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GSCE option help?

Hi, im in yr 9 and I have to pick my options. I have already decided on:

German
History
Geography
Triple Science

The core subjects I am taking:

English Language & Literature
RS
PE(non-examined- 1 lesson a week- not gcse PE)
Maths ( I am doing higher level maths, which is basically further maths)

The thing is, I am not sure what to take between:

French
Business Studies
Textiles
Product Design

I want to do a science-based career, maybe medicine or veterinary, but I am not sure what other gcse option would benefit me? What do you think?
(edited 6 years ago)
By the way, I am not very confident with french due to the fact that I do not have great teachers....
For business , I am worried that it will be difficult and not very interesting...
Reply 2
Avatar for TedG30
TedG30
If you are not very confident and worried about french and business i would not recommend doing them
Reply 3
Avatar for TedG30
TedG30
I am also in year 9 and i have chosen to do French, History, RS, Science, Math , English and Computer Science (all higher) . I am also doing Geography and Astronomy outside of school self-teaching.
Original post by TedG30
If you are not very confident and worried about french and business i would not recommend doing them


I feel like I could do business, But i am not 100% sure. For French, I am only considering it because I do very well in German and I may only be finding it tough because we are learning all the yr 10 and 11 work now, so we can be very prepared. But, I feel like it may be a risk because I may get a bad teacher or I may just not do well in the listening paper or oral exam :frown:
Original post by TedG30
I am also in year 9 and i have chosen to do French, History, RS, Science, Math , English and Computer Science (all higher) . I am also doing Geography and Astronomy outside of school self-teaching.


From your point of view, do you think that GCSE French will be hard?
Reply 6
Avatar for TedG30
TedG30
If you want to have a science-based career none of those subjects really matter.
Reply 7
Avatar for Adelle21
Adelle21
2
Original post by sophieeliza
Hi, im in yr 9 and I have to pick my options. I have already decided on:

German
History
Geography
Triple Science

The core subjects I am taking:

English Language & Literature
RS
Maths ( I am doing higher level maths, which is basically further maths)

The thing is, I am not sure what to take between:

French
Business Studies
Textiles
Product Design

I want to do a science-based career, maybe medicine or veterinary, but I am not sure what other gcse option would benefit me? What do you think?


Hello,
Firstly, no one's advice is going to be the 100% correct thing to do, so when you choose an option, make sure it's your own decision. Nevertheless here is what I would recommend:

I really would not choose French, but this is only because you are also taking German. I'm currently just finishing Year 11, and for the past 2 years I've been working towards a French GCSE. As a subject, I'm glad I chose it. Although parts of it can be difficult to remember, it mainly involves learning rules and vocabulary. The only reason I would advise you to not take French is because you already plan to take another language, and I have no doubt that this will be confusing. For myself, french involved two speaking assessments, two writing assessments, and learning vocabulary and rules about grammar.

I have had no experience with textiles for at least three years, so I am not sure what it involves. I would assume that some of it is coursework-based, but as a subject I don't know a lot about it.

I didn't take product design, but from what I've heard, it's fairly hard work. However, all GCSEs require hard work so please don't be put off of this subject by rumours heard by someone who didn't even take it. But a lot of designing is involved, and also creating small metal tools apparently. Once again this knowledge is based on what I've seen and heard about this subject.

I would recommend business studies. I took it alongside french, psychology, food tech, and drama. Although there is a lot of content to remember, I wouldn't say that any of it is overly complicated once you've learnt it. In my opinion, it's mainly a subject based on memory. I also completed coursework for business studies. It took a few months but I managed to get an A*.

Out of the subjects you are considering, I took french and business studies, and the exam board was AQA. The content of any subject you take may be slightly different depending on the exam board your school has chosen for that subject.

Good luck choosing, and I wish you all the best for the next two years!
Feel free to message me if you want to speak any more about it.
Original post by Adelle21
Hello,
Firstly, no one's advice is going to be the 100% correct thing to do, so when you choose an option, make sure it's your own decision. Nevertheless here is what I would recommend:

I really would not choose French, but this is only because you are also taking German. I'm currently just finishing Year 11, and for the past 2 years I've been working towards a French GCSE. As a subject, I'm glad I chose it. Although parts of it can be difficult to remember, it mainly involves learning rules and vocabulary. The only reason I would advise you to not take French is because you already plan to take another language, and I have no doubt that this will be confusing. For myself, french involved two speaking assessments, two writing assessments, and learning vocabulary and rules about grammar.

I have had no experience with textiles for at least three years, so I am not sure what it involves. I would assume that some of it is coursework-based, but as a subject I don't know a lot about it.

