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AS dilemma - is 5 subjects too many??

30 replies

overthehill · 28/08/2012 12:19

My ds did very well in her GCSEs (mixture of As and A*s) and thought she had put down to do 4 ASs (Eng Lit, History and Sociology at her school and French at partner school). When she got her timetable, however, she had been put down for French and German at the other school. She could do both and didn't have any great desire one way or the other, but the question is, is this wise and would she risk spoiling her chances of good grades/a good social life? She is likely to want to do English or History at university and is only just starting Sociology so this is a bit of an unknown quantity. Any advice gratefully received - thanks!

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Milliways · 30/08/2012 16:45

Thanks! Maybe "essay" is the wrong term, but there was a lot of written work. She went on to a Language degree. Seems a long time ago as graduated this year and has just left home to start work.

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overthehill · 29/08/2012 22:59

Your dd sounds a genius, Milliways, and congratulations to her!! I'm surprised you regard languages as essay subjects as I wouldn't have considered them as such but I guess it's different at A2. The thing about having no free periods also was bothering my dd as she wants to keep up with her friends too.

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Milliways · 29/08/2012 22:39

My DD took Maths, Eng Lit, History, French & German AS levels and found it REALLY tough as she had no free periods and loads of homework/self study. SHe got 5 A grades but it was a real slog.

She reluctantly decided to drop History after AS and do 4 A2s as 4 essay subjects was an overload and she wanted to keep Maths as a "strong" subject.

Original poster
overthehill · 29/08/2012 20:06

Update: dd went with dh to School B today as I found out by chance(no mention of it from dd's current school!) that they were having an open day: they strongly advised against five AS levels and also against 2 languages, saying that they would only recommend this in very rare cases eg if someone definitely wanted a career as an interpreter. They also said that most pupils dropped their 4th subject at A2 and felt that two languages (assuming that she kept up both of them) wouldn't demonstrate a broad range of skills. The usefulness of languages for communicating in other countries ie education rather than passing exams doesn't seem to be a factor, which I find a bit sad.

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Tigerstripes · 29/08/2012 14:33

I would strongly advise against 5 AS levels. A very clever girl in my year 12 did five last year but consequently had no time to do the extra work I recommended her (she wants an A* in y subject - English). She did not get expected results in any of her AS subjects, including English.

creamteas · 29/08/2012 10:41

Moving between schools is really common around here. All the state schools sixth forms work together in area federations to increase the A levels available. A school can't justify running an A level course for 5-6 pupils, so by offering it to a range of schools they can attract enough students to make it viable. It also means that no combinations are ruled out just on timetabling issues, because you can move between schools to fit your subjects in.

But it is usually better to limit the time spent at another school to one subject otherwise it gets very complicated.

campergirls · 29/08/2012 10:26

I have no experience of this moving between schools malarkey - but might it be worth waiting to see what the timetabling is like? if it could be blocked so that she has all her French and German sessions together, that might actually work well for her.

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overthehill · 29/08/2012 00:18

Yes, NW, other kids do take only one subject at the other school. To be honest, I think it might be a mess-up by dd's school as she had originally said that she'd like to consider German as well if she could do it at her school, which was something they were suggesting might happen but then hasn't, then they've just assumed that she would still do it at School B without really considering the implications. Don't expect we'll ever know the full story....

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ninjawomble · 29/08/2012 00:06

DS is doing 5 ASs as well. But it is all the sciences and 2 x maths so lots of overlap. 6th form have said give it 4-6 weeks but don't put yourself under pressure if it proves too much. At least if your DC starts all 5, they can decide to drop one if they don't like it a few weeks in if it isn't working out. Something that might be worth checking - will they be able to do just one AS at the other school ? Is that why they signed them up for German as well ?

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overthehill · 28/08/2012 22:37

NG, that's what I was thinking, and I agree the very short deadline would be a good idea if the two schools involved can cope with that. If she could take all the subjects at her current school life would be less complicated!

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noblegiraffe · 28/08/2012 22:04

Could she start 5 just in case sociology turns out as she fears, so she could drop it? And then drop German (or RE) if it turns out her sociology class is ok? Work with a deadline of a couple of weeks or so?

Original poster
overthehill · 28/08/2012 21:59

TTILLR, thanks for that. I think that my dd's original choice (4 minus the German) is probably wise, given that she has to move between two schools as well. I don't feel I can lean on her to drop Sociology in favour of two languages at this stage as she's really keen to try it. Let's hope she either keeps on all four or drops Sociology for Y13.

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Tuttutitlookslikerain · 28/08/2012 21:41

overthehill DS1 is going into Yr13 so a year in front of your DD. He did Eng lit& lang, History, Psychology and Law at AS. He is very, very good at writing essays (got 100% at History, Eng Lang and RE at GCSE) and can express himself very well, but he found that doing 4 AS levels is a lot of work in comparison to GCSEs.

