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Early starter

bettyboop21atya

My son is 9 years and would like to take geography GCSE , how do I go about doing this???

Reply 1

Muttley79

Original post by bettyboop21atya

My son is 9 years and would like to take geography GCSE , how do I go about doing this???

You wait until he is in Year 11 :smile:

If he takes it early that grade has to be declared in future ...

Reply 2

EOData

I've known pupils at primary school take GCSEs (various foreign languages and Maths) but you have to ask: what's the point? If he's interested in Geography then he can learn loads about it without bothering with the narrow confines of a GCSE. The GCSE has issues round proving you're dong the required fieldwork if you aren't being taught in school and turning up at secondary school having already done GCSE Geography will just be annoying. By all means read about the aspects of Geography that interest him but don't get him to bother with the GCSE.

Reply 3

Muttley79

Original post by EOData

We've had a few arrive with Maths grade C/4 [Foundation] parents are so proud. I have to break it to them that this grade goes on UCAS and subsequently they often struggle in class.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 4

PinkMobilePhone

Volunteer Team

As a home educating parent I don't see a problem with kids sitting exams early, if they are ready for it. I don't think there are many children at 9 years old who would be able to ace a Geography exam. Have you had a look at some of the past papers and the specification? It's really quite complex.

We thought long and hard about deciding which exams our Year 7 child should take, and it's based on a few factors:
1) He's a September kid, so yes he's Year 7, but if he were born just three weeks earlier he'd be in Year 8 now, so by the time he takes his exams he'll be only a few months off turning 13.
2) We opted for Biology. My daughter took it last year and generally speaking the questions are quite straight forward. There's no essay writing, it's mostly just a lot of memorisation of terminology, which experiments test for which substances, and so on. With a lot of flash cards and practice papers, it's a relatively straight forward subject. At the moment he's averaging at grade 7 on practice papers, and we still have a few months to go before the actual exams
3) For his other subject we opted for Computer Science. This kid lives and breathes programming. He's been learning Python since he was in Year 5. If there's anything that would be "his" subject, it's Comp Sci.
4) He's not doing them alone. His Year 10 brother is also doing Biology this year, and both his Year 10 brother and Year 11 sister are doing Comp Sci this year. This means he has a lot of support from them if he's stuck on anything - they all do, in fact.
5) We use tutor support. He's enrolled with HomeMade Education for Biology, and LearnTec for Comp Sci.
6) He's just generally a bright kid. I know that sounds a bit braggy, but he picks things up quickly, and wraps his head around things quite quickly, and remembers things pretty well.

However a subject like Geography is more difficult, and I wouldn't put him through it at his age. You really need to look at what's required for a subject before jumping into it.

We're going with:

Year 7: Biology and Comp Sci (for reasons stated above)
Year 8: Environmental Management (a pretty straight forward subject with no arduous essay writing) and Maths (he's already studying the Maths course, but he's studying it over 2 years)

Then 2 more in Year 9, and 2 more in Year 10. Not sure which ones yet. English will be in there somewhere, of course, as it's a pretty core subject.

I would say that Environmental Management would be better for a younger child than Geography, and it would give them some grounding before tackling Geography at a later age...
but still... nine years old is very very young to take anything really, unless you have a young Sheldon on your hands.
I'm not saying it's impossible, maybe you really do have an exceptionally gifted child, but it would be very rare to find a child that is able to get very high grades at the age of 9.

It's your choice, of course, but I would advise you to find an easier subject, and maybe start in a couple of years time rather than at the age of 9.
For Geography and any other humanities subjects I highly recommend Humanatees Tutoring, but I think even Jake (the guy who runs Humanatees) might balk a little at a 9 year old attempting it.

Whatever you decide anyway, best of luck.

Reply 5

BlueChicken

Original post by bettyboop21atya

My son is 9 years and would like to take geography GCSE , how do I go about doing this???

Practicality-wise, you need course materials and somewhere to take the exam (i.e. registered exam centre).

For course materials, look at the specification from the appropriate exam board web site, view the teaching resources they have on that site too and either get relevant text book(s) or sign up with an online course provider.

The local secondary school might allow him to sit it, alongside the Yr 11s, but you may well have to pay a fee. Else, you pay a fee and register as a private candidate at an exam centre. Either way, he needs to be registered for the exam in the appropriate year (there is also a decline for this, else you pay an extra late fee). If there is any part of the qualification that requires examination of a practical element, the exam centre should be able to help with that too (for a fee).

Good luck.