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Should I take history GCSE or food prep and nutrition?

Hi everyone,
I am in year 9 currently and am moving schools for year 10. This means I need to make a decision as quickly as possible.

I am generally interested in both history and food prep (well I think, I’ve never studied food prep before, but no one has before GCSE level) but I know history is highly looked upon by universities. I am good at essay based subjects but am worried about the amount of content in history. Is it too much to handle? Keep in mind I am taking a few heavy subjects.

I am also considering taking ict, which I’m not too interested in, but I am good at. What do you think?

As for food prep and nutrition, I’m not great at cooking but I could make up for it in theory. If you are studying any of these subjects, I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on it.

Thanks.

Reply 1

Caroline-Jane

Food prep has a lot of course work in it, it’s not easy. However, you get to cook which for some it may be fun. History is highly looked on and it shows you understanding of the past however it depends on what career path you think you might be heading, I’m in year 11 now and I took some pretty hard subjects such as music drama and computer science. But it’s because they will get me where I want to be. You have pick something you will enjoy doing for 2 years as well as it being the best way forward for you

Reply 2

Kirby...

Just pick history GCSE. Universities don't really look at your GCSEs unless you go to Oxford but they do look at your A levels. One of the prestigious A level is history so doing it at GCSE will allow you to do it at A level which works out better than doing food prep, like what are you going to do with that make toast in your interview?

Reply 3

eeeli

If I were you, I'd choose history. There's a lot of content, granted, but if you make good notes starting at the beginning of year ten, it shouldn't be too bad. And good essay writing skills get you a long way when it comes to picking up marks. Also, you can do History A-level if you have the GCSE. History will probably open more doors for you than Food Prep (unless you want a career in food). I'm in Year 11 and doing history, and I'd say the challenge is a lot more analysis skills and essay writing than remembering massive volumes of content. If you have a mind towards doing any humanities based career in the future then History is a good GCSE to have.

Reply 4

absolutelysprout

do whichever one you'd enjoy more. gcses don't matter too much but if you wanna take history for a-level or something obviously take it at gcse. what are your other subjects?

Reply 5

Chichaldo

Original post by Lianam3

Honestly? It doesn't particularly matter. So long as you get the grades and don't find the classes awful go for it. I would advocate history however, especially if you want to go to unversity. Just good practice and preparation for analysing and writing. Think about what A-Levels you wish to do also and compare what GCSEs are a logical step to those.

Reply 6

planettearth

lol unless like that guy said you're aiming for Oxford, GCSE's really dont matter, pick whichever one you like the best. A-Levels are what matter and if you're planning to do History for A-Level do it for GCSE.I would just like to stress again, GCSE's aren't that important for university (except english and maths) :smile:

Enjoy your GCSE's because they're like children's work compared to A-Levels where work load is like nothing else.

Reply 7

Anike6996

I’d say do which ever one you think u will do better in. I studied history at GCSE and food and history was a lot of information. The only reason i did well in it was due to learning how the exam questions are worded. So I studied exam questions rather than content and came out with an 8 because as with anything there’s a technique. As for food, if u can get in the 80s for your course work it really helps with your theory. I got 87/100 in the course and as the grade boundaries came out I deduced I only needed 57/100 in the paper to get a grade 7. Also for food I think the grade boundaries are always going to be low just because it isn’t popular and people do the bare minimum just to pass. So if u can really stand out it increases the possibility of making a good grade like a 8 or a 9.

Reply 8

Galila

Original post by Lianam3

if youre not interested in ict dont choose it you will start slacking off midway and then your grades will start falling off
i do gcse history rn (edexcel) and im enjoying it. if you dont know what you want to do when youre older , i think history is the safer option as it is a lot more widespread over different career paths and at a level it is seen as a very strong subject especially in russel group unis but idk about food and nutrition as i havent taken it

Reply 9

acheloisina

Personally, I’d choose History at GCSE. It’s something that is more favoured upon and I’ve recently sat my GCSE in history and the grade boundaries give you a lot of potential to excel. For example, I came out with a grade 8.

Reply 10

Galila

Original post by acheloisina

well done and congratulations on your 8- may i just ask what revision methods and sources you used to help you revise

Reply 11

Ðeggs

Original post by Lianam3

Food tech in my opinion is not prestigious or very well respected. Funnily enough I remember some of the "Football Boys" took it as they wanted to be able to eat and have an "Easy GCSE", and ended up with E and U grades. History is much better, personally I think it's important to gain insight into the past and what happened beforehand, it's wonderful knowledge that I still use in my a levels today.

Reply 12

acheloisina

Original post by Galila

well done and congratulations on your 8- may i just ask what revision methods and sources you used to help you revise

Honestly, I just decided to read a revision guide before each exam as well as focusing mainly on evidence. For example if you use PEEL as your structure. When using a revision guide take 2 key fact of each page for each topic. This way you’ll be able to remember and because you’ll be able to make a point, explain and use link, the evidence is all you need. So just write down key facts for each topic and remember dates. You don’t have to be precise just months and year. So overall, my advice is to get a revision guide and take 2 facts from each page. :smile:

Reply 13

Galila