GCSEs - Questions + Seeking Advice

I'm in year 11 and I personally think that's waaay too much, you may want to drop at least 3.
I would say drop one of your languages, and if you aren't passionate about it or don't want anything to do with it in the future, drop either art or drama as they are very coursework heavy and require a lot of work. I really don't think it's worth taking all these extra GCSEs as it may potentially affect your other GCSEs.

Also, from what I heard universities don't really care for loads of GCSES, I think the average is around 9-11 so just do 9 or 10 and get good grades in them

Thanks very much for replying!

I was considering doing combined sciences (2 GCSEs) instead of triple and maybe dropping computing studies and French (although my mum wants me to do it as she got an A* and did it at A level). This would take my total down to 11 as I would like to keep art and drama as I really enjoy them both.

Thanks for the advice on universities - my parents are set on me going to Cambridge and they think I should do as many GCSEs as is humanly and physically possible to give me a better chance whilst still maintaining good grades (at least a B) in all of them.

Thanks again for the advice and have a great day!

Its great that you're ambitious to do lots of GCSEs. The question is whether you want to have a life outside the classroom. To be a journalist, you need exposure to the real world, not just a classroom environment. I think 14 GCSEs is too many personally. I would not do more than 12.

Thanks very much for replying!

I was considering doing combined sciences (2 GCSEs) instead of triple and maybe dropping computing studies and French (although my mum wants me to do it as she got an A* and did it at A level). This would take my total down to 11 as I would like to keep art and drama as I really enjoy them both.

Thanks for the advice on universities - my parents are set on me going to Cambridge and they think I should do as many GCSEs as is humanly and physically possible to give me a better chance whilst still maintaining good grades (at least a B) in all of them.

Thanks again for the advice and have a great day!

It's better to have 10 GCSE's at A/A* than 14 at grade B, but that's your decision to make! Just try not to put yourself under pressure and take the subjects you'd like to take and will enjoy, not just because your parents did them or want you to!

Hey no problem, I do double science and I'm glad you're going for that because a lot a lot of people in my year are wanting to drop triple science. (Not to put you off or anything, it is your decision at the end of the day.) I know it's helpful to listen to your parents advice but please go with what you want, you will be taking these subjects for two years remember and it's best to go with what you want, not what your parents want. Again with the art and drama, that's totally fine if you're passionate about the subjects it is very coursework heavy but hey, you seem motivated enough

Hi everyone!

*I'm new here so please let me know if this is in the wrong place and I'll remove it*

I'm a 14 year old student picking her GCSE subjects in January/February and I have a few questions:

1) Is there a maximum amount of GCSEs I can take (excluding extra curriculars)?

My mum did 12 and my dad did 15 (16, including 1 extra curricular) and want for me to be doing at least 12 GCSEs. Would you call this "too much"? How many GCSEs did you/are you planning on do(ing)? Did you do any extra curriculars?

2) What GCSEs are required (or reccommended) for journalism?

I have had my heart set on journalism since the age of 7 and already have some (limited) experience, my aunt being a journalist and having written a few articles for my school's newspaper and for our local newspaper. What GCSEs do I "need" to take to have a shot at journalism? Are there any reccommended GCSEs?

3) What is your opinion on my current list of possible GCSEs (likely to change)?

English Literature
English Language
Maths
Triple Sciences (worth 3 GCSEs)
History
French
Spanish
Latin
Art
Drama
Computing Studies (ICT)
Philosophy

This totals to 14 GCSEs, an amount my family and school would be happy with. What is your opinion on this - is it too much work? Are there pointless subjects I should drop? Are these appropriate for a career in journalism?

Sorry for such a long post and thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi everyone!

*I'm new here so please let me know if this is in the wrong place and I'll remove it*

I'm a 14 year old student picking her GCSE subjects in January/February and I have a few questions:

1) Is there a maximum amount of GCSEs I can take (excluding extra curriculars)?

My mum did 12 and my dad did 15 (16, including 1 extra curricular) and want for me to be doing at least 12 GCSEs. Would you call this "too much"? How many GCSEs did you/are you planning on do(ing)? Did you do any extra curriculars?

2) What GCSEs are required (or reccommended) for journalism?

