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Original poster

Does your child want to do a "XXXX Studies" A Level?

93 replies

Ponders · 16/07/2010 21:38

Make them read this before they choose!

A grades in drama and theatre studies, religious studies, and English language and literature, but no university offer 2 years in a row...

Drama/theatre studies and English lang/lit is obviously not a good combination; much too similar. Religious studies may well be (& should be) quite rigorous intellectually - I have no idea what the syllabus is like - but I can imagine admissions tutors glazing over at 2 lots of "studies" without looking any further.

Frustrating for the lad but who let him choose those subjects? His school should have advised him!

OP posts:
EvilTwins · 19/07/2010 22:57

PPP - that's a massive generalisation and wildly insulting for those of us who spend hours helping our tutees with UCAS applications.

PosyPetrovaPauline · 19/07/2010 22:25

wow lazymum!

ds got 5 offers from great places but did the works

personally i think gcse grades are taken into consideration

state schools not great help with personal statement ime

Original poster
Ponders · 19/07/2010 21:06

I would bet he wasn't advised to apply only to top universities - more likely he was advised not to, but ignored the advice (& maybe ignored advice on his PS too)

Which subjects did you do at A level, qumquat?

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qumquat · 19/07/2010 21:02

I agree that a lot of students are ill advised but think that in this student's case the poor advice was in applying for only 'top' universities rather than a range, I agree with eviltwins that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with his subjects, in fact I got in to Cambridge with a very similar set, and am now a drama teacher!

lazymumofteenagesons · 19/07/2010 20:49

"A levels is but a minor concern for a good student, to stand out a student needs to have done far more than just their A levels! eg. debating, music, prefect, etc., etc., and the all important relevant work experience! If you have a child in the middle of, or just beginning A levels, get them to seek out some work experience (in all probability unpaid) for their holidays!"

I'm afraid (from personal experience)I have to disagree with the above. My son has just done his A levels and I can say categorically that none of the above made any difference to his university application. He did as little as possible of any extra curricula activities and did not hold any positions of authority at school. Did no drama as little sport as poss and left school the minute 4 o'clock struck. I am not proud of any of that and wished he had involved himself more. He did one weeks work experience which was totally irrelevant to his chosen courses.

With good exam results, a well written PS and I can only assume a decent reference from school, he got 5 offers all at top universities. I had spent the last 3 years telling him if he didn't have anything extra to write about on the PS he would have a problem, but obviously it didn't matter.

Musicteachingmum · 19/07/2010 19:30

General Studies is a complete waste of space - most universities ignore it, so what's the point?

Circular - that combination looks reasonable, depending on what she wants to do - all in the top listings, I think!

Oh, and on Personal Statements, some of the worst come from private school students and begin with them quoting somebody or other - highly pretentious, far too common, and send the admissions panel to involuntarily gag - REALLY BAD IDEA!!

A levels is but a minor concern for a good student, to stand out a student needs to have done far more than just their A levels! eg. debating, music, prefect, etc., etc., and the all important relevant work experience! If you have a child in the middle of, or just beginning A levels, get them to seek out some work experience (in all probability unpaid) for their holidays!

circular · 19/07/2010 18:35

There seems to be a lot of talk in this thread about choosing subjects too closely related.
I would be interested to know how it pans out at the other end of the scale when the student has an unlikely mixture. Although my eldest has only just completed year 8, I could quite easily see here choosing Music, Chemistry and two of Geography, Maths or French. Shame they don't do the IB at her school. And an even bigger shame General Studies is a compulsory extra.

EvilTwins · 19/07/2010 17:51

Maybe he was a lazy so and so who didn't do anything other than turn up to the minimum amount of lessons and then get As without putting much effort in. Maybe he contributed nothing to school life, had done no work experience and had no extra-curricular activities to mention. I would imagine that would contribute a whole lot more than his combination of A Levels.

And for what it's worth, there's not much difference in syllabus requirements between Theatre Studies and Drama and Theatre Studies - it's different names for different exam boards, IME.

lazymumofteenagesons · 19/07/2010 17:49

OOPS cross post!

lazymumofteenagesons · 19/07/2010 17:48

Eviltwins - I think ponders meant he should have been advised against taking the combined drama/theatre studies and combined eng lang/lit a levels. It looks like if he had done English (lit), theatre studies and RS then he would have stood a better chance.

However none of us have the whole story. Maybe his PS was rubbish, maybe someone else with the same A levels had a string of A*s at GCSE. It could have been down to a number of other factors.

EvilTwins · 19/07/2010 17:48

No, but there may well have been much more to it than that - personal statement rubbish, reference from school rubbish and so on. I think a blanket "well what do you expect with that combination of A Levels" is a bit simplistic.

