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GCSE astronomy worth it?

Hi everyone! I'm new to the student room but I'm really excited about it!
I just wanted to ask anyone if they had done astronomy, whether you liked it? was the course enjoyable and worth the effort? I'm on the fence as to whether I should take it for my GCSEs!
Any help and guidance would be very much appreciated! Thanks guys, peace outtt!
Original post by salmon-aiman
Hi everyone! I'm new to the student room but I'm really excited about it!
I just wanted to ask anyone if they had done astronomy, whether you liked it? was the course enjoyable and worth the effort? I'm on the fence as to whether I should take it for my GCSEs!
Any help and guidance would be very much appreciated! Thanks guys, peace outtt!


Dude seriously, its not as if choosing 'astronomy' for an option at GCSE is going to affect you long term future now. Astronomy is an interesting subject and i say go for it and don't look back; it will give you a good insight into the possibility of even taking it up at uni.

so yes, like a shot, take it up dude.

reagards.:colone:
Thanks PaintingJupiter! That was helpful! I guess what you're saying makes sense ahha!
Reply 3
Avatar for OllieWolly
OllieWolly
I took GCSE Astronomy and did my exam in the summer and I'd say it's worth doing :smile: I only did it as an extra curricular thing and had an Astronomy lesson after school once a week (although it was cancelled a lot) and I didn't find it too taxing. The fact that there's some overlap with physics made it slightly easier too :smile: I found it interesting and you won't lose anything by taking it so yeah, I'd definitely recommend it!
Original post by OllieWolly
I took GCSE Astronomy and did my exam in the summer and I'd say it's worth doing :smile: I only did it as an extra curricular thing and had an Astronomy lesson after school once a week (although it was cancelled a lot) and I didn't find it too taxing. The fact that there's some overlap with physics made it slightly easier too :smile: I found it interesting and you won't lose anything by taking it so yeah, I'd definitely recommend it!



Thank you!! I'm going to be in the same situation as you too haha! Once a week, after school, but hopefully like you say, if I do it, it won't be too stressful! Thanks for your help! :smile:
Reply 5
Avatar for nicatre
nicatre
13
I wish I had more diverse options for my GCSEs :frown:
Original post by nicatre
I wish I had more diverse options for my GCSEs :frown:


what are you doing for your gcses nicatre?:smile:
Reply 7
Avatar for dinrah04
dinrah04
10
I did it, it really helps with Physics and it's my favourite subject (mainly out of personal interest though), it might be down to teaching style but we had a lot of pretty hilarious practicals such as going out to a field, acting as if we're the solar system. Making air rockets and helicopters, all sorts of fun. But the main bulk of it (the normal work) is still incredibly interesting, only the lunar features I found a bit dull. We even delved into some more fundamental physics and the end of the Universe, which I loved.
You also feel like a boss doing relatively easy equations like the reciprocal of Hubble's Constant to find the age of the Universe.
Original post by dinrah04
I did it, it really helps with Physics and it's my favourite subject (mainly out of personal interest though), it might be down to teaching style but we had a lot of pretty hilarious practicals such as going out to a field, acting as if we're the solar system. Making air rockets and helicopters, all sorts of fun. But the main bulk of it (the normal work) is still incredibly interesting, only the lunar features I found a bit dull. We even delved into some more fundamental physics and the end of the Universe, which I loved.
You also feel like a boss doing relatively easy equations like the reciprocal of Hubble's Constant to find the age of the Universe.


wow thanks for that! :smile: That's really really helpful! I had a little look at the syllabus for astronomy, edexcel, and it seems pretty interesting, and I do like science so it sounds good to me! I really like the idea of doing practicals, and it'd really compliment physics gcse! Thanks for that response, much appreciated!
Reply 9
Avatar for nicatre
nicatre
13
Original post by salmon-aiman
what are you doing for your gcses nicatre?:smile:


More of a what did :P

Biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, english lit, english lang, RS, geography, spanish, ICT GNVQ and Graphics. Finished in 2006 :P
Original post by nicatre
I wish I had more diverse options for my GCSEs :frown:


Exactly!

Wow astronomy! Young people today are so lucky, you have so many choices when it comes to GCSE's. In my day there was no option to do astronomy or psychology or law or sociology etc.

OP if you think you'd enjoy it and would work hard then I'd say go for it.
How much of an overlap is there with physics?
I have it after school every Monday for the next 3 years but I don't know if I want to do it I didn't go today but might go next week
I am coming a bit late to this thread, but from my own experience I would say: Yes, it could well be'.

I took GCE (the predecessor to GCSE) Astronomy as a mature private student; as a school subject, astronomy has been around a lot longer than many people realise! I intended to apply to university to study Environmental Sciences, and I wanted another '0'-level science subject to add extra weight to my application. Physics was out, due to the high maths content (to this day, I do not have GCE/GCSE Maths despite several attempts - learning disabilities were not widely understood back then). I reasoned (correctly, as it turned out) that I would be better able to cope with the likely maths content of GCE Astronomy.

To be honest, I would probably have been accepted for my course even without my GCE Astronomy pass, but at the admissions interview the panel clearly noted that I had studied for this and other GCEs on my own initiative whilst also working full-time. Also, none of the panel had realised that GCE Astronomy actualy existed, which created a pleasant ice-breaker at the start of the interview.

Although I know nothing about the Astronomy GCSE content, I feel that it could be a very useful science subject, especially for someone who already had an interest in astronomy. Furthermore, later in my career when I was on job interview panels myself, I found that the candidates who had done something just a bit different or unusual on their own initiative tended to be the ones who stood out.
there’s a STEM sixth form im considering which allows you to take gcse astronomy in year 12

i think it’s cool, i don’t know if i’d do it
Original post by zintanax
Hi everyone! I'm new to the student room but I'm really excited about it!
I just wanted to ask anyone if they had done astronomy, whether you liked it? was the course enjoyable and worth the effort? I'm on the fence as to whether I should take it for my GCSEs!
Any help and guidance would be very much appreciated! Thanks guys, peace outtt!


since when was astronomy a gcse subject I need to know why I missed out on this
Original post by huraiyrah
since when was astronomy a gcse subject I need to know why I missed out on this


Hardly any schools offer it.

In my area, I'm 99% sure that the only school who offers it is one of the ones where you start in year 10 and it specialises in STEM
Original post by Bill Nye
Hardly any schools offer it.

In my area, I'm 99% sure that the only school who offers it is one of the ones where you start in year 10 and it specialises in STEM


At this hour of night I went and saw a past paper. It seems like a pop quiz, however interesting.
I teach Astronomy GCSE so I am a bit biased.. Yes, do study it; it is a good course and enjoyable and that will certainly help you get a good grade. It will also help you in other courses such as Maths and Physics. It is not an alternative to doing Science GCSEs. What do you want to do later? If going for science at uni, Astronomy may not be enough, if doing humanities it should be fine. How much time will it take? What will you have to not do in order to take Astronomy?

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