Can I hear your advice on what's the best one to drop?

[whatIforgottoday]

Hi All,

DD (aged 16) has just started at an independent sixth-form and needs to make a decision by Friday. Essentially, due to the changes in the A-level system, her school decided to give all students in L6 8 weeks to decide what subjects they wish to carry forward. All students have started off with 4 subjects they've chosen and are now been asked to make the decision as to which one they will discontinue with (similar to what you would do at the end of L6, after your AS results). DD is studying History (Modern), Politics, English Lit and Philosophy and Ethics (RS).

Over the past few weeks we've had tons of data home (and parent's evening last night) to help her make this decision. She is working at an A for history, politics and RS. English lit she is working at a high B, low A.

However DD is completely stuck as what to 'drop'. She enjoys English lit but says it has been really difficult and she is in a class with very strong personalities which makes her shy away from talking (this was confirmed by teachers last night). In RS, she is flying (often getting full marks in essays) however she feels that whilst she enjoys the subject she might get a bit bored.

Essentially, it doesn't matter university-wise what she does, we've been told both RS and English lit are respected along with her other subjects. She wants to go into primary teaching, so again either will fit! The question is should she go for the subject she enjoys more (even though she's scared of struggling so much, she feels she will come to resent it) or go for RS which is enjoyable (but maybe not as much) and potentially achieve a higher grade?

Thanks for your advice and getting this far!

[DadDadDad]

I always feel that the best subjects to choose are ones you enjoy, as your motivation is going to be high, giving the best chance of success. So that sounds like Eng Lit has the edge. Why is a grade B / A student who can write good essays scared of struggling? And learning to cope with strong personalities in the classroom might be good preparation for a career in teaching.

The only other thought is that Eng Lit provides a bit more contrast possibly with the History and Politics - I'm not familiar with the syllabuses, but I assume a humanity like Philosophy / RS would have more overlap with History and Politics (in approach and content).

Presumably, there's a list of set texts for Eng Lit - does that list fill her with excitement or trepidation?

[DadDadDad]

By the way, I did science A levels, a Maths degree and went into secondary teaching over 20 years ago, so treat my advice with healthy scepticism!