By Lehlohonolo Ntlatlapo

The bridge between grade 9 and 10 comes with the responsibility of choosing subjects in high school senior phase. The obvious is that learners choose the subjects they’re strong at and enjoy. While some schools allow learners to mix & match subjects, some already have subjects grouped into “streams” (i.e. Science, Commerce, Humanities/Arts streams) and you choose a stream instead of individual subjects. 

It’s important to choose your subjects wisely as they are the most important part of choosing a career. This also means that, you have to start thinking of possible careers of interest as early as grade 9, do some research on which subjects you need to do for the possible field(s) you’re interested in pursuing after high school and choose according to this. 

The mistake that learners, those who choose subjects, tend to make is choosing subjects across different streams. Meaning, an incorrect combination of subjects. No one expects a grade 9 learner to be sure of what exactly it is they want to be professionally, but an expectation to at least know which stream you’re strong at and/or enjoy the most between science, commerce and humanities is there. And this is what should guide you in choosing your subjects, if your school doesn’t have them grouped into streams already. The subjects you choose also depend on which subjects are offered at your school.

Learners have to do 7 subjects (some schools allow more) from grade 10 to 12. 4 compulsory subjects which include a home language, a first additional language, mathematics or mathematics literacy, and life orientation. The other 3 are subjects of your choice. 

Choosing subjects that fall within the same stream will help avoid a situation where you’re unable to apply for a certain course because you didn’t do a certain subject or rather your subjects together don’t fit a specific study field. Of note is that you’re allowed to change, at most, 2 subjects at the end of grade 9 and 10 should you wish to. 

In conclusion, when choosing grade 10 subjects you must:

1.     Know your strengths academically.

2.     Know which fields you’re most likely to pursue after high school. 

3.     Make a correct subject combination. The combination must make sense career-wise.

All the best future leaders, “beyond the sky is a galaxy full of stars… even those you can reach if you aim high enough.” – Dr LR Ntlatlapo

^{Last updated -16 May 2021}