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What did you choose for GCSEs?

What did you choose for GCSEs? What were your favourite? What were your least favourite? Did you change any? What did you do best in? Any advice?

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Reply 1
I start next year and I am doing:

Maths
English Language
English Literature
Combined Science
Classical Civilizations
Spanish
Drama
Geography
Citizenship

I am regretting doing them :frown:
Reply 2
The standard Maths, English Lang, English Lit, Science, Additional Science. I also took French, Business, Geography, ICT.

I regretted taking Business because I had a really bad mix up with teachers, but I was happy with everything else :smile: just make sure you concentrate in class and don't let anyone distract you
I did my GCSEs a few years ago now. The following were compulsory:

Maths
English Literature
English Language
Religious Education
Biology
Chemistry
Physics

And I picked these:

Geography
German
ICT

My favourite subject was Geography, I really liked the natural hazards and rivers topics. I didn't like the human topics so much, but they were tolerable. My least favourite subject was Maths, I was never very good at it and struggled with even the grade C level work (although I did somehow achieve a B overall).

I also initially chose Geography, German and French as my three options. After I had my first French lesson (at GCSE level), I decided that I didn't like my teacher or my class, so I swapped it for ICT. I ended up getting an A in ICT, so I was glad I switched :smile:
What did you choose for GCSEs?
French
History
Latin
German
Statistics
RE
English
Maths
Triple Science

What were your favourite?
Latin and History were some of my favourites as they had more interesting subject bases.

What were your least favourite?
Maths can get in the bin, I think the set I was put in was probably too high because I only understood everything when we revised it at the end of year 11 :/

Did you change any?
No, haha, we weren't allowed to do that. The only people who were allowed to drop a GCSE were about 10 people in Food Tech.

What did you do best in?
I haven't gotten my exam results back yet but probably History.

Any advice?
Exam technique (sadly) is vital these days to success, so revise that just as you revise your knowledge.
Sciences had the most to revise so start them before anything else and learn by section, it makes it easier to see what you're rough on.
Reply 5
Maths
FSMQ additional qualification
English lit
English lang
French
Spanish
DT
History
RS
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Maths
English language
English literature
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
RE/philosophy and ethics
Spanish
Functional skills (ICT) (1/2 a GCSE)

Then I chose:
Geography
Business
Psychology

I dropped Spanish because of the teacher and I enjoyed my three options

Business and psychology were my favourites possibly geography as well. I also found English literature interesting at times. Least favourite was probably the sciences especially chemistry

I probably did best in business because it's 60% coursework and the exam is mainly exam technique and it's quite easy and there's not much too revise
(edited 7 years ago)
Compulsory:
English lit
English lang
Maths
Core science
Additional science

And then I picked:
French
BTEC Heath and social care
Textiles
Catering

My favourite subject was French, my friends laughed at me for picking it but I don't regret it at all. It was also the subject I did the best in.
My least favourite subjects were english and textiles. I should've chose something like geography instead of textiles tbh.
I originally asked to swap catering for art but couldn't because of how the timetable was. I'm actually so glad I did catering instead. It was so fun and interesting, the stuff I learnt such as bugeting and creating healthy meals is definitely useful especially for when I start university.
Not sure how to feel about health and social care, I enjoyed it and I want a career in that field but the issue is that it was a BTEC so it didn't count as a proper GCSE.
Reply 8
Geography, French, Sociology and Triple Science

Advice: Don't do triple science or Geography/History
Reason: You'll realise during exam period that doing triple science gives you three extra exams to everyone else and the unit 3 exams tend to be more complex. There isn't a lot of time during exam period and you'll most likely wish like I did that you didn't take it because it doesn't benefit you in any way when applying to sixth forms and also with the new GCSE reform science will be even more harder

Don't take geography or history because As above it takes up way too much time and isn't beneficial at all in terms of applying to sixth form so I'd recommend taking something like Religious studies to relieve exam stress and pressure so you can focus on important things like maths and English

Good luck with the new spec


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Reply 9
I took my GCSE's a couple of years ago, I decided to take Spanish, Business, Geography and history. I did regret taking Spanish and geography as I did not really get along with my teachers and was constantly told that I was going to fail. However I would recommend taking history and business if you do like the subjects and if you are willing to work hard.

Along with these subjects I also had to take the compulsory ones: English (lang and lit), Math (higher), philosophy and ethics (like religious studies), science(core and additional), ICT. I think that's all!

