A levels choices for engineering

DS does Mech Eng at leeds.he did maths physics and chem.He has found chem has helped a bit with some modules -thermofluids and materials.

My DS graduated in the summer having studied aeronautical engineering. Those students who didn't have A2 chemistry had to take an additional course in the first year to bring them up to speed (though it wasn't a necessary A level)
The other point to bear in mind is the grades your DS is likely to achieve. Many (all?) of the best courses require 3xAs, or higher. That might be the deciding factor.

Quite often the fourth A level for engineers is further maths, which is not such a stretch as 4 completely different subjects. Good luck either way!

Not sure there's a wrong answer although I would favour chemistry, it pops up in a lot of materials science etc. Would he have an AS in mandarin to benchmark what he's done so far? Chinese markets very influential in automotive, and language proficiency is valued by employers.

Chemistry would never be the wrong option, but for engineering disciplines where Chemistry is not vital (eg Chem Eng) or very useful (Environmental Eng, Civils), Mandarin could lead down some interesting paths, as others have said.

I don't really know which is best but there is the option of study abroad for lots of MEng courses. If he can continue with Mandarin for 1 year into the 6th form then this could be a springboard for studying Mandarin at university. I doubt many universities have study abroad agreements with Chinese universities on the "mainland" but they may do with Hong Kong. Teaching would probably be in English but Mandarin speaking would be enhanced. Something to think about.

In practice though most dcs keep studying their best subjects in Y13 and drop the one with the lowest grade.
Possibly not much in it if he obtains the predicted grades but if he slipped a grade in Chemistry so it became a C and still obtained an A in mandarin then the far forward is obvious!

The question on being native speakers is very relevant OP. If your son is bilingual e.g. because your family is from a mandarin speaking country, some universities give less weight to pupils taking an A level in a language which is their native tongue.
If that is the case, I would recommend Chemistry.

Don't do all 4. Unis will offer you a place based on your number of A levels. If you are doing 3 they will offer (say) 3 A grades. If you are doing 4 they will offer 4 A grades. Don't make life too hard!

Chemistry will keep chemical engineering open, but I think Mandarin offers something extra. Good luck.

Out of interest, are you native Mandarin speakers, OP?

I think Chemistry is more useful.

He will have to have a good understanding of materials science regardless of the branch of engineering, so Chemistry at A2 will give him a leg up.

If your DS can get a good grade in Chemistry, I would suggest drop Mandarin. As I belived you can easily learn language yourself. So if he is interested in Mandarin, he can keep learning himself.

My DS is in Y12 and the advice he has been given (only advice, they let the students choose) is that if you are getting good grades then doing 4 A Levels is fine if you don't have a pt job or a time consuming sport/hobby otherwise, if you have either or both of those then do 3. They also suggest for anyone not certain that they start out doing 4 and reassess once they have had their offers in from UCAS.

My ds is taking a mech eng degree and has maths, further maths and physics.

My DD is studying engineering - she took math, physics and english literature! He should take the one he enjoys the most, and thinks he will get the best grade in.

A lot of unis have year out programmes in the far east - one has a campus in Malaysia I believe - and possibly Nottingham? Cardiff? so he could spend a year abroad, maybe do some travel, work for a chinese company.

I'd advise mandarin. Firstly it opens up possibilities for a more exciting international career. Secondly he will get a higher grade which could make a significant difference to the quality of university he gets in to. Thirdly, because the a-level chemistry syllabus is (or rather, 20 years ago it was) deadly dull to someone with a physics/maths/engineering brain. There are reams and reams of "recipes" and rules to learn by rote, but no time to explore the actual science behind them. Later at university I began to understand that this was because the physics and maths that explain the "why" of chemistry is way too complex for a 17 year old. However I found a level chemistry a deeply frustrating and boring experience and only managed a C due to how uninspiring it was. I probably could have done better had I bothered to do a bit more work but I didn't have time for dull. (Later after I had finished my physics degree and was capable of grappling with the maths I began to find chemistry interesting again and did a PhD on how atoms move during chemical reactions so it wasn't all wasted)

Chemistry if Chem Eng is a possibility.
If Chem Eng is off the possible list, then which ever he prefers. Personally, Mandarin. Business is big in China for all the big engineering firms I know.

Are the school more concerned about individual achievement, or their stats, or both? Just worth a thought.

Definitely worth considering doing all 4; I assume if the workload got too much then he could drop one halfway through the year?

When I was at school, 4 was also quite common (high academic achieving school decades ago); and in our neighbouring school (boys' version of the same sort) they would even do 5 (but that's because they ALL had to do "General Studies", which we didn't).

If he is sure he doesn't want to do chemical engineering, the pick the one he is going to get the best grade in. Although I personally would stick with chemistry as that was my favourite!

Don't keep all 4! If he was an A* student and finding it easy, then that would be different. 3 good grades are worth more than 4 weaker ones.