What is better for GCSE: Latin or Geography?

Hi there.

I'm in year 9 and will be picking my choices soon. I know what I want to do - alongside the compulsory RS, Maths, English and French, I have decided to choose History and Computing. I then have one option left over, and at the moment I am deciding between Latin and Geography.

I'm not sure what to choose - I'm slightly better at Geography however Latin (might) help me in my future career (which is in Law by the way) and also looks attractive to employers as not very many people have it. However I also respect that a grade 8 in Geography will look better than a grade 6 in Latin.

Any suggestions?

Thank you for your help.

Latin... not that I am biased!

But I would agree - go for the one that you think that you can get the best mark in/enjoy the most. If you're hoping to do Law, then the chances are that your A-Level grades are going to be a lot more important than your GCSE grades.

Find out which specifications your school offers for Latin and for Geography. Some schools enter candidates for a 'cultural background' paper, so it doesn't have to be entirely language.

That said, Latin could enhance an application since not that many places offer it these days, so the very fact of its rarity is enough to impress some admissions tutors/employers.

From my experience, pick the subjects you enjoy the most as well as factoring in which ones you are good at. I have a few friends that took Latin for the same reasons you have, and haven't enjoyed the course. So from what you've said I'd go for Geography, unless you really want to do Latin.

Thank you for your response.

I have looked at the specification which says there will be an assessment in the following ways-

Paper 1 - Prose literature 25% 1 hour
Paper 2 - Verse literature 25% 1 hour
Paper 3 - Language 50% 1.5 hours

So basically it is all to do with the language(?)

Thank you once again for the response.

Yes, Latin is mainly taught as a language subject - albeit written not spoken. You'll be learning grammar, vocab and practising lots of translation. There will be an element of commenting on the texts and sources you're studying, but primarily expect it to be a language course.

As a guide, p8 of this doc describes how you will be assessed as part of the OCR syllabus:
http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/227245-gcse-9-1-latin-and-gcse-9-1-classical-greek-summary-brochure.pdf

Thank you for your response.

I have looked at the specification which says there will be an assessment in the following ways-

Paper 1 - Prose literature 25% 1 hour
Paper 2 - Verse literature 25% 1 hour
Paper 3 - Language 50% 1.5 hours

So basically it is all to do with the language(?)

Thank you once again for the response.

Pretty sure there's two tests for the language. Latin is very boring and it won't help you with law in the slightest. All you need is essay writing subjects at Latin, and geography will count as one of them if you want to carry on to a level. Take geography, much more interesting and you'll do way better in it unless you lovelanguages

Ddfinitely do latin. Its the easiest subject there is apart from maths.

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