AIBU to ask for guidance around DC and A levels with university in mind - I'm clueless

Psychology requires a good level of maths because statistical analysis of experiments and investigations is a key part of the course.

Geography also makes use of statistics.

Both subjects are known for requiring -and developing - both literacy and numeracy skills. They both cover subject matter which is traditionally seen as a humanity and subject matter which is seen as a science. They both use scientific method as part of investigations.

Psychology definitely has maths. Not overly challenging maths but you need to be able to analyse data and they carry out statistical tests. As others have said psychology and Geography bridge the sciences and humanities so useful subjects and they go well with nearly all other subjects.
plus if you take essay subjects, they keep your maths up and if you go science route, they develop your essay skills.

lastly, in year 11 he will get the opportunity to go to open evenings and speak with staff and often current 6th form students about the courses. Then in the summer they often offer taster days. Even if they put down certain subjects they can change their mind after they get their results. So lots of time to make a decision.

Yes psychology needs a certain level of maths ability. It's often taken IME with maths A level but for sure that's not essential. You do need a decent maths knowledge and facility though.

What subjects is he looking at @Tomorrowtodaynever? You say he is undecided but in fact there are a number of subjects he has said no to, which leaves I guess science and maths, drama and other creatives (does he do art or music or DT?) and untried subjects such as psych, sociology, phil and ethics, politics (these are often untried before A level anyway).

Which way is he leaning?

You said he enjoyed drama. But if he doesn't love reading and fiction I'd avoid a drama a level with analysis of various plays

They don’t really, a good grade at GCSE maths will be fine, same for biology. They will contain some maths such as statistics but definitely don’t require maths A level (I have a PhD in cell biology and no maths A level)

Maths A level is considered helpful for a psychology degree, because of the statistical part

I'd personally advise a mix, particularly if he isn't sure/set on any particular career.
For AS Levels, I picked;
Psychology - genuinely fascinated by the subject, found it came quite naturally.
English - Naturally good at it. Came easily.
Biology - Parents "encouraged" me to "do a science", I liked it, but it was by far my hardest subject.
Business Studies - Thought I'd should pick something "career-y" that would cover a broad spectrum of things. It looked quite easy, and actually, it was.

For A Level, I'd planned to do Psychology, Biology and English, but I HATED the teachers we had for AS English, so dropped that and continued with Business Studies for the full A Level instead.

I went to a very academic all-girls grammar school sixth form. There were very few "arts" or practical subjects being offered. Literally the only ones were Art or Music.

That wasn't the case for me personally.
I worked my absolute TAIL off to get a B at GCSE Maths - and that was with my very mathsy mum acting as my private tutor!
I went on to do Psychology as a degree, and although the stats was challenging, there were loads of good books to look to for help and computer programs that'll do the bulk of the work for you. And this was 20 years ago now!

History and economics seem a good mix

biology would then be the one with less time consuming activities like essay writing

drama - best I think as a hobby if you can afford that sort of thing - amateur dramatics

A levels are something you have to want to do. There is no point choosing subjects that you have no interest in. Therein lies a boring long slog!

Keep at least 2 as something he is good at and cares about.

One of mine was an A*-B across 11 GCSEs and it made it very hard to decide what to take. Personally I think it is too young to narrow down to 3 subjects. Luckily her 6th form asks pupils to take 4 to start and drop one after term 1, so they can see how much the work load is as well as whether they enjoy the subject matter. She wasn't sure but "thought" she might like medicine but really was interested in Psychology, History, Politics and Computer Science but wanted to keep STEM open with Physics and Chemistry. We discovered you can do a degree with Comp Sci without taking A' Level anyway (she got 8 at GCSE) so she could drop that. They suggested Psychology, History and Politics are essay subjects, so to whittle off one of those. After finding Politics very dry and enjoying Psychology far more (seeing links across other topics she likes in coding) she dropped Politics and History after term 1 and is doing Psychology, Chem and Physics now. Which is a long way off her initial choices but keeps the STEM open. I think having one more essay based is looked for by most Uni's for balance.

I would also suggest checking how he does with coursework. DD hated coursework as she struggled to stay on topic and not link in too much and exceed the word count, whereas she can do exams without too much bother. This and the fact the A' Level History covered Elizabethans, which she did for GCSE and was a bit bored of by then, was a game changer for her.

You definitely don’t need Maths A Level to do well in a Psychology degree, though. A good GCSE is fine. Dc did BSc Psychology (you can do a BA in Psychology, but the BSc is what’s usually offered by RG unis) and had a facility with Maths, but did not want to do the A level, and was once advised that people shouldn’t do Maths A Level unless they really love Maths. The jump from GCSE to A Level is bigger than from A to Degree level, apparently?

OP those A levels are fine if they represent what he is interested in and will get a good grade in.

I note though that you started off talking about fac subjects and keeping options open, so you should know that those A levels don’t open any uni doors that are not opened by pretty much any A level combo. That’s fine as long as he doesn’t intend to go through those doors, if that makes sense.

So degrees he could do with those A levels include things like psychology (yes a science such as psych or any other science is useful for this, but plenty of unis don’t demand it), philosophy, geography, history, sociology, criminology, law, classical civ, politics, marketing. For the majority of that list, no specific subject is needed, so you could do them with A levels in maths, biology and history – which would also open other doors. Or any other combo.

But as long as he is happy with that then no worries. Does he know what philosophy involves? My uni degree included it and it was not discussing the big issues of the day haha. It was what did lots of DWM (Hume, Locke, Leibnitz Russell) think about this rather dull theory? Looking at the A level papers the spec is similar if simpler. A lot of reading in all those choices btw.

If a YP really has no idea what they want to do at uni then I personally (I mean in general) would recommend a subject that they cannot pick up again if they drop it (such as biology or maths in his case) – but only if they would do as well (in their and teachers' opinions). No point getting a D in maths if he would get a B in philosophy.

You do say he has no idea what he wants to study, but in fact based on your posts he clearly does. Not Eng lit, not geography, not MFL. And based on these choices, not engineering, medicine, vet med, biology, physics, chemistry or maths. That's all totally fine. As long as he realises it and is OK with it.

Study what he's best at and most interested in. It's easier to get good marks and get the work and revision done if it comes naturally. Don't choose based on teachers: you have no idea if they will still be at the school and if your DS will get allocated to them. Picking subjects he enjoys and gets good marks at will create opportunities for degree courses he enjoys, is interested in and gets good marks in. That's more important that any thoughts about traditional subjects or RG universities.

That it sounds like a lot of reading and essays for someone you've said doesn't like too much of either.

it's worth him facing up to whether it is reading he doesn't like or reading fiction that he doesnt like.

Also check whether Drama is considered for the unis/courses he wants to keep open.

also - is that 3 brand new subjects? quite risky

Maths is a good base a-level, it opens a lot of doors degree choices and jobs. If you like anything vaguely sciencey or financey. Obvs if English lit and MFL is your thing - then not the maths.

However he does have to enjoy the subjects he wants todo. It is also better if they complement each other - but not the end of the world if they don’t. DC2 has had to accept his offers will be higher from Unis because his a-levels don’t compliment each other.

I doubt if there is any course @Tomorrowtodaynever ‘s DS is aiming for with those choices that won’t accept drama. It’s a perfectly acceptable A level choice for any course that doesn’t require specific subjects.

The only choices unis don’t accept are critical thinking and something else similar which IIRC are no longer offered anyway.

Agree tho re reading and essays