Would my dd be mad to take textiles A level??

[Ligresa]

A level choices after GCSE results are driving us mad!

Dd had chosen Eng Lit, RS and Classical civilisation for A level. Gcse results were a 9 eng lit, 8 rs and a 6 classical civilisation. Also only a 6 for English Lang and mfl. 8s and 7s for everything else. She is really disappointed with the class civ result to the point she now feels she might really struggle at A level. Also the other girls in her A level class got 7s and 8s so she's stressing that she'll be the 'worst'.

I also worry that three linear essay subjects might be a real slog and she might struggle. She's very able with a good memory but her spelling is not great.

She is now thinking she might like to do Design tech (fashion and textiles) instead of class civ, despite not having done the gcse! She loves sewing and crafty stuff. She has emailed head of art who has recommended she talk to textiles teacher next week. No reply from classical civ teacher but that's fine as its the holidays.

I know this is dds choice and up to school but is she mad? She wants to study English at a good uni. The annoying thing is that she got an 8 in drama but refuses to take it as she really clashes with the teacher.

Thanks in advance to anyone taking an interest!

[Sinkingfeeling]

Would the school allow her to take 4 A levels and then drop the one she likes least? It seems a shame for your dd not to take classical civilisation if she usually enjoys it. It would also complement Eng Lit well.

[Ligresa]

I think they will let her do one extra for a week - not really long enough.

Personally I hope she carries on with Classical Civ, she likes it I've just spent a fortune on the audiobooks of the Odyssey and it does complement the others.

[catndogslife]

OP you don't say what other subjects your dd took at GCSE. if the "7/8s" for "everything else" includes either Art or DT then your dd should be OK to take textiles. The skills for creative subjects are often transferrable.
If she hasn't taken an Arts/creative subject at GCSE then I wouldn't recommend it. The coursework/project demands for a creative Art A level are very time-consuming much more so than essay subjects. Liking sewing probably isn't enough to take textiles at A level.

[catndogslife]

I also worry that three linear essay subjects might be a real slog and she might struggle.
Just to clarify there is no such thing as an easy option at A level. If your idea / your dds idea is that textiles is an easier option that may not be true.
Just to clarify my dd took a design subject at A level and 2 essay subjects. The design subject was more work than both the other 2 A level subjects put together and she spent all her free periods in the design studio.

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

I don't agree that your DD won't be able to do it, but she will need to work hard and it is a very time consuming subject. It's normal to have a wobble! Do you think the classics result has knocked her confidence a bit?

[Ligresa]

catndogslife yes i think she might not have considered this. Maybe she should keep the sewing as a hobby...

[Ligresa]

Namechangeforthiscancershit

Yes that's definitely what's happened (confidence)

[catndogslife]

Ligresa I realise that a 6 doesn't sound that great when results go up to grade 9. But it's the equivalent of a "high grade B" on the old GCSE scale and many students with Bs do well at A level.

[Ligresa]

The school has said it expects a 7 in subjects wanting to be taken at a level. I'm fairly confident they ll take her anyway but she's worried.

[PhonicTheHedgehog]

It seems an odd choice for someone considering English at uni.

Could she look at the requirements for the courses she’s interested in.

Does she have to do A levels at school or could she go elsewhere?

[Ligresa]

English lit courses require English lit. Most say an A in English then As or Bs in the other two

[PinkyPurply]

I have a friend who took textiles and is now a very successful fashion designer, that was her fallback subject (and career!) too, so personally if it were my daughter I'd tell her to go for it if she enjoys it.

[Piggywaspushed]

English is a subject which massively benefits from and complements other A Levels. Much like a biologist often takes chemistry or a mathematician takes physics, an English student learns a lot from classics, RS, history, MFL , film etc etc. Of course, not all successful students do this but I have found that those who want to pursue the subject at uni have better knowledge of literary context if they study an historical subject. Likewise, historians learn a lot of social history from reading. It's not all about essay writing and I don't think the subjects should be reduced to this being their only benefit ( or drawback!)

The textiles could be great but would be very discrete.

[LooseAtTheSeams]

I did English lit, history and classical civilisation at A level. I hadn't studied classical civ before that but I realised it used the same skills as English and history. I think RS would also go very well with English and classics. They definitely overlap and work well together. I understand her disappointment about not getting the grade she wanted but this could be as simple as having misread a question that she would normally have answered well. Odd things happen in exams!

[Ligresa]

Thank you! I think she's veering back to Classics. She's asked for her script back so maybe we can see where she went wrong.

[Bringonspring]

Completely off the point but they are just so narrow together. There is something on our education system that makes you choose at 16. I did something similar for my A levels and I now really wish I had done maths alongside two essay subjects.

Congratulations on your daughters great results.

[Ligresa]

I sort of agree bringonspring The only other subject she really enjoyed at GCSE was, weirdly, chemistry! But she only did double science.

[Bringonspring]

I should add that I actually went on to be an accountant though. So many good graduates schemes that don’t care about the degree discipline. I really hope it stays this way in the UK.

[stucknoue]

Does she have an inkling of what she wants to do post 6th form? If it's university in an essay subject then 3 essay subjects make sense but if she thinks design is a possibility then go for it at a level, it's a hard one too because of the huge coursework component (not cheap for parents either because school doesn't supply materials)