He spent a lot of time doing homework or studying in the library last year. He has a Saturday job, but doesn't go out that much really, and he would have struggled to have kept up with 5 subjects, which is what he was originally down for, TBH.

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overthehill · 28/08/2012 21:25

Noblegiraffe, we did have a chat about other possible options and RE was one she said she might consider; I think there's quite a bit of overlap with sociology too. I'd encouraged her to think about psychology as lots of her friends are doing that and I think she'd find it interesting, but she thinks it's too scientific and wants to wash her hands of sciences (even though she got A*s for physics and biology and A for maths and chemistry) - but she says that's just because she's got a good memory.

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Original poster
overthehill · 28/08/2012 21:21

One of the main difficulties about doing French and German is that they are at the partner school, and she feels that she'll have a foot in both camps and possibly the worst of both worlds. They do do Critical Thinking but have not put her down for it, presumably because she's already doing so much, including travelling between the schools (by taxi, along with others). Not sure about Extended Project - think I did see it mentioned somewhere.

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Moominmammacat · 28/08/2012 20:56

Mine did Fr and Germ ... the offers for MFL at good unis are wonderfully low compared with history and English.

noblegiraffe · 28/08/2012 15:26

Does her school offer the Extended Project? She could use that to pursue an angle that interests her?

Theas18 · 28/08/2012 15:12

What else will she be doing academically as well?

DD1 did 5 AS but one was critical thinking (some kids did general studies but the all did the 5th subject). She also did the EPQ/AQA bacc straddling years 12 and 13.

Definitely better to have 4 high grades than drop a grade because of the extra subject, and with her great academic profile better to keep 2 languages than sociology.

MordionAgenos · 28/08/2012 14:41

I shall follow this thread with interest. DD1 has to provisionally choose her AS levels soon. And I'm not convinced she is going to make a wise choice.

creamteas · 28/08/2012 14:36

If she has three traditional subjects (English, History and French) then the 4th subject is not really problematic at all. The Russel Group explicitly states this in their advice.

At the end of the day it is better to get a high grade in a 'soft subject' than a poor one in a 'hard' one.

noblegiraffe · 28/08/2012 14:27

I think it would be a negligent teacher who pushed an academic student into a less well-regarded subject over a respected academic one. Russell Group universities have issued warnings over this.

If she is interested in sociology, she can always read up on it outside of school, perhaps even take a university module in it when she gets there.

If she drops sociology, that doesn't mean she has to take German. Are there any other options that might interest her?

Original poster
overthehill · 28/08/2012 14:04

Campergirls and noblegiraffe, thanks so much for your input as well. I did French and German at university (but in the Dark Ages!) so didn't want to feel I was pushing what I wanted rather than what she wanted. And it's just what you say re Sociology, noblegiraffe: when she went to the taster session on Sociology she was a bit put off by the other people there as she felt that they may not be taking school seriously, and none of her friends are doing it. But she is keen on the subject content (loves Channel 4 documentaries on social problems!) so would it be unwise even to start it, do you think?

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noblegiraffe · 28/08/2012 13:32

Sociology is a soft option.

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/exam-watchdog-media-studies-iisi-easiest-alevel-785593.html

And from my experience there will be students studying sociology who don't take school as seriously as your DD obviously does.

campergirls · 28/08/2012 13:20

English lecturer here: I'd strongly recommend dropping Sociology and keeping both languages. Lots of reasons for this:

  • If she wants to study English or History at university, languages will be useful in her degree work (and it's worth bearing in mind that joint degrees with a lanugage are often a bit less competitive to get into at top unis than single honours English or History).
  • People in the UK are traditionally poor at languages; young adults are now competing in an increasingly global job marketplace against multilingual people from other countries, so competence in languages will be a very good thing to have later.
  • The intensive support and teaching you get in the VI form is a really good way to learn a language; hard to do it to the same level later. Whereas someone who is well-trained in the methodologies of English and History would not find it hard to pick up Sociology at a later stage, if she still wants to do it.
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overthehill · 28/08/2012 13:17

Thanks for all the advice so far; that's basically what I've picked up but I thought a broader perspective would be good. She's good at expressing herself on paper and did very well in the essay subjects at GCSE, and she does work hard - but also wants a social life. Blueemerald has hit the nail on the head in terms of my reservations as dd is really interested to try Sociology but she's worried that there might be people in the class who think of it as a soft option and therefore aren't willing to work hard/join in discussions, and I did think that this might be the one to drop. However, if she doesn't want to be a linguist then maybe two languages is too much, and she's worried that she's not good at dropping things once she's started them.

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