I have had my heart set on journalism since the age of 7 and already have some (limited) experience, my aunt being a journalist and having written a few articles for my school's newspaper and for our local newspaper. What GCSEs do I "need" to take to have a shot at journalism? Are there any reccommended GCSEs?

3) What is your opinion on my current list of possible GCSEs (likely to change)?

English Literature
English Language
Maths
Triple Sciences (worth 3 GCSEs)
History
French
Spanish
Latin
Art
Drama
Computing Studies (ICT)
Philosophy

This totals to 14 GCSEs, an amount my family and school would be happy with. What is your opinion on this - is it too much work? Are there pointless subjects I should drop? Are these appropriate for a career in journalism?

Sorry for such a long post and thanks in advance for any advice!

I'm doing 13, and extra curricular activities (leadership fro UCAS points, hockey team, music lessons, choirs) and now that its coming to GCSE time, I've realised too late that I've taken on too much with:

English lang
English lit
Maths
Additional Maths
Triple Science
History
French
Spanish
Latin (x2)
RS

If I could i would drop RS and the second latin.

I would drop Computing Studies and philosophy if i were you. Unless you're really passionate about Art, it's a hell of a lot of work, and I know so many people who have dropped it to focus on other subjects. Uni's don't look much below top 8-10 GCSEs and these are considered easy subjects and won't make you stand out. It's better to do less GCSEs well than try to do to many and not do as well in them. In other words its better to get 8A*'s than 13 A/B's.

For Journalism, a good grade in English is essential. History and languages will help

My school does 11 maximum, so I would say this is waaay too much.
Keep English, Maths and Sciences, those are important for everything!

Definitely drop one language as its crazy to do three. I do French and Spanish, and I believe these are the better options. After all Latin is a dead language and I believe that French and Spanish may help in a career in journalism and may even aid to working abroad!

I don;t know anything about drama, but art I do know, has a tonne of coursework! And this coursework does take up a lot of your time! I would say drop drama and do art or vice versa depending on your preference.

Keep history and philosophy, those are two very enjoyable subjects in my opinion.

Finally computing... in my school computing is known to be notoriously hard with a lot of difficult coursework (at least that's what my friends say) I don't know how it could help you in the future either. Maybe you should swap computing for business if possible!
Good luck!

I don't know if my school has a maximum, but thanks for including yours - most schools are probably similar.

I enjoy Latin and have consistently got near-perfect scores in it for the past 2 years (96% being my lowest and 100% being my highest) and I also really enjoy it and have been told some universities look on it favourably. I do agree that 3 is probably too many - I have considered dropping French seeing as I'm not good at it nor do I really like it.

Art and drama are both passions of mine and I really wouldn't want to drop either of them. However, I do currently attend three in-school clubs and I am a competitive horse rider, which would obviously mean I do have time constraints. I might drop another subject (i.e. computing studies) to be able to make time for both of them as I do really enjoy both.

I also really enjoy history and philosophy and intend to keep both of them.

Really? At my school, it is seen as a fairly easy (although incredibly repetitive and sometimes boring) subject. That being said, I don't enjoy it very much and would rather drop it to be able to do another subject I enjoy more instead.

Thanks for all of your advice and input and have a great day!

Hmm, it may be difficult in our school because the only good computing teacher recently passed away...
I really suggest dropping either art or drama especially seeing all the extra curricular activities you do!
Finally, if you want to drop French as it is not your forte then that's perfect!

That's such a shame, I'm sorry for your loss - s/he must have been well liked to have such influence over a class.

I appreciate your input, but I really am very passionate about both art and drama. I might drop some of my extra curricular stuff though, competing is really only for fun as are the clubs. If I dropped both computing studies and French and did combined sciences instead of triple might that free up enough time to do both?

That sounds like a good idea! Personally I would continue with Triple Sciences (but that might be because I want to go into a career in science) however yes I agree that maybe dropping some extracurricular activities may be a way forward!

1) Is there a maximum amount of GCSEs I can take (excluding extra curriculars)?

2) What GCSEs are required (or reccommended) for journalism?

3) What is your opinion on my current list of possible GCSEs (likely to change)?

English Literature
English Language
Maths
Triple Sciences (worth 3 GCSEs)
History
French
Spanish
Latin
Art
Drama
Computing Studies (ICT)
Philosophy