If you want some advice of what to take, I would literally just say, do something that you love not that you think will look good and if you are not sure of what to take then choose a variety of subjects that are all rounders. So subjects that give you lots of options. You don't want to be short of options if you change your mind from your first career path. Try and do as much as you can before your actual exams , like doing well in any controlled assessments or coursework (if you still have that).

Finally, hope this is of some help! Good luck when deciding what to take or when actually taking your exams :smile:
Reply 10
I took my GCSE's a couple of years ago, I decided to take Spanish, Business, Geography and history. I did regret taking Spanish and geography as I did not really get along with my teachers and was constantly told that I was going to fail. However I would recommend taking history and business if you do like the subjects and if you are willing to work hard.

Along with these subjects I also had to take the compulsory ones: English (language and lit), Math (higher), philosophy and ethics (like religious studies), science(core and additional), ICT. I think that's all!

If you want some advice of what to take, I would literally just say, do something that you love not that you think will look good and if you are not sure of what to take then choose a variety of subjects that are all rounder's. So subjects that give you lots of options. You don't want to be short of options if you change your mind from your first career path. Try and do as much as you can before your actual exams , like doing well in any controlled assessments or coursework (if you still have that).

Finally, hope this is of some help! Good luck when deciding what to take or when actually taking your exams :smile:
I'm in year 12 now and these were my results:
Maths - B
English literature -B
English language -B
Triple Science
(Biology- A, Chemistry, A*, Physics- B)
ICT -A
History -B
RE -A*
Welsh - A
Statistics -B
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 12
Original post by Danilo2001
What did you choose for GCSEs? What were your favourite? What were your least favourite? Did you change any? What did you do best in? Any advice?


I will sit my GCSEs in English Lit and Lang, Maths, Triple Science, Geography, History, German and ICT next year. Next week I get my results back for my RE GCSE.

I love all of my options which is why I chose them. Additionally I've been on some amazing trips such as the German exchange.

My advice for anyone about to start their course would be a) you can never take too many notes b) pay attention c) try your best! Good luck :smile:
Original post by Danilo2001
What did you choose for GCSEs? What were your favourite? What were your least favourite? Did you change any? What did you do best in? Any advice?


What did you choose for GCSEs?
Our compulsory subjects were: Maths, English Literature, English Language, R.E. & Science (Either Triple Science or Double; I chose Triple Science).
Alongside those, I chose French, Business & Economics, Triple Science (Chemistry, Physics & Biology) & Geography.

What were your favourite?
I loved French, Maths and Chemistry.

What were your least favourite?
Business & Economics, seeing as I didn't really want to do it; I found it quite boring and long-winded. I also disliked English Lang & Lit with a passion; again, it was SO uninteresting.

Did you change any?
Nope, but I wished I'd change Business & Economics for Food Technology (but that clashed with French) or Music.

What did you do best in?
I did the best in French; I got an A*. I also got As in English Lang, English Lit and Maths.

Any advice?
I'd recommend making revision notes throughout the whole year to stay on top of things and be more organised; I wish I had done that. Also, as soon as you get homework from school, do it on the day so the lesson is still fresh in your head and you get the chance to ask your teachers any questions the following day rather than the day before the lesson. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP; your teachers do actually want you to do well so take the opportunity to ask them questions during lunch or break times. Finally, make sure to have fun and relax- GCSEs are no joke but also don't stress yourself out too much. :smile:
What did you choose for GCSEs?
Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Language, English Literature, History, Computing, French (iGCSE/Certificate), Spanish (iGCSE/Certificate)

What were your favourites?
Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (STEM student over here :biggrin:).

What were your least favourites?
English Language + Literature (always disliked English), History (had a terrible year in Year 10, around 6 teachers or so), French (because I' terrible)

Did you change any?
Nope - didn't really like some of my options at times, but looking back, I couldn't have really chosen anything else :lol:

What did you do best in?
Haven't got results back yet, but I know that I did best in Maths (should be getting an A*, without trying to sound big-headed)

Any advice? Make notes as you go along because you hardly need to do anything by the time exam season comes - as crazy as it sounds, it's true. Also, don't start revising too early; I know many people who burned out because they started hardcore revision from January - you should have just had your mocks by then so you can take a break for a while :smile:
If you haven't chosen your subjects yet, or you're still allowed to change them, make sure that you do subjects that you enjoy. For example there were some people who chose Computing because they thought that it looked more respectable than something else they enjoyed more, and you really don't want to spend your time revising subjects you hate (eg English for me, but it's compulsory so nothing you can do) because you will inevitably put less effort into them and not do as well as you would in a subject you love :h:
Original post by Danilo2001
What did you choose for GCSEs? What were your favourite? What were your least favourite? Did you change any? What did you do best in? Any advice?


