Cinnamon Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 My youngest is in year 10 & has almost completed her first half term studying her core subects,plus her additional 4 subjects at GCSE level (History,Media,Art & seperate sciences) She has come home & told me that she is finding it all too much,especially the sciences,all of which have a lot of coursework to them....she is really not happy So, she wants to drop all of her extra subjects apart for one (History) & do a Creative & Media Diploma instead,& I wondered if anyone here has any experience of these? She is very much into the creative side of life & is hoping to go into Journalism one day,& the Diploma,which is equivilant to 7 GCSE's at A* - C grade, covers art,media,photography,graphics & heaps more. She will study at the local college one day a week too. She will still study the basics at GCSE level (English,Maths,RE,Science,additional science, ICT) & will keep one extra option which will be History. Has anyone else got a child doing a Diploma - we need to decide by tomorrow morning if she is going to swap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scramble Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 As a GCSE student who is currently doing their chemistry coursework as we speak I think she should go for what she enjoys. I like science but I do think it can be a bit much...especially when you have 7 science lessons in 5 days. It sounds like a good choice if she is continuing with English,Maths,RE,Science,additional science and ICT. She will either have to take the diploma or maybe consider extra tutoring after school? I personally think she should go for it It sounds like a good course and I think she would enjoy it more, which really helps. Good Luck with the decision. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 She will either have to take the diploma or maybe consider extra tutoring after school? No, she will do both - the diploma is done for one whole day a week at college & a few lessons at school over the week, with the rest at school too. So, with the diploma worth 7 GCSE's,she should come out of school with 14 or so. Shes a bright girl,but I think she is finding the art & sciences all too much -especially physics, which she loathes She is also not ken to do dissection in Biology,being a veggie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poachedegg Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I agree that you should do what you're good at and enjoy - however the discussion that was had last year when I was a governor at DS's school was that as they are new, employers and colleges are not au fait with what a diploma actually is and therefore can sometimes put them off and at our school it would be the 'lesser able' that would probably go for them. However, we were only going to offer one and that was in Catering. Also, once she took the Diploma, it would be virtually impossible to change back should she change her mind. Good luck with your choices! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scramble Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I know how she feels, Physics annoys me sometimes There are always virtual disections for Biology though Hope she chooses what suits her style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Our headteacher has given our school what I think is a very good motto which is 'insiring learners for their future'. He has a very strong view that secondary school should inspire students to want to continue to learn. It sounds like in order for your daughter to do that she needs to make some changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Diplomas are the way to go. They are being brought in for all 14-19 year olds but some areas are slower than others to get organised. It often depends how well they get on with the local college. They are always ahead of the game where you live, Cinnamon, so you're lucky. She'll be doing the Higher one from the sound of it. There's lots of information on this - http://yp.direct.gov.uk/diplomas/what_is_a_diploma. Tricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 Thanks all. Its decided - she is going to change to the diploma & she is so excited to be doing it It will be great for her to get used to the college too, so we have hopes that she will settle into her studies quickly. Thanks for the info Tricia,that was really helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Diplomas are the way to go. They are being brought in for all 14-19 year olds but some areas are slower than others to get organised. It often depends how well they get on with the local college. They are always ahead of the game where you live, Cinnamon, so you're lucky. She'll be doing the Higher one from the sound of it. There's lots of information on this - http://yp.direct.gov.uk/diplomas/what_is_a_diploma. Tricia My daughter is at a local grammar - diplomas are the way things are going. At my daughters options evening in the summer (she is also in year 10 now) the school was predicting in 2-3 years time the GCSE options will all be replaced by diplomas - so it will become far more common. As a University we have been involved in the setting up of these and working with schools & colleges to ensure progression routes to degrees. I agree with Patricia W that she is lucky to have such an option now and she should go for it - my daughter's school was only offering one engineering/design based diploma this year - more choices do not start until next year. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poachedegg Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Glad the decision was easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenNutter Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 As a GCSE student who is currently doing their chemistry coursework as we speak x No Scramble, you are not doing your chemistry homework, like I am not doing my post-grad research project. We are both having an Omlet break Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scramble Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Glad she is excited about the diploma As a GCSE student who is currently doing their chemistry coursework as we speak x No Scramble, you are not doing your chemistry homework, like I am not doing my post-grad research project. We are both having an Omlet break Ahaa.. I seem to have been having a lot of Omlet breaks Trust me...it is waaaay more interesting than phytomining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenNutter Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Glad she is excited about the diploma As a GCSE student who is currently doing their chemistry coursework as we speak x No Scramble, you are not doing your chemistry homework, like I am not doing my post-grad research project. We are both having an Omlet break Ahaa.. I seem to have been having a lot of Omlet breaks Trust me...it is waaaay more interesting than phytomining. And waaaay more interesting that 'Corporate Social Responsibility in the Public Sector' too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Glad she made the decision - it sounds like the right one was made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Hope she enjoys her diploma Just a little word of caution, that when ES was signing up for A levels in the sciences last year, they weren't allowing anyone with the BTec in science to sign up for separate sciences at A level. The jump from BTec to A level is huge Although I guess that once down the diploma course then can you continue on it? Karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Hope she enjoys her diploma Just a little word of caution, that when ES was signing up for A levels in the sciences last year, they weren't allowing anyone with the BTec in science to sign up for separate sciences at A level. The jump from BTec to A level is huge Although I guess that once down the diploma course then can you continue on it? Karen x You can do advance diploma/higher diplomas and get Uni entry that way, you do not need to do A levels. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
