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Original poster

Another A level combination question!

32 replies

TheLetterZ · 29/08/2020 17:33

Sorry I know there are quite a lot of these but could do with some other points of view.

Daughter is very academically able, got very good GCSEs and looking at top unis. Her plan is to start with 4 A levels and see how she gets on. She is doing Classics, DT, History and English.

She is really not liking the English set texts (Great Gatsby and Grapes of Wrath) so thinking of not starting English, or giving it a go but it is quite likely to be dropped.

So my question is are history and classics too similar? Husband thinks it is, I’m not sure.

Current Uni plans are to read anthropology.

OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 29/08/2020 18:05

Ours don't have a choice - it depends which of the two groups they're in.
My paper is the OLD stuff. It's got Shakespeare, drama and poetry - so I do Marlowe and Milton with Shakespeare.

www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-and-a-level/english-literature-h072-h472-from-2015/specification-at-a-glance/

If English Language is available, that's fantastic. I get excited teaching it.

catndogslife · 29/08/2020 17:59

I think Classics and History sound a good combination for Anthropology.
Am not sure how DT fits in with the above, but guess it's because your dd enjoys/is good at this subject.
I assume you mean English Lit. There is also English Language A level.
I don't think the joint Lit/Lang is still available for new students due to A level reforms.

Original poster
TheLetterZ · 29/08/2020 17:53

@MrsHamlet what is the other paper like? I know it is poetry and Shakespeare. My daughter would love to do dystopia but they don’t seem to have a choice.

OP posts:
TabbyStar · 29/08/2020 17:44

Classics is v different to the history syllabus my DD was looking at, though there seemed to be a lot of different history permutations, down to the individual school.

My DD considered doing history, politics and sociology, then one day said, "Wait! Am I doing the same A level three times?" as there was loads of overlap! She was doing Eng lit and lang instead of lit to avoid some texts.

MrsHamlet · 29/08/2020 17:44

I teach the OCR spec and love it - but I teach the other paper. One class does American for paper 2 and the other dues dystopia. I can't stand Gatsby, so I'm with her on that!

Original poster
TheLetterZ · 29/08/2020 17:40

Thanks, she really isn’t liking the books so far. They have just changed to OCR so I don’t know what else is on the list. I think it will be hard to get a good grade if you don’t like the texts though.

OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 29/08/2020 17:35

Those will only be 2 of the 6 texts, but if she doesn't like the reading list, I'd suggest not starting Lit.