At the ages 13 and 14, you are expected to choose your GCSE subjects, something that can determine the rest of your future regardless if you want to pursue higher education. The question of if your mature enough to make such a decision has been debated and speculated since these laws were set in place.
Choosing GCSE’s at this age has been compared to asking a child what they want to be then they’re older, which can change and be shaped and adapted as people get older, depending on external factors.
When you are this is age, it is believed that you are not mature enough and may not make the right choice, since your tastes and hobbies may change throughout your secondary experience depending on your environment, and the friends you choose to associate with. You also may not realise the magnitude of their decision and take it as a joke. Students immaturity also could cause them to choose subjects because of a the preference of teachers (for example not choosing a subject because you don’t like the teacher) or because all your friends are also choosing that subject, and you don’t want to be “Left out.” There is also a concern that at that age it is too much responsibility, and can cause excessive stress leading students to start GCSE’s in the wrong way.
However, the argument against this stares that this generation is the most mature for their age, and the next generations will become more and more mature due to social media, and being exposed to certain things at a younger age. Most students are old enough to make decisions and think about the effects of it on theirs and other peoples lives in the future.
