So you’re almost done with Grade 9? The final year where all of your subjects are broad and general. It’s been interesting so far, but for your Grade 10 year, your subjects are about to become a lot more targeted and you actually have to choose those subjects. For the first time in your schooling career, you have a say in what you want to learn. There’s only one problem, how do you make that choice? Well, if you stick around, we can help you make your decision.
First things first
Before you make your choice, it’s important to know what is available for your Grade 10 year. First and foremost, there are four main subjects that are always going to be there: Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy (essentially your first choice), the Home Language (HL) that is offered at your school (often the language of instruction), as well as the First Additional Language and Life Orientation. From there onwards, it is compulsory for you to choose three subjects from the available additional subjects, giving you a total of seven subjects. Some schools, however, offer the option to add on more subjects. While there are schools that offer quite an interesting variety of subjects, the main subjects left to fill those three slots left are:
- Physical Sciences
- Computer Applications Technology
- IT
- Life Sciences
- Accounting
- Economics
- Business Studies
- Tourism
Making the decision
The choosing of specific high school (FET) subjects can be daunting because while many university courses do not require specific high school subjects, some of the courses that lead to high paying jobs do. For the most part, these courses require Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Yes…Yes…I can hear your groaning. Pure Mathematics and Physical Sciences are seen as the harder subjects, but they are also those sacred keys that open many doors in terms of university course choices. Some of the highest paying careers in South Africa include neurosurgeon, lawyer, chartered accountant, biomedical engineer, and a few more. The university courses needed for most of these careers do not have specific high school subjects as a requirement, but the ones that do tend to have physical sciences and mathematics listed. For instance, you don’t need any specific subject as a high school learner to become a lawyer, but you need both pure mathematics and physical sciences to become a doctor. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need life sciences (biology).
Here is a list of different career paths that need either Mathematics or Physical Sciences(or both):
- Medicine
- Engineering
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Computer Sciences (University level)
Just to name a few. If you are interested in being in one of those fields some day, maybe bearing with the “harder subjects” might be worth it.
There are some subjects at the high school level that while they seem as though they would be necessary for their relevant career paths, they generally aren’t. Some of these include:
- Accounting
- Life Sciences (Biology)
- Geography
The reason for these subjects not being emphasised is still unclear, but most professionals agree that the high school subject level can easily be caught up on once in varsity, especially when you have a background in Physical Sciences and Mathematics.
It becomes a lot easier to choose high school subjects when you have an idea of what you would like to do one day. If you don’t plan on becoming a doctor, engineer, biochemist, or physicist, you don’t have to worry about taking on Maths or the Sciences. So you can choose just about any subject you want. But if you are interested in those fields, always make sure that Mathematics and Physical Sciences are on your subject list.
Before I close off this article, I want to encourage you to do further research on the necessary subjects for your desired career on the websites of different universities and colleges. What one university considers a requirement, another varsity might not take too seriously. Always ensure that the research is up to date as well. Here’s a cautionary tale: the University of the Free State didn’t require Physical Sciences as a subject for a BSc in IT up until the admission of 2018, so it’s in your best interest to always check on the requirements.
Varsity Living