Are some GCSEs worth more than others?
Discussion for GCSE students, including those studying for IGCSEs and O Levels.
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Are some GCSEs worth more than others?Just a thought here but are they?
eg. is Latin > Music or ICT or is German >Media studies because when people say they have 10 A*s everyone thinks "wow" but if they aren't good subjects then it isn't that impressive. Sorry for the thread i'm just bored of revision -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?Aww.!(Original post by acm345)
Just a thought here but are they?
eg. is Latin > Music or ICT or is German >Media studies because when people say they have 10 A*s everyone thinks "wow" but if they aren't good subjects then it isn't that impressive. Sorry for the thread i'm just bored of revision
Take a break
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?awww lol
Yes and no: i dont think you can say 10A*s isnt good, considering there's some subjects they have to do that are quite difficult to get * eg english.
However, i would always consider a hard subject eg latin better than RE etc. -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?yeah but i chose latin and german and find those quite easy so isn't it relative to how hard they are? also would universities think that?(Original post by Bakerbaker)
awww lol
Yes and no: i dont think you can say 10A*s isnt good, considering there's some subjects they have to do that are quite difficult to get * eg english.
However, i would always consider a hard subject eg latin better than RE etc. -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?|I think it is far more evident at A-Level, since we assume that at GCSE you will do Maths, English, Science, a DT, a Modern Language, etc.
At A-Level you could do anything, and for instance, I am doing English Lit, Maths, Computing and Modern History (looking at 3 Bs and a C at the end of my A-Levels) - whereas someone in my English Class is doing English, Photography and Politics. We are both doing Law next year, but due to here getting 2 As and a B as an easy aim (Every single person in our year got an A in their politics paper in January) she has much brighter University choices...
it's my fault for taking hard ones I suppose :P: -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?(Original post by CityOfMyHeart)
I think some things are worth more (History, Geography) but others may not be considered so great... But 10A*s are great no matter what the subject XD
Yeah but does 10A* look any better than like 7/8 A* if they are in worse subjects? -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?Nope. But generally speaking, if you were to say "I have 10 A*s" or "I have 7 A*s" people would still be impressed.(Original post by acm345)
Yeah but does 10A* look any better than like 7/8 A* if they are in worse subjects? -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?To be fair you need the best grades in the core subjects at GCSE : Maths, English and Science. It's at A level where the whole "hard" and "soft" subjects thing starts to appear. (I don't agree with it btw.)
However, as far as I'm concern my B grade GCSE Astronomy is worth more than my 2A*s and 5As combined. Reason? a) only around 300 people take in the UK (well in the year I did it) and only half of those are school pupils (the rest are mainly amateur adult astronomers), b) it wasn't an option as part of my school time. I did it after-school on a Friday. On a Friday! c) I only had a third of the usual teaching time and d) the exam was on my 16th birthday!. So that B is pretty damn good
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?7/8 A* is hardly bad.(Original post by acm345)
Yeah but does 10A* look any better than like 7/8 A* if they are in worse subjects?
And I doubt it would come down to comparing merits of individual GCSEs, there are other (more important) things like AS + A2 module scores. -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?Does that not have something to do with self-selection, i.e people only take Latin to GCSE if they are good at it? This also feeds into the whole idea that subjects are only 'hard' if you're not good at them.(Original post by Bakerbaker)
Latin is far harder and i believe unis do consider it more worthwhile....however, having said that, even latin has become far easier recently with about 40% getting A*s...
I don't know if it's getting easier, it's a fair while now since I sat it. -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?Thing is, most people doing latin are private school students with a greater chance of success or bright state school students who have taken it as an option because they like it and want to do well in it. This means a higher proportion of people get A*s than in a subject like english, which everybody takes regardless of intelligence.(Original post by Bakerbaker)
Latin is far harder and i believe unis do consider it more worthwhile....however, having said that, even latin has become far easier recently with about 40% getting A*s... -
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?seriously... if u r thinking about doing a levels... ur gcses wont matter at all afterwards
i stressed so much over them... got A's and B's (not record breaking i know but it was good for me... i worked HARD!) but once u start AS levels they are COMPLETELY forgotten about. so long as u get minimum requirements for sixth form/college, dont think it matters WHAT they are... if u r planning on leaving school/college at 16 and going into employment, its a different story
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Re: Are some GCSEs worth more than others?(Original post by MathsHamster)
Thing is, most people doing latin are private school students with a greater chance of success or bright state school students who have taken it as an option because they like it and want to do well in it. This means a higher proportion of people get A*s than in a subject like english, which everybody takes regardless of intelligence.
Won't that make it harder to get an A* because don't they take a proportion of the top candidates for the A* grades
