based subject like Art or Graphics. Have you looked at courses at universities?

Also, I would tell her to keep German GCSE on, a language GCSE is needed at some universities and if its not needed, its highly regarded, IMO.

Bare in mind students change their minds a lot - so don't do anything perminant like moving house!

Even if she still wanted to do Textiles at degree level, work experience and a strong portfolio may possibly suffice!
(edited 11 years ago)
That is what she wants to continue later, no? And getting a good grade in that particular subject would boost her chances of studying Textiles at university level!
Getting a bad grade in German would ruin it, if you know what I mean! Anyways, Good Luck to your daughter :smile:
I agree that, if possible, continuing German would be great in the long-term.

It would be worthwhile looking at some university websites and seeing what subjects they require for textiles-related degrees. It may not be the case the Textiles in neccessary; they may happily take other subjects such as Art or Product Design/Design and Technology or Graphic Design instead. I certainly know one person doing a textiles degree who didn't do textiles at A-Level. Alongside this she could develop her textiles skills at home.
Reply 7
It would be a good idea for her to try and stick it out and keep German, because many Universities do tend to ask for a B/C in a foreign language. This catches a few people out. Maybe try and explain that to her and then see what she thinks?

It certainly will not be the end of the world but it would be a good way to keep options open to her in the future. I remember doing GCSE German just two years ago, and i'm sure that she will be able to bare it.

Either way, just talk to her and see?
I know ideally she wants to do A Level Textiles, but after looking at only a couple of uni's (Dundee and Edinburgh) they didn't specify that you needed an A Level in Textiles, and I'm almost certain that very few uni's if any would do. They always mention an Art/Design related subject, so perhaps she could take Art at A Level? Depending on the exam board and the exact Art A Level she studies, I'm sure it's possible to do something related to textiles on the course.

I know it's not what she wants, but unless you move to an area that does offer Textiles at A Level there's no other option.

Also regarding the German GCSE, it's worth just going through with it, as mentioned in an earlier post in this topic it will enhance her CV.
Reply 9
I would recommend letting your daughter drop German. I've had a really bad experience with German (my school forced us to choose a language in year nine and now I'm stuck with with German). It's so irrelevant... people say it looks good on the CV, but no University interviewer is going to choose someone to study with them, simply because they studied a foreign language. (Plus, they are hard, so they only count on the CV if you can get an A or above). In all honestly, WHAT you choose for your GCSES hardly even matters. It's how many A*s you get, and what you choose for A Levels, that truly matters.

And about the Textiles thing... there's not much you could do, you should choose a similar subject, or just have Fine Art. I'm sure you can get accepted without actually studying Textiles for A Levels, or you could explain to the interviewer why you don't have an ALevel in that. Good luck to you and your daughter.
Reply 10
Hi
I am in my first year at college and i got an A in German - but i can not speak it to save my life! Why?! I was really lazy with the help of my teachers and one of my friends who was fluent at the subject helped me write my written piece and oral for my exam. I recited the whole thing without knowing what i was really saying in German. My advice is to let carry her finish it. She will be able to do what I did because High school will let you get away with. i have been interviewed for jobs and not once has anybody asked me about speaking german since i have left high school. its an extra GCSE and now i am applying for Uni its coming in useful as i can bulls*it about loving to experience other cultures ect.
i hope this helps.
Original post by mysticalmoooo
My daughter's school were really pushing the English Baccalaureate when her year were choosing their options. She wanted to take Art, Textiles, History and Philosophy/Ethics on top of the Triple Science, Maths and English. Only eight students chose Textiles so the subject was totally dropped and she ended up taking German which she is now really regretting and wants to drop. Her school is now not offering A level Textiles and we can't find any local schools or colleges which will be. She already knew exactly what she wanted to study at uni and has already told her headmaster that he has screwed up her plans. Where do we go from here? Any advice welcome.


Drop German or keep it its not relevant. All my local colleges will let you take textiles A level with a good pass in any GCSE tech-perhaps looking into this. Firstly though u will need somewhere to take the alevel, check any local college even if it may be a hour train etc. if not then move or leave it. Check if what your daughter wants to end up doing actually needs alevel textiles u may be suprised.

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