What did you choose for GCSEs?Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Language, English Literature, History, Textiles, French, Citizenship,PE Btec
What were your favourites?Maths, Triple science, History, Textiles
What were your least favourites?English Language + Literature (always disliked English), PE Btec(had too much coursework and too many deadlines and it was compulsory for me because I was good at PE:biggrin:)
Did you change any?Nope - didn't really like some of my options at times, but looking back, I would have changed Textiles to Psychology due to me finding it interesting and doing at a level.
What did you do best in?Haven't got results back yet, but I know that I did best in Textiles with 75% of my C.A at an A* and hopefully maths.:redface:
Any advice? Use your notes from school and learn the topic from each day during the year from the start as it will be really easy by the time exam season comes.:smile: I would recommend that you start revising early as I only started in the Easter holidays which was quite late apart from when I revised for mocks. Start learning the vocab for your languages such as French from the start of year 10 if not the start of year 11 as it will make things a lot easier.:smile: I regret not doing this but meh:h:

Good luck to new year 11s:u:
What did you choose for GCSEs? Triple Science, Maths, English Lang, English Lit, RE, Law, History and Spanish

What were your favourites?
The sciences:h: and Spanish!

What were your least favourites?
I cannot tell you how much I disliked RE; I loved the subject but it was too lengthy.

Did you change any?
Nada

What did you do best in?
Waiting on my results (wish me luck)

Any advice?
Take interests in the subjects you've chose, give time to them all and most importantly, keep your head down. And also remember if you need any help, the TSR Community is here for you. Good luck!:h:
Reply 17
What did you choose for GCSEs?

English Language: A
English Literature: A
Mathematics: B
Biology: A*
Chemistry: A
Physics: A
Religious Studies: A*
French: A
Geography: A
History: A

Which was your favourite?

Biology

Which was your least favourite?

Religious Studies

Did you change any?

No
What did you do best in?

Biology

Any advice?

I HIGHLY reccomend you study Triple Science if you want to study a science at A Level, as it really helps.
What subjects did I choose?
I had to do English Lit, Lang, Maths, Additional Science and ICT. I also had to have an hour of PE and RE a week but thankfully there are no qualifications coming out of those XD

Then as my options I chose Business, German, Photography and History.

I decided to do English Baccalaureate so basically German and History were obvious choices for me straight away because I hated French and Geography.


Favourite subjects?
Maths, and then of my four choices it'd have to be Business.


Least favourite subjects?
English. English. English. 100%. And photography because it really got screwed up at our school, there was a horrific amount of work, a long as hell 10 hour exam and overall it was just a boring subject.


Did I change any subjects?
We were allowed to change within the first term, but I didn't. While choosing my options I was toying between Photography and Drama but evidently chose Photography in the end.


What subject did I do best and worst in?
My best was probably either Maths or Business I think but I don't know yet. Worst was definitely either English Literature or Photography.

(Notice how my love for the subject really impacts my performance...)


Any advice?
Controversial advice to give on TSR but don't let studies take over your life from day one, it isn't worth it. Pick what you enjoy, enjoy what you study and try your best.
Enjoy it because school is only gonna get harder from there.
What did you choose for GCSEs?

Compulsory:
English Language
English Literature
Maths
Biology
Physics
Chemistry

Well we got to choose in year 8 but I chose:
Childcare (changed to Geo in Year 9)
Drama
Media Studies
Art

and in Year 10 I had the choice of doing triple or double science, I chose triple.

What were your favourites?
Media, Drama and Art

What were your least favourites?
Geography, oh God that was my biggest regret!

Did you change any?
I changed childcare to geography because I changed my mind and geography was the only one left ;-;

What did you do best in?

I don't have my results yet, but I think I did best in Media since I enjoyed it and did lots of work and revision

Any advice?

Choose something you're happy with or the next few years will be really painful. If you have any problems or don't understand, ask the teacher because that's what they're there for! When you're in Year 11 (Or whatever year you do your GCSEs) start in March/April time revising and make a timetable because you can take time, absorb the information and just be calm instead of cramming it in. If you have the money, invest in revision guides because I did and it was a life saver, also this site was brilliant during my revision. I started in March while all my friends started like early May a few days before the exams and their panic was just horrible to see.

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