A Level choices

[Dancergirl]

Dd is in Year 10 and starting to think about A Level choices. She is thinking of RS, Classical Civilisation and Sociology. She's not sure what she wants to do career-wise but possibly Law.

Dh is worried that these subjects are not traditional and may affect university choice. The only other subject she may consider is Spanish. Thoughts please?

[TeenTimesTwo]

She needs to work backwards.
So look at some possible degree courses, then see what subjects they ask for at A level at the kind of universities she might aspire to.

There is a list that Russell Group universities have created of Facilitating Subjects. These are basically subjects that many courses have as pre-requisite or strongly desired. They advise choosing 2 of these to leave options open.

[TeenTimesTwo]

www.russellgroup.ac.uk/media/5272/informedchoices-print.pdf

[BringOnTheScience]

TeenTimesTwo is absolutely correct. Look at the entry requirements of likely courses at a range of unis. They all list them: subjects and grades/UCAS points.

[SuperPug]

RS is a traditional and academic course, just not facilitating - you don't need it to do a particular degree.
I would be wary of sociology for Law if she is applying for Russell Group universities.

[Bekabeech]

Is she thinking of a Law degree or doing a different subject then followed by a conversion course (this is often the preferred route but costs more).
What subjects interest her? Why does she want to do Law? How Academic is she? There is a lot of learning in Law.

[TheBitchOfTheVicar]

Facilitating subjects. There are some slightly surprising omissions - English language, for example. I have known a few students come a cropper because not enough of their choices were on this list.

I think for something like law, which will have high-calibrate applicants for good universities, these would have to be a starting point as choices.

[Dancergirl]

beka she is very academic and is at a superselective grammar. She definitely doesn't want to do Maths or Sciences. She used to really enjoy English and is a keen reader, but finds the language analysis quite dull. The other possibility is History but again she is only enjoying some aspects of it, she's finding the GCSE course quite political and is more interested in social history.

[FrankieHankie]

Although facilitating subjects are a good place to start it can be tricky if you really don't like them. If she isn't so keen on the political side of history then the chances are it won't get any better at A Level - but obviously do check the subjects covered by her particular school. If she is aiming for law then choice of university really does matter - and in general the higher regarded institutions are looking for stellar grades rather than particular subjects.
The 3 subjects you mention are non-facilitating but will require her to write essays and put forward arguments. This is different to choosing, say, Dance, Textiles and PE which are equally non-facilitating but obviously don't demonstrate the reasoning skills in the same way. (Nothing wrong with that combination if that is where your interests are, of course).
Obviously she has a while to go before making her choices. Keeping as many options open as possible is a great idea, and it might be safer to take at least one traditional subject. However, an informed choice to take non-facilitating subjects is also valid. Researching universities and courses is key, as PP have said.

[Allthebestnamesareused]

Have she asked the 6th Form College or her school if staying on what syllabus they cover in history as my DS's school offers 2 different syllabus to choose from. It may be that there are options that she would prefer. It would certainly be deemed a better choice than sociology as it is a facilitating subject.

Does she enjoy geography as the human side of geography may interest her?