giving up an A level..?

[MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay]

DD2 is currently studying Maths, Biology Psychology and English (yr 12). She LOVES English and Psych and is good at it, however she is struggling more with the other two, especially maths.

She is a good mathematician..or was at GSCE (A*..as were most of her GCSEs) but has really struggled from day one with the A level course.. does ok in coursework but not well in tests and spends 90% of her homework time on maths, to the detriment of biology. She needs bio for her chosen course at Uni and is worried sick that she is going to do really badly at it because she can't give it the time it needs.

To compound the stress she has Glandular Fever (official..her bloods showed she has it badly) and has been completely off her feet for nearly a month.. pretty much bed bound and unable to do anything but sleep and take pills:(

This of course has made everything much worse , she is also depressed (history of self harm too,which has resurfaced in the last few weeks ) and I think..and she also feels that it would be better to give up the maths NOW and focus on getting 3 good A levels rather than risk the others. (she is also doing the extended A level project which will give her the same UCAS points as the AS maths would..but in a subject she enjoys)

Has anyone else had a child give up an AS level? I'm not worried about her uni choices because the course she is interested in doesn't need the AS maths, but I'm rather concerned that school will put pressure on her to continue when she is at break point:(

[webwiz]

Is your DD getting any results tomorrow Medusa?

Her school may be reluctant to let her give something up when there are only weeks left till the syllabus is finished.

[Ponders]

FWIW my DS got a D in his 4th AS (French in his case, which didn't have a modular exam in January - he also got A* in it at GCSE but found AS incredibly difficult ) but that doesn't seem to have had any detrimental effect on his UCAS applications so clearly only having 3 ASs isn't a problem in itself.

[Ponders]

also, as far as the glandular fever etc is concerned, that kind of thing can be noted on her UCAS application to help make allowances for any below-par performance in exams.

good luck, it's a difficult enough time without being ill

[MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay]

Yes results tomorrow.. but she only had exams in Bio and Psych.. and is already planning to resit the biology as she thinks she messed it up but it's doable in the resit. Another reason to dump the bloody maths I think!

I really think they put too much pressure on the kids now. Her sister did her A levels last year.. and is now in her first year at med school so I know just how tough it is, but DD2 isn't as well equipped emotionally to deal with the stress, whereas DD1, worked her backside off and got hammered at weekends in order to cope! (born to be a med student really..:D)

Fingers crossed that school will be gentle to her..

[webwiz]

My friends DS dropped an A level at some point in year 12 - I think it must have been after the Jan results and he has several university offers so it hasn't been a problem for him. His reason for having to give one up was that he was too lazy to do any work!

I hope her results are better than she expects. We're a bit nervy in our house tonight as DD2 had a glandular fever bout over Christmas when she was supposed to be preparing for Jan exams.

[MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay]

GF is hideous isn't it? DD2 has been completely wiped out with it..and I have never seen such enormous neck glands.. she looked deformed! She managed to stay up for a couple of hours this afternoon which is the first time in 4 weeks...

[southeastastra]

my son dropped a level maths, i think it was a relief for him to be honest, i think he just didn't get one part and once that happens just lost confidence

[HighNoon]

My DD in similar position and is now likely stop an AS in an area she's interested in, but struggling with since the start of the year.

This has overshadowed the whole year, and as with your daughter, has reduced amount of time and energy she has for her other subjects.

I would have liked her to complete the year at least but to my surprise - it not about what I think should happen

I do feel stopping now will be better for my DD. We have tried hard, it hasn't worked, and no longer worth the cost to enthusiasm for other subjects and joy for life in general. I think you would be wise to let her put Maths aside, especially if her distress is showing as self-harm again.

wish you both well

[GardenersDelight]

My DD now in yr13 dropped her 4th As after summer exams and has had offers from her chosen uni's. i think the teachers worry they'll regret it later but my DD was adamant she'd retake the other subject if necessary to improve her grades.

[saffy202]

Ds1 dropped AS Biology which was his 4th subject and instead is doing the extended A Level project.
He wasn't enjoying the Biology and it was the head of year who suggested dropping it.

[Ponders]

Is the extended project only offered in science or maths?

[Ephiny]

What course is she planning to do at university, out of interest? It can often be useful to have a good grasp of maths, even for courses where it's not a requirement and doesn't seem obviously related. There can be a lot of statistics in biology and psychology for example.

Having said that she can always learn the maths later if she needs to (you can sometimes take an optional module at university) and if it's causing her so much stress and affecting her other subjects it might be the best thing to drop it.

[MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay]

The extended project can be on ANY subject:) As she enjoys psychology and has a disabled sibling she is hoping to study the impact of a disabled child on the family.. plenty of research out there and she can add some of her own... and it will suit her writing skills. Extended projects can be on just about anything , as it's about independent learning:)

Well she told the head of year today. Needless to say she tried to talk her out of it but DD2 explained that she just couldn't carry on, so we have a form to sign and the maths teachers will have to agree tomorrow.. again they won't be happy, but then they are not the ones self harming with stress!

I just want my daughter better able to cope... I'm not expecting or needing her to be a Straight A student (her sister was and it makes DD2 feel she SHOULD be) just want her to enjoy her studies and not fall apart! Luckily todays results were ok.. not brilliant but decent enough...phew.

[KathH]

I dont know if this helps but when my dd was deciding to give one of her A Levels up my aunty and uncle who are 6th form teachers/university lecturers told me that it was much better to get 3 good grades at A Level rather than 4 ok grades.

[Lizzie2110]

My daughter is 17 and the exact same happened to her...she got a*'s in all her gcse's and she really started to struggle after a few months and then became ill. She also studies, biology, chemistry and history and is much happier now she has one less to worry about and it is giving her time to recover. You're child's mental and physical wellbeing is far more important than school.

[Copper]

Sounds like she took a very mature and sensible decision. So much pressure now to do things which benefit the school's reputation, not the interest of the student. Also, surely having glandular fever provides a perfectly understandable reason for giving up an AS? Could surely mention it in her personal statement. I'm just really impressed she has managed to do so much while being struck down with GF!