In the UK, when students reach year 9 (or year 8 in some UK secondary schools), they face the often tricky situation of having  to choose what subjects to study for their GCSE exams. 

GCSE stands for the General Certificate of Secondary Education. The qualification is usually studied full-time at school or college, taking a total of 5 terms to complete.  Students will spend years 10 and 11 preparing to take the exams which usually happen in May and June of year 11. During year 10 students will get the opportunity to sit mock GCSE exams, which will help prepare them for the year 11 exams and highlight any areas needed for improvement. 

A new rule in 2014 was introduced that students have to pass their Maths and English GCSE exams to progress to sixth form or college - this means achieving a grade C (4) or above. If students don’t pass these subjects then they are required to retake them, with some sixth forms and colleges allowing students to do this alongside their Level 3 (A-Level, BTEC or similar) studies. 

To ensure you achieve the very best grades possible - and enjoy your two years of GCSE study - it’s important that you spend some time as early on as possible to think about which subjects you may enjoy studying at GCSE. We’ve compiled some need-to-know advice as general advice on choosing the subjects that best suit your interests and academic capabilities - take a read through below. 

How many subjects do you choose for GCSE?

Most students will do nine or ten subjects at GCSE,  depending on how your school organises the curriculum. 

These are a mixture between compulsory subjects and optional ones. The core GCSE subjects that every student is required to take are; English Language, English Literature, Maths, Science (2 GCSEs). 

Students can then choose an additional 4 subjects to study for GCSE. The options you choose for GCSE could include a humanities subject (Geography or History) , a language option (French, German, Spanish) or another subject your school offers which could include; music, triple science, physical education, philosophy and ethics. 

It’s worth noting that you are also required to study two additional compulsory GCSEs in the UK; Social Studies and Physical Education. However, these do not require any examinations, coursework or any other form of assessment. They are purely for recreational purposes.

Typical GCSE subjects

According to research done by the University of Cambridge, the most popular non-compulsory subjects chosen at GCSE include; Geography, History, French and Spanish. 

While all subjects are challenging and push students in different ways, Geography is reported as being the ‘easiest’ GCSE subject voted for by students in the UK which could indicate its popularity. It’s important to remember that while all students learn differently, it might be helpful for you to speak to older students who have done their GCSE exams already to get their opinion on how difficult certain subjects are. 

From the core compulsory subjects at GCSE, there is some regularity across the exam boards for what key skills the students will learn and be tested on:

English Language and Literature

The English language GCSE focuses more on developing students' reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. By comparison, the English literature GCSE is more focused on developing knowledge and understanding of prose, poetry and drama texts. 

At GCSE-level, both English Language and Literature are examined through a combination of both coursework during years 10 and 11, culminating with final exams at the end of year 11. As previously mentioned, you are now required to receive a C or above (4 or above) in both English GCSE subjects now. 

Maths

During your GCSE years, there are 6 main maths topics you will cover: Number, Algebra, Ratio, proportion and rates of change, Geometry and measure, Probability, and Statistics. There are 3 GCSE maths papers you will take at the end of year 11; paper 1: non-calculator, paper 2: calculator, paper 3: calculator. 

As with English, it’s important to remember that you are now required to pass your Maths GCSE exam.

Science

Across the GCSE years, students will cover core science in year 10 and additional science in year 11 (unless you have chosen to do triple science as one of your GCSE options). 

These classes cover an overview of Biology, Chemistry and Physics and students will get a grade at the end of studying core science, as well as another grade after the additional science exam in year 11. Up to 70% of students in the UK take additional science at GCSE and, as mentioned above, get two GCSE qualifications from this. 

Choosing subjects for GCSE

It’s never too soon to start thinking about what subjects you might want to choose for your GCSE options. While you may think that these exams will have little effect on your future, it’s important to remember that this isn’t true. 

You need GCSE grades to be accepted into the sixth form or college you will advance to after year 11, and even when you are applying to universities, they will look at your GCSE grades and compare them to your peers - so it’s vital that all students understand the importance of these exams. 

This isn’t to say that you need to feel overwhelmed when choosing your GCSE options. In fact,  we have come up with our top 5 tips to help you make the best decisions for you. And don’t forget, for more advice on how to choose the best GCSE subjects for you, and extra help you might need when preparing for your exams, you can visit our website to learn more about our online learning programmes.

How to choose subjects for GCSE: 5 top tips

We know that choosing your GCSE subjects can be difficult, especially when you have lots of interests across a whole range of different subject areas. Take a read through our 5 top snippets of advice to make that decision a little easier for you.

If you know what career you want in the future, choose subjects that will gear you towards that. If you have no clue, keep it broad and more generalised.

Do you already have an idea of what career you want to go into after school? If you do, this is the perfect chance to choose subjects that will help you get to the next stage of your academic journey. For example, if you want to pursue a career in science, then it would be a good idea to choose triple science as a GCSE option.

Choosing subjects that are relevant to the field you want to have a career in means you will be one step closer to your goal. It will also show university and job admission boards that you have been committed to this path from a young age and throughout your education; it demonstrates commitment and passion for the subject!

