GCSE options
I’m dead set on 2 of my options and they are all available in my school. These are triple science GCSE and history GCSE. The third and fourth ones, however, are less so. In option C there are two subjects I want to pick, (German GCSE and music BTEC) and in D there are none. There is French but I rly struggle with French and I’m already doing German. If I start doing French, I’m gonna start speaking French in my German exam, and German in my French exam! There’s business which my parents keep saying I should do but I went to an enterprise thing in my school and I was horrible at it. Sports studies… is kinda boring and I hate PE as it is. I think there is also RE, which is more ethics and stuff like that, but I’m not rly interested. My teacher did say she would try and move music to option D, as there were more issues about that option block, but I rly need a fallback plan just in case miss can’t sort it out.
Reply 1
Original post
by Sophjo0902I’m dead set on 2 of my options and they are all available in my school. These are triple science GCSE and history GCSE. The third and fourth ones, however, are less so. In option C there are two subjects I want to pick, (German GCSE and music BTEC) and in D there are none. There is French but I rly struggle with French and I’m already doing German. If I start doing French, I’m gonna start speaking French in my German exam, and German in my French exam! There’s business which my parents keep saying I should do but I went to an enterprise thing in my school and I was horrible at it. Sports studies… is kinda boring and I hate PE as it is. I think there is also RE, which is more ethics and stuff like that, but I’m not rly interested. My teacher did say she would try and move music to option D, as there were more issues about that option block, but I rly need a fallback plan just in case miss can’t sort it out.
Hey @Sophjo0902 , I hope you are doing great! This is actually a really sensible dilemma to be thinking through so it is good that you are asking about it. You are not being difficult or picky at all, I always say you would rather set yourself up to make sure you enjoy whatever it is you are doing. As someone who did History, Geography, English Language and English Literature, I think I somewhat understand!
Firstly, I think you have already made strong choices, triple science plus history is a solid combo. Those subjects keep loads of doors open, so you are not messing up your options overall. I would definitely say filling that last space in a way that won't drain you is what is most important.
About German and French together
Doing two similar languages at GCSE can be confusing, not necessary unless you love languages, risky if you already struggle with one of them.
You are not silly for worrying about mixing them up, it happens all the time. If French already feels hard, I would not recommend forcing it just because it is there.
About Business
I think it is important to mention that you actually do not need GCSE Business to do business-related things later
If you did not enjoy the enterprise thing and you felt uncomfortable that is a big hint. GCSE Business will not magically feel better just because it is on paper instead of practical - my friends who did Business for A-level have definitely said that. I will never recommend doing a subject you actively disliked for two years.
Sports Studies/PE
Again, I will never recommend doing something you hate 😂. Picking something you already find boring or uncomfortable usually just leads to resentment and stress.
RE
I will be honest with you, RE sounds like the least painful fallback in this situation. This is mostly because it's more discussion than religion, not that much coursework, skills overlap with history and it is less content heavy than sciences or languages.
A lot of people I know who did it found it manageable.
MUSIC BTEC
It is good that your teacher is trying to move it especially because you want this subject. BTECs suit practical learners, reward consistency not just exams and can be a nice balance with heavy academic subjects. So your plan A makes sense.
A realistic Plan B
If music unfortunately cannot be moved, my honest ranking for you would be:
1.
RE: most manageable, least miserable
2.
Business: only if you truly think you could tolerate it
3.
French/Sports: Absolutely last resort
Lastly, I just want to say again that you are allowed to choose the option that causes the least stress and you know you will do well in. Universities and sixth form care far more about your grades and core subjects. I wish you all the best 🙂
Ru
BCU student rep.
