How to choose your GCSE options?

The student has to choose the GCSE subjects when they are 13 years or 14 years old and when they want to study in year 9. Most of the students choose 9 or 10 GCSEs so that it favours the student during admission to the university and college where they prefer the student who has a wide range of subjects. Thus it is important for you to know how to choose your GCSEs.

Quick Takeaways

• While choosing your GCSEs, you must take care of the following points-

Figure out which subjects are compulsory.
find out what options they have. 
focus on your passion and aspiration. 
Think of a good subject combination. 
Review the skill set and strength. 
Seek guidance from a career advisor. 
Don’t be influenced by others. 
Plan a realistic schedule. 
Think about GCSE that will complement the level choices.

We have further discussed these points in detail in order to help you understand, how can they help you in selecting GCSE options.

How to choose your GCSE options?

You should choose the GCSE or IGCSE options wisely. This is because they are very useful for your further studies and future career and you should have grades between 9 and 4 for a minimum of 5 subjects.

So the student should pick the right courses which are good for their present and for their future also. Some people also believe that the GCSEs are hard and thus you must choose them, with more care. It is because after completing your year 11 or GCSEs, you will be taking up your A-levels. The following are some tips for choosing a GCSE subject-

1. Figure out which subjects are compulsory

The student has to choose the core subjects such as math, English language, and science. There are some foundation subjects such as IT/computing, physical education, citizenship, etc. If the student wants to study science further the subject is divided into three more topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics.

Further, you have to choose the optional courses which are the subjects in which you have a personal interest and which can be used for your further plans. You can also take these subjects privately by sitting at home.

2. Find out what options they have

The school offers the student four categories from which the student has to choose at least one subject such as:

• Modern foreign languages
• Humanity subjects
• Artistic subjects
• Technical subjects.

Modern foreign languages

In this, the school offers the student foreign languages that will be taught to them during the course such as French, German and Spanish.

Humanity subjects

Humanity subjects teach you about history, geography, religious studies, and social science.

Artistic subjects

The student in this subject will learn about music, drama, art and design, and media studies. If you are interested in this field you can choose the subject.

Technical subjects

Here the student will learn about design and technology, food technology, and computer science.

3. Focus on the passion and aspirations

Choose the subjects in which you have a passion to learn about it. Choosing a subject in which you have no interest will result in bad grades. When you will be getting your result, you will see the mark equivalent option that will help you to compare your grades. So you should choose the subject in which you are interested rather than wasting your time on non-interesting subjects. If you are homeschooled, you do not need to take up GCSEs. It means that you can focus more on your passion.

4. Think of a good subject combination

The student should choose the subject which makes a good combination. It should be a balance of complex subjects such as core subjects and soft subjects. It would help if you thought of taking both hard and soft subjects. When we talk about hard subjects which include math, English, economics, etc, whereas the soft subjects are photography, media studies, art, and design, etc. Also, focus on which tier (foundation and hard) you want to take in GCSEs. You can switch between the tiers when you find the GCSE hard.

5. Review the skillset and strength

You should know about your learning skills and what your strengths are. There are some students who choose the GCSE subject which is coursework based and some students select it as an exam based. There are some students who select the combination of coursework-based and exam based. So the student should first examine their strength and the ability to work under pressure and score good grades.

6. Seek guidance

The student at the age of nine will not be able to choose what subject will be good for their life. So, you can seek advice from your elders or career advisors who will have the knowledge about your skills and what is your goal in life. They will advise you which option to select further. It will help you not to fail the exam.

Conclusion

The student should choose the subject they are interested in and what will be useful for their career. if they choose the subject just by looking at others it will affect their total grade on the GCSE which is considered to be important for their university career and job opportunities.

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