Choosing what to do at 16

[larry5]

My daughter is in yr11 at school and will be doing GCSE's next summer. I think she will be staying on at school to do A levels but has anyone any advice about what her options are and where to get any information.

[DITDOT]

Most important I think is that if she knows what she wants to do post 18 to focus on subjects related to her aspirations.

I teach secondary and a number of students have had to spend an extra year studying post 18 as the courses they wanted to do at uni required different qualifications to those they were told by a careers adviser.

Look at prospectuses, visit web sites etc.

However if she doesn't know what she wants to do post 18 then we always advise students to do plenty of research and choose studies which they will enjoy!!

[Blandmum]

Agree that she needs a rough idea of what her longer term plans are , to make sure she gets the qualifiactions that she needs.

Once those needs have been identified, if she has any choice left (!) study subjects that she likes. This seems stunningly obvious, but you'd be amazed at home many children start A level courses even though they have little interest in the subject and no desire to work! If you don't like a subject at GCSE, you are not going to like it any better at AS!

Do it because you like the subject, and not because youlike/ dislike a particular teacher as well.....AS is tough level and if you don't enjoy what you are doing you will struggle.

[wheresthehamster]

We are in the same boat. DD1's school doesn't seem to offer much in the way of careers advice. DD1 is interested in forensics so will probably do sciences but doesn't want to do maths or english. (Would that be a bad decision?) I don't know when they have to decide or how we go about looking to see what A levels certain careers need.

[indignatio]

MB - I agree apart from the teacher bit - I think that still at A level a teacher can make or break a subject. Of course, you do need to be sure that a particular teacher will/will not be teaching a particular subject.

[Blandmum]

I've seen too many kids wreck their future choices because they don't 'like' a teacher.

I agree that if a teacher is incompitent then they can wreck and A level course.

But there are lots of teachers out there who, while they are not liked, are still very good at helping the kids get the grades that they need.

At the age of 16 they should be able to say 'I may not like Mrs X, but I need Media Studies' IYSWIM.

[indignatio]

MB - I don't disagree with what you are saying, but there are some teacher's out there who are so fabulous that their subject inspires kids, who because the teacher has made it do interesting, do very well in the exams.

[indignatio]

teachers even

[Tamum]

wheresthehamster, I don't think lack of English would be a problem for forensics. Maths would be quite good but she should be alright with chemistry and biology I would have thought. Worth checking a few universities for their course requirements though.

[wheresthehamster]

Thanks. Next daft question. Is there a big book that you can look at for universities and the courses that they do? Or is there a list somewhere.
(Can you tell I left school at 15? )

[Blandmum]

oh agree, but at the same time, that child then actually enjoys that subject. It might be because the teacher has fired their enthusiasm (we all try to do that ) but the entusiasm is there

But I've had kids do Biology because they like me, got a B at GCSE and didn't really like the subject. and while I'm quite good I'm not going to make them want to work unless they are actually interested in the subject. I teach one boy and I swear that every time I tell him something new, he pulls a disgruntled face! Now, I don't mind him being there, but I think he'd have been better advised to do something that he enjoyed.

I really loved my French teacher, but I'd have died a thousand deaths before I#d have done the subject at A level.

[Blandmum]

the sixth form library will have a collection of prospectuses. you can also ask Conexions. You can also google. Ucas is the clearing body for all universities

[Blandmum]

Ucas website

[wheresthehamster]

Thanks. I've just been on the site and searched for 'forensic science'. The courses and combinations are mind-boggling!

How do people ever make the right decision?

[purpleduck]

ucas
and jobs4u are informative
Wheresthehamster, i think it would be a mistake for your dd not to do maths

I am training to be a careers advisor, and i do worry that kids are not given enough time with an advisor to try and sort things ou. I really think the best bet is to keep your options as open as possible
ie If your child is more academic, then go the A level route with English/math /sciences

There are btecs which are more hands on - the grades are reliant on coursework, rather than exams. The btec Nationals (which you can take in numerous subjects) are equivalent to A levels:

Btec National Award - 1 A level
BTEC National Certificate - 2 A levels
BTEC National Diploma - 3 A levels

They are all 2 years, but the Award is only one "class" and your child would then take other courses as well.
The Diploma (ie the National Diploma in a specific subject) is worth 3 A levels, which would normally give your child enough UCAS points to get to uni. However, it is specific, and if your child changes his/her mind, then they may have wasted the two years.

Does that help, or confuse??

[wheresthehamster]

Actually that's clarified something. A friend said her daughter was interested in doing a diploma at college that was equivalent to A levels and I thought she was talking about the IB (I only know about that as a local school does it instead of A levels) but I think now it sounds more like the Btec one.

I will bear the maths advice in mind. Thanks.

[Blandmum]

The btec courses are great. One thing I would advise is that students going down that route have to be fairly good attenders, since the qualification depends of course work.

We have some children who do it and really do wonderfully.

But those kids who are not really that interested, and keep missing lessons, tend not to do very well.