Reply 2
Original post
by Sophjo0902I’m dead set on 2 of my options and they are all available in my school. These are triple science GCSE and history GCSE. The third and fourth ones, however, are less so. In option C there are two subjects I want to pick, (German GCSE and music BTEC) and in D there are none. There is French but I rly struggle with French and I’m already doing German. If I start doing French, I’m gonna start speaking French in my German exam, and German in my French exam! There’s business which my parents keep saying I should do but I went to an enterprise thing in my school and I was horrible at it. Sports studies… is kinda boring and I hate PE as it is. I think there is also RE, which is more ethics and stuff like that, but I’m not rly interested. My teacher did say she would try and move music to option D, as there were more issues about that option block, but I rly need a fallback plan just in case miss can’t sort it out.
Hey @Sophjo0902,
Some great advice above. Have you looked through any of the subject specifications for Group D yet? These can be found on your exam board's website (e.g. AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC). You mentioned that you attended an enterprise event that you didn't enjoy, but the GCSE Business specification itself is likely very different to the material covered throughout that event. You may find that once you've read through the specifications of each subject, one or two might stand out - the topics in RE could sound more interesting than you expected, for example.
Hopefully your teacher is able to move Music BTEC into Group D so you can study both German and Music. 🙂
Hope this helps,
Eve (Kingston Rep).
Original post
by Sophjo0902I’m dead set on 2 of my options and they are all available in my school. These are triple science GCSE and history GCSE. The third and fourth ones, however, are less so. In option C there are two subjects I want to pick, (German GCSE and music BTEC) and in D there are none. There is French but I rly struggle with French and I’m already doing German. If I start doing French, I’m gonna start speaking French in my German exam, and German in my French exam! There’s business which my parents keep saying I should do but I went to an enterprise thing in my school and I was horrible at it. Sports studies… is kinda boring and I hate PE as it is. I think there is also RE, which is more ethics and stuff like that, but I’m not rly interested. My teacher did say she would try and move music to option D, as there were more issues about that option block, but I rly need a fallback plan just in case miss can’t sort it out.
Could you do french, then in the option block before do something else (e.g. the music) instead of the german. You will still only be doing the 1 language then.
Reply 4
Original post
by Sophjo0902I’m dead set on 2 of my options and they are all available in my school. These are triple science GCSE and history GCSE. The third and fourth ones, however, are less so. In option C there are two subjects I want to pick, (German GCSE and music BTEC) and in D there are none. There is French but I rly struggle with French and I’m already doing German. If I start doing French, I’m gonna start speaking French in my German exam, and German in my French exam! There’s business which my parents keep saying I should do but I went to an enterprise thing in my school and I was horrible at it. Sports studies… is kinda boring and I hate PE as it is. I think there is also RE, which is more ethics and stuff like that, but I’m not rly interested. My teacher did say she would try and move music to option D, as there were more issues about that option block, but I rly need a fallback plan just in case miss can’t sort it out.
Take business its rlly easy and most of it is common sense, it’s the least painful option in my opinion re is also super easy too
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 5
Original post
by Sophjo0902I’m dead set on 2 of my options and they are all available in my school. These are triple science GCSE and history GCSE. The third and fourth ones, however, are less so. In option C there are two subjects I want to pick, (German GCSE and music BTEC) and in D there are none. There is French but I rly struggle with French and I’m already doing German. If I start doing French, I’m gonna start speaking French in my German exam, and German in my French exam! There’s business which my parents keep saying I should do but I went to an enterprise thing in my school and I was horrible at it. Sports studies… is kinda boring and I hate PE as it is. I think there is also RE, which is more ethics and stuff like that, but I’m not rly interested. My teacher did say she would try and move music to option D, as there were more issues about that option block, but I rly need a fallback plan just in case miss can’t sort it out.
thats really annoying that there isnt any subjects you're really interested in for your last option. My advice would be to ask the subject teachers for the options in that block what exam board they do and then look at the specification and past exam papers and see which one looks the most appealing or you think you would be able to do best at. I took Edexcel RE and found the ethics part really interesting and the exam format wasn't too bad but I wouldn't recommend it if ethics isn't your thing. A lot of people in my year who took business GCSE said it was very manageable and relatively easy to get good grades if you have a decent teacher. Definitely don't take French unless you're already quite good at it or have an interest because French GCSE lessons are incredibly boring
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