I didn't take product design, but from what I've heard, it's fairly hard work. However, all GCSEs require hard work so please don't be put off of this subject by rumours heard by someone who didn't even take it. But a lot of designing is involved, and also creating small metal tools apparently. Once again this knowledge is based on what I've seen and heard about this subject.

I would recommend business studies. I took it alongside french, psychology, food tech, and drama. Although there is a lot of content to remember, I wouldn't say that any of it is overly complicated once you've learnt it. In my opinion, it's mainly a subject based on memory. I also completed coursework for business studies. It took a few months but I managed to get an A*.

Out of the subjects you are considering, I took french and business studies, and the exam board was AQA. The content of any subject you take may be slightly different depending on the exam board your school has chosen for that subject.

Good luck choosing, and I wish you all the best for the next two years!
Feel free to message me if you want to speak any more about it.



Thank you so much! You are so kind for helping me :smile: I will take your advice, and I might choose business, as it does sound quite good. I am currently taking a half-gcse course in Economics, and I am predicted an A, and I really enjoy the mathematics side of it as well as the key vocab learning. I feel like I need to improve on the questions involving the case studies. Are there many in the business exams?
French is vey difficult, and I wouldn't recommend it as you are already taking German. I'm in the middle of my Business course and it's interesting but also fun to do. It'll probably benefit you whilst applying to uni and looking for jobs as it is a good thing to have.
Original post by vfenner17
French is vey difficult, and I wouldn't recommend it as you are already taking German. I'm in the middle of my Business course and it's interesting but also fun to do. It'll probably benefit you whilst applying to uni and looking for jobs as it is a good thing to have.


Thank you for your input, I probably will end up taking business!
What does GSCE stand for then; I've never heard of it...
Original post by RoyalSheepy
What does GSCE stand for then; I've never heard of it...

Gecko something something something
Original post by feministy
Gecko something something something


It's a mystery
Original post by RoyalSheepy
It's a mystery


General Certificate (of) Secondary Education
Original post by sophieeliza
Thank you so much! You are so kind for helping me :smile: I will take your advice, and I might choose business, as it does sound quite good. I am currently taking a half-gcse course in Economics, and I am predicted an A, and I really enjoy the mathematics side of it as well as the key vocab learning. I feel like I need to improve on the questions involving the case studies. Are there many in the business exams?


My exams have all been from exam board AQA, so those are the only ones I know about. Other exam boards might be different, but here's the basic gist of an AQA business exam:

The whole exam will be based on case studies, I won't lie. There are three made up case studies, and they're different with every exam.
The structure of it is usually:
1. Case study to read
2. A couple of questions worth 1-2 marks
3. A couple of questions worth 4-6 marks
4. A question worth 9 marks

The above is the basic structure for one set of questions about a case study, and there are always three case studies in total. Once again, this is for the AQA exam board and I have no idea about other ones, I apologise :smile:
Business studies is a great subject, it's just based on memory of different aspects of businesses, and a whole lot of advantages and disadvantages :biggrin:
I hope this helps, feel free to message :smile:
id take business if i was you :smile:Textiles is good but has very intensive coursework, I'm currently doing it (Y10) and I'm finding it harder to keep up with than than all my other subjects! I wouldn't do french and german unless you really want a career in languages , Especially with those exams getting harder too! I took my french gcse in year 8/9 and it was much easier then than it is now :frown: As far as wanting a career in medicine goes, you would need to do Biology, Chemistry and maths/further maths at A level to get in usually and if you do well in you GCSEs then I'm sure you'll be fine :smile:Happy to answer any other questions, i took triple science, maths, english lang lit, geography, art ,textiles and BTEC PE (compulsory)
Honestly, as someone who is about to start university, dont bother worrying about your GCSE options. I know that right now they seem like the most importnat things in your life and will guide your entire life. but they honestly dont. If i could go back in time and tell myself one thing it would be just to do subjects i enjoy at GCSE rather than what i think will be useful later in life
Original post by sophieeliza
Hi, im in yr 9 and I have to pick my options. I have already decided on:

German
History
Geography
Triple Science

The core subjects I am taking:

English Language & Literature
RS
PE(non-examined- 1 lesson a week- not gcse PE)
Maths ( I am doing higher level maths, which is basically further maths)

The thing is, I am not sure what to take between:

French
Business Studies
Textiles
Product Design

I want to do a science-based career, maybe medicine or veterinary, but I am not sure what other gcse option would benefit me? What do you think?
Original post by sophieeliza
General Certificate (of) Secondary Education


A GSCE does not mean that, a GCSE does.

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