Have I picked the wrong GCSEs?

7

I am in Year 9 and we’ve just chosen our GCSE subjects. We have to do Triple Science, Maths, English Lit and English Lang and I’ve chosen Religious Studies, History, Drama and French. This is where the problem is: I want to be an interior designer when I’m older but I don’t like art and I don’t know what to get rid of to do Design and technology. I have had a look at courses for A Level interior design and it seems like you need to do Art or D.T which I haven’t. I’ve also looked online at online gcse design and it seems to be:1. Very expensive 2. Either art or photography (photography doesn’t sound too bad but I don’t know if that would help very much with doing Interior Design). I know this is quite a specific situation but if anyone has had anything like this happen to them, what did you do?

Reply 1

zero7

14

There's always time to change your subjects. If I was you, I'd change History for DT, as so many people have told me they regret choosing History. There's so much content, and the actual GCSE paper consists of many, many long essays. However, if you know you'll get a good grade in History and you don't mind essays, take it.

If you're concerned about being able to change, it's only May, and Year 10 starts in September. Many of my friends ended up changing from Art to the likes of Food Tech, RS and DT. So don't worry about changing your choices too late. Always ask.

If changing isn't an option, I've heard that some colleges will accept a portfolio of artwork to see whether or not you would be suitable for an artistic A-Level.

Hope this helped! Xx

Reply 2

yellow74

OP

7

Thank you so much! I think I might consider changing history or maybe trying to do it online? I really like it but my sister is doing history currently and it’s really stressing her out so it might be a good idea for me to change it. I’ll definitely consider this, thanks again xxx

Reply 3

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by yellow74

I am in Year 9 and we’ve just chosen our GCSE subjects. We have to do Triple Science, Maths, English Lit and English Lang and I’ve chosen Religious Studies, History, Drama and French. This is where the problem is: I want to be an interior designer when I’m older but I don’t like art and I don’t know what to get rid of to do Design and technology. I have had a look at courses for A Level interior design and it seems like you need to do Art or D.T which I haven’t. I’ve also looked online at online gcse design and it seems to be:1. Very expensive 2. Either art or photography (photography doesn’t sound too bad but I don’t know if that would help very much with doing Interior Design). I know this is quite a specific situation but if anyone has had anything like this happen to them, what did you do?

So your question is, "Should I drop Religious Studies, History, Drama or French in order to pick-up Design & Technology?"

Of those four, which do you enjoy least and/or are likely to get the lowest grade in? Drop that one. :smile:

Reply 4

yellow74

OP

7

I can’t drop French (school doesn’t allow it 😕) which is annoying bc if I could I would definitely but, as for the other subjects, idk what I would do worst in (I like them all equally) as we only get grades for r.s and history currently so I can’t really decide for drama so idk but thx x

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 5

awdekk

3

trust me if you were to drop any subject for dt drop history or drama 😭 i chose history because i found it fun... but it is such a pain in gcse since theres so much content, dates, people etc etc that its hard to do along side all your other subjects. however if youre willing to go through all that, history would be more useful than drama if you want to be an interior designer, since depending on what topics you get, you learn the tiniest amount about buildings and allat, which i suppose might be useful to you.

either way, the gcses you pick dont really matter for what career path you want, its mainly alevels. sure they can provide the most fundamental understanding, but you'd probably learn that in a level anyways, so just pick whatever you believe you'd get the best grade in! since colleges/sixth forms only really care about your grades rather than the subject.

Reply 6

yellow74

OP

7

Tysm this is really helpful. I’m going to see if DT is required for an a level in interior design thx again x

Reply 7

cl0ud5

3

Original post by yellow74

I am in Year 9 and we’ve just chosen our GCSE subjects. We have to do Triple Science, Maths, English Lit and English Lang and I’ve chosen Religious Studies, History, Drama and French. This is where the problem is: I want to be an interior designer when I’m older but I don’t like art and I don’t know what to get rid of to do Design and technology. I have had a look at courses for A Level interior design and it seems like you need to do Art or D.T which I haven’t. I’ve also looked online at online gcse design and it seems to be:1. Very expensive 2. Either art or photography (photography doesn’t sound too bad but I don’t know if that would help very much with doing Interior Design). I know this is quite a specific situation but if anyone has had anything like this happen to them, what did you do?

don't take art, I took it and hated it. its super hard to get a good grade and the coursework is genuinely ridiculous. French and history are both pretty hard. history has a lot of content, French is a new language and the verbs are hard to learn. I'd recommend you drop either of those and take up dt instead. how is dt expensive? if your school is offering dt they must have their own workshop right? I think dt is the best for what you want to do - it's directly linked. you can take art if you really dont have another option, but you already do 10 subjects and I'd recommend against it. if you cant decide then just keep your current options, because you can take a levels subjects without having done them in GCSE. and you don't need interior design in A level to do it in uni.. maths, dt, art, etc is good. I think art in a level might be a bit more manageable due to only 3 subjects.