Original poster
Ponders · 19/07/2010 17:31

doing them in combo hasn't got him a place, has it - even with 3 As?

OP posts:
EvilTwins · 19/07/2010 17:10

Why should the student have been advised against doing a combination of English and Theatre Studies? Seriously - I don't get it. Almost all of the students I teach/have taught A Level Theatre Studies to also do English. It's a classic combination - the two subjects complement each other.

Would posters be saying the same if the boy had done Physics, Chemistry, Math and Further Maths?

Original poster
Ponders · 19/07/2010 12:45

"How many out there realise, for example, that most psychology degrees want at least maths or another science and aren't the slightest bit bothered about a psychology A level?"

Well, quite. And you don't need Law A Level for a Law degree, Economics for an Economics degree, or Politics for a Politics degree either.

Often, though, students have no idea what degree they will want to do, so then they need to do subjects they will enjoy but which will not count against them later, & I still think the student in the OP should have been advised against combining drama/theatre & lang/lit.

OP posts:
Original poster
Ponders · 19/07/2010 12:37

For "their" it should start with "the students".

If they do mean "the student" singular then it should be "his or her creative writing skills"

Pedantic? Moi?

But as an English Language A Level is being described it would be nice if they used proper grammar, innit.

OP posts:
lazymumofteenagesons · 19/07/2010 11:46

There is nothing 'wrong' with either of those A levels. But any student wanting to go on and study English Literature at a 'top' university, as the boy in the article wanted, will be at a disadvantage with either of those A levels. It all comes down to getting guidance on the most appropriate subjects for whatever future study path the student wants.

How many out there realise, for example, that most psychology degrees want at least maths or another science and aren't the slightest bit bothered about a psychology A level?

gerontius · 19/07/2010 11:38

Um, what's wrong with the second one you've highlighted?

Original poster
Ponders · 19/07/2010 11:29

My daughter did Lang/Lit a few years ago, gramercy, & went into Linguistics on the strength of what the Lang bit covered then.

This is the summary of Eng Lang from her school's prospectus (& there is no specific GCSE requirement for it - Lit requires min C at GCSE):

Students should consider this subject if they have a real interest in language. This means enjoying studying how English is used in the world when people speak to one another in various situations and how written language is used to communicate meaning.
Students study anything from cornflake packets to legal documents but must like the process of analysing in close detail. Topics such as language and gender, language and power and language and technology are studied. There is the opportunity to produce writing for different audiences and purposes and to undertake a research project on an area of choice.
The skills students develop can be applied to many professions.
Students need a positive attitude, must enjoy discussion and be able to work independently. A systematic and precise approach is needed in students? thinking.

This is Lang/Lit:

This English course caters for all tastes. It enables students to come to an understanding of why writers of both literary and non-literary texts make the stylistic decision they do and how literature has changed over time. The student will also have the opportunity to improve their creative writing skills.
To get the most out of this course students need to enjoy reading and writing and talking about both.

("why writers of both literary and non-literary texts make the stylistic decision they do"
"The student will also have the opportunity to improve their creative writing skills."
They need a good proof-reader! )

OP posts:
gramercy · 19/07/2010 09:59

What is this English Language A Level? I did A Level English, and there was no other back in the 80s.

I thought it sounded promising when I read you could do language only, thinking it might delve into linguistics deeply, but on questioning a young person I know doing A Level English Language, she told me they were doing The Apprentice role play and looking at how different people speak

PosyPetrovaPauline · 18/07/2010 23:26

one in 4 get A

Original poster
Ponders · 18/07/2010 22:38

true about speaking, eve.

Mine knew he wanted to do one language at AS but mithered about it for weeks, because he sort of preferred French, but found speaking it far more difficult than German.

They don't do nearly enough actual speaking at GCSE & the accent required for French is very embarrassing for a self-conscious 16-yr-old!

OP posts:
Remotew · 18/07/2010 22:33

Thanks for the link silver. Mine didn't get languages! and felt the lessons weren't teaching her how to speak a MFL. She won't be applying to UCL. I admit I was worried about her dropping French and German but no point in pushing them into something they don't enjoy.

Original poster
Ponders · 18/07/2010 22:32

"aren't 25% of all a levels A grade??
3 A's is not what it used to be"

true, PPP, but then there are probably at least 50% more applicants than there used to be, so 3 As must help sort them out a bit!

OP posts:
Original poster
Ponders · 18/07/2010 22:31

thanks for that, silver

I am extremely pleased now that my DS (just finished Y12) has good grades in 2 languages at GCSE - hoping that will make all the difference when he applies in Y13!

OP posts:
silver73 · 18/07/2010 22:16

Here is the link regarding UCL and GCSE languages

www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/dec/13/schools.accesstouniversity