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As a parent or carer, you have an important role to play in supporting your young person to explore their options and make decisions about their future. We're here to help you each step of the way.
Choosing their GCSE subjects is probably the first important decision your young person will need to make in their education journey. We want to help you feel equipped to support them in exploring all the options and making GCSE subject choices with confidence.
On this page, we've collated useful information, practical advice, and relevant resources to help you each step of the way, from understanding the subjects on offer to preparing for GCSE study. Use our Road to GCSEs resource, designed in tandem with this webpage, to guide you through the whole process. Alternatively, you can go off-road and explore this page at your own pace.
1. GCSE options launch
Every school will have a slightly different process and timeline when it comes to GCSE options. For this reason, your young person's school is the best source of information around navigating the process.
We understand that it can sometimes be tricky to find the information you need. Let's break down what you need to know and how you might be able to gather that information:
2. Get talking!
As a parent or carer, you can help your young person to choose the right GCSE options for them by being a sounding board for their interests, feelings, and thoughts about the future.
However your young person is feeling about choosing their GCSEs, it's important to ensure two things:
Keep talking. Make sure you're having regular conversations with them to find out how they are feeling and how you can support them.
Let them take the lead. Support them to take responsibility for their own decisions about the future.
Whether they know what they want to do in the future or they don't have a clue, its important that they develop self-awareness and build confidence in themselves.
Curious Questions
Unlock conversations about GCSEs with your young person and help them get curious about the future.
Curious Questions is a card game designed to unlock conversations between you and your young person about their interests, feelings, GCSE choices, and future.
There are no winners or losers! The aim of the game is to spark fun, low-stakes conversations that can help your young person develop self-awareness.
Our Outreach team will be popping up at GCSE options events in schools across Norfolk, so keep an eye out on school communications to see if we're coming your way. Come and find us to chat about what support we can offer, ask any questions, and pick up a Curious Questions game pack to take home.
If you can't get hold of a physical game pack, here are some example questions to get you started:
Got a physical pack of Curious Questions cards at home? Get creative and find your own ways to play! Here are some suggestions:
Attach one question card to the fridge each day. Everyone must answer the question before leaving the house!
Send a question to your young person through WhatsApp or text to play from a distance.
Play as a family after dinner or on a long car journey.
Encourage your young person to answer one question a day in their journal or notebook.
Leave the game set up so you can continue the conversation where you left off last time.
3. How to access support
There are people in school who can help and offer advice. Find out who you and your young person can talk to with any questions or concerns. This might be a form tutor, subject teacher, Head of Year, or careers lead.
4. Parents' evenings and progress reports
Knowledge of your young person's progress at school can help you support them to make informed decisions about their GCSE options.
Schools often share progress reports with parents and carers. You can also find out key information about your young person's progress at parents' evenings.
It's important to prepare any questions you want to ask teachers and other school staff. What would you like to find out? What questions could you ask that your young person may not have thought about?
5. GCSE options events
GCSE options events give you an overview of the options process, insight into what happens in Year 10 and 11, and an opportunity to ask questions.
Subject teachers are often present to "sell" their subject - offering insight into what topics they'll cover, what the learning environment will be like, and how students are assessed at GCSE. This is a great chance for your young person to explore whether a particular subject feels right for them.
As a parent or carer, this might be one of your only opportunities to engage with subject teachers before your young person starts their GCSEs.
Sometimes, the school will invite local colleges, sixth forms, and even universities to help students explore future options.
6. Keep talking!
Finding ways to have regular, low-pressure conversations in a supportive space can help your young person to explore their ideas and make decisions with confidence.
Open questions are a great place to begin. Asking things like, "What is on your mind today?" or, "What feels important to you right now?" will focus the attention on your young person and create an open space for honest conversation.
Active listening will help your young person feel heard and respected. Ask open-ended questions and encourage your your person to give detailed answers. Reflect back what you've heard them say to show that you are listening and understand their point of view. Remember what thoughts and feelings are coming up; you can bring these back into a later conversation to see how they might have changed.
Closed or 'wrapping up' questions can help your young person feel like they've moved closer to finding a solution, making a decision, or addressing an issue. Here are some examples:
What's the first action you're going to take now?
How are you feeling now?
What support do you need? And who can help you?
So, you said Mr X or Miss Y might know the answer. Who are you going to talk to first?
Remember, supporting your young person to make decisions and solve problems will help them develop important skills like resilience, confidence, and independence. Remind them that you're there to listen and support, rather than to fix things or make decisions for them.
7. Decision time!
It's time for your young person to decide their GCSE options. Be willing to support them in their decision-making, knowing that it's okay to discover they still need to do more thinking or research. Make sure you've both planned for extra time if needed. Allowing time for some final reflections will help you both have confidence in the decisions your young person is making.
Even if your young person doesn't continue some of their subjects after GCSEs, those subjects can still be a part of their life through hobbies and extracurricular activities. Support them to follow their interests in school and elsewhere; it's an important part of who they are.
Remember, it's your young person's choice. They need to feel confident in the decisions they make. Support them to take responsibility for the GCSE subjects they choose.
8. Submitting GCSE options
Your young person's school will have a plan for finalising GCSE options and handling any last-minute queries.
9. Preparing for GCSEs
Congratulations, you've supported your young person to choose their GCSE options. Now it's time to consider how you can support their success. Approaching this next phase of their education together, making the most of any tools and resources the school can provide, will make the next two years as rewarding and successful as possible.
Jargon Buster
Use this quick reference guide if you come across unfamiliar terms while supporting your young person through the GCSE options process.
GCSE Mythbusting
Got mixed feelings about GCSE options? have a look at some of the questions we hear most often from other parents and carers.