Reply 8

yellow74

OP

7

Hi, thanks this is really helpful, I meant it would be expensive if I was going to do it outside of school (online) but I think I might just stick with my current options as I'm having a really hard time deciding. Tysm

Reply 9

xAspect

11

Original post by yellow74

I can’t drop French (school doesn’t allow it 😕) which is annoying bc if I could I would definitely but, as for the other subjects, idk what I would do worst in (I like them all equally) as we only get grades for r.s and history currently so I can’t really decide for drama so idk but thx x

Coming from a history student (and a French nerd, so may be slightly biased): History is genuinely my least favourite subject. The amount of useless information we have to cram into our heads is genuinely ridiculous, I'm literally just going to revise the night before my exams and cross my fingers for a 7. If the content was actually interesting, it wouldn't be a problem because I would actually WANT to learn it, however, the entirety of the Cold War topic is more boring than (and felt as tedious as) watching a snail finish a marathon. In my opinion, it's a no-brainer. Drop history, save yourself years of torture, do DT, get a good qualification in a subject you like, and be prepared for your future. My girlfriend does DT and absolutely loves it, she says it's great. Good luck in deciding! :biggrin:

Reply 10

exemplary-conga

8

Original post by yellow74

I am in Year 9 and we’ve just chosen our GCSE subjects. We have to do Triple Science, Maths, English Lit and English Lang and I’ve chosen Religious Studies, History, Drama and French. This is where the problem is: I want to be an interior designer when I’m older but I don’t like art and I don’t know what to get rid of to do Design and technology. I have had a look at courses for A Level interior design and it seems like you need to do Art or D.T which I haven’t. I’ve also looked online at online gcse design and it seems to be:1. Very expensive 2. Either art or photography (photography doesn’t sound too bad but I don’t know if that would help very much with doing Interior Design). I know this is quite a specific situation but if anyone has had anything like this happen to them, what did you do?

When you say you don't know what to get rid of, does this mean that your school does dt? Because what I would choose is graphics and swap it for either RS or Drama. I think for A-level when they say you need most of the time its for a portfolio- which you don't need to take art for but it is helpful to- and most of the time they want you to experience the process of coursework as is imitates how you go through designing something for a client- which is what you do in interior design.
By now, you are prob in yr10 where you can always change your subjects. If RS isn't manditory please get rid of it unless you are looking to be a religious figure when you're older as from experience, its only good for essay writing subject in a-level. As you want a more creative career its best for you to have more creative subjects- similar to you, I want to do design and I've done art and dt along with french and history so its a shout but its a lot of coursework to have both- like drama and dt as I struggled with time management on both revising other subjects and deadlines for the coursework... lol
Either way art is gunna have to be something you have to be good at... so make sure you're good at art. I don't think online design would be very good since it'll be online so it'll be harder for you to actually work around that- you'll need your own materials and it'll be very difficult to catch up if you fall behind. Also it'll be like art...

It'll be easier for you to do art since it's in school (so they pay for you to take the exam) and you'll have better ways to time manage. Then again it's very important to decide on your benefit and maybe its best if you speak to a career guidance leader in your school as they'll be able to tell you their expert ideas. Please judge for yourself what you want to do with this info, no one can choose for you what you want to do.
Good luck to you finding your match...

Reply 11

MartynaS2005

5

Original post by yellow74

I am in Year 9 and we’ve just chosen our GCSE subjects. We have to do Triple Science, Maths, English Lit and English Lang and I’ve chosen Religious Studies, History, Drama and French. This is where the problem is: I want to be an interior designer when I’m older but I don’t like art and I don’t know what to get rid of to do Design and technology. I have had a look at courses for A Level interior design and it seems like you need to do Art or D.T which I haven’t. I’ve also looked online at online gcse design and it seems to be:1. Very expensive 2. Either art or photography (photography doesn’t sound too bad but I don’t know if that would help very much with doing Interior Design). I know this is quite a specific situation but if anyone has had anything like this happen to them, what did you do?

I'd say drop the subject you are least bothered about, but yes for interior design a levels they do require some sort of art related subject, though I mean if you do end up keeping your current subject and doing alevels you still have the option to do extended diploma or a foundation course in art, I went to leeds arts university foundation course on which they didn't require any previous background in art and just wanted a few images which represent your work, I hope this helps :smile:

Have I picked the wrong GCSEs?

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