Alternatively, if you don’t have any idea what career you want to pursue after GCSEs, then keep your options more generalised and broad. What’s most important is that you choose subjects you enjoy and will thrive in; do you always look forward to your music class? That’s a great way to choose your GCSE subjects.

Pick subjects that you find interesting and will enjoy.

As mentioned before, the most important thing to think about when choosing your subjects for GSCEs is to pick ones that you have an interest in and will enjoy studying. When you enjoy learning about a particular subject, you will be more motivated to engage with the lessons and feel more passionate about the subject material which will ultimately lead to better results. 

As you get to choose four subjects for your GCSE exams, you have enough scope to pick the subjects you love - you don’t need to narrow down your options to just 1! Your options can be totally unique to you. If you love home economics and have always been interested in your French lessons, what’s stopping you from choosing those subjects? Don’t forget that these exams will lead you to the next stepping stone on your education journey, so focus on the subjects that will interest you the most. 

Don’t pick subjects just because your friends are choosing them.

This leads us on to our next piece of advice - alongside choosing subjects you feel passionate about and enjoy, don’t just choose subjects because your friends are choosing them. I know that when you’re choosing your GCSE options in year 9, it can feel tempting to choose the same subjects as your friendship group so you can have classes together and get to spend more time with each other. 

But make sure you don’t do this! Your GCSE options need to reflect your own interests and you need to choose them based on your future plans and the subjects that you want to study - not what your friends are studying. Your GCSEs are the first big step on your journey to academic success, so make sure your choices reflect this thought. After all, your friends won’t be sitting your GCSE exams for you.

Speak to your teachers about what subjects they think you are good at, as well as older students in school to learn more about the subjects.

It can be really helpful when choosing your GCSE options to get some outside perspective and advice on what other people think you may find beneficial to study. Your teachers will know your academic strengths and weaknesses probably even more than you do, so it’s a good idea to ask for their opinion when choosing which subjects to study. Your teachers will also have a clear idea of what the coursework and syllabus is like for certain GCSE subjects, so they can give you some unique insight into what you can expect. 

If you have friends in older years or siblings that have been through their GCSEs already, why not speak to them and get their advice as well? They will be able to tell you about their experiences going through GCSEs and what the options they chose were like, how difficult they found them, and whether they would recommend you choosing particular subjects. 

Just remember to take any advice from other students with a pinch of salt - aka, don’t take them too seriously. You’ll find that students definitely have a bias towards subjects they particularly enjoyed and disliked, and thus, could give you a slightly blurred depiction of the subject. Use their advice, along with your own judgement and research to ultimately make that final decision.

Look at the mark scheme for each subject.

Everyone learns in different ways and so when it comes to choosing your GCSE options it can be helpful to look at the specific mark schemes for the potential subjects you will choose. Some GCSE subjects, such as Arts and Drama, are based almost exclusively on coursework. So if you don’t enjoy taking exams, it might be helpful to consider which subjects are wholly exam based or which have an exam and coursework blend. 

The coursework for GCSE subjects is usually completed over the two years of GCSE study during years 10 and 11, which is something you should also consider if you would prefer pacing your assessments over the two years to complete rather than relying on exams at the end of year 11. 

Another great benefit of looking through the syllabi and mark schemes for different subjects is the fact that you can see what topics you will learn about during your two years of study. This is your opportunity to really think about your interests in the subject and glance into the future. If the sound of a few modules fills you with dread, then you know this subject may not be right for you. However, if you like the look of the majority of modules, then you know you’ll probably enjoy studying that particular subject at GCSE-level.

Mark schemes and syllabi are easy enough to access. First, you should ask your subject teacher or tutor if they can print them out for you. Failing that, a quick online search of the subject and exam board will bring up a number of downloadable resources for you to take a look at.

Explore GCSE subjects with a Melio course

At Melio, many of our students are approaching their GCSE years or are getting ready to take their end of year 11 exams and decide to do an online course to give them an academic boost ahead of those all important days. 

All of Melio’s 120+ tutors are experts in their subject field and you will be matched to one of them based on your subject choice and learning style to help you with your GCSE subjects, ensuring you get to where you need to be. 

Academic Online Courses run for two weeks during the summer months, which makes them ideal to complete during the summer holiday of year 10 when you are preparing for GCSE mock exams and getting ready to start your final year of GCSEs. On this course, you will work alongside like-minded students from around the world in classes of no more than 9 of you (we keep the class sizes small to ensure everyone gets enough personalised learning from the tutor).

At the end of the course you will receive a certificate of completion from Melio which you can add to your sixth form and university application as a demonstration of how motivated you are to advance your learning and get the most out of your education.

Alternatively, if you prefer working on your own, our One-on-One Tutorials course gives you the chance to work directly with one of our expert tutors. This course runs in hourly sessions (starting at 10) and is our more bespoke course. 

You have the opportunity to choose which subject material you would like to cover with your tutor, as well as the schedule to ensure the tutorial sessions fit around your studies and extracurricular activities. This course is ideal for those of you who would like extra support during the term time and exam season; an hour session a week, for example, will help you to keep up to date with your GCSE subjects and get the most out of your tutorials. 

For more information on our courses and the subjects we offer at Melio, visit our website or get in touch with our admissions team.