A level choices

Ahem. Clare balding and Gabby Logan are also former sportspeople.

Both do have degrees, that said.

I talk sometimes to a former sports journalist for the BBC. Look around at new reporters. They are often former sports people. Often well known names who move into journalism. Or people with very strong sporting connections like Clare Balding, Gaby Logan, Kelly Cates to name just a few. The opportunities for the ordinary person have become severely limited and the BBC is getting rid of its sports journalists who are non players.

So whatever qualifications John Motson had, it’s almost certainly irrelevant now.

@GrasswillbeGreener doing philosophy with those 3 will give him a very interesting profile. 4 subjects is heavy, especially if he’s doing a lot of high level extra curricular music. Having said that some, and I emphasise some, courses count FM and maths as 1 subject, which then forces DCs to do 4 subjects. You also mention computer studies, which goes very well those 3 options and is a popular combination.

DS is looking at Maths / FM / Physics + 1. He is wondering about Philosophy. I don't think they've had their school discussions yet but soon. I had a chat about subject choices / uni / career aspirations with him the other day, and I think it will help him to look at uni courses a bit.

However, it's sounding increasingly as if he's headed for music. He doesn't need to do music A level with other stuff he's done already, and one of his instrumental teachers has suggested stuff for next year that will keep him pretty busy with that alone. I think the dilemma will be whether maths / physics / computer science stuff might be a useful adjunct to maximise his options for earning money until (and if...) such time as music pays off.

@Pipandmum

Thank you, that was my thought as well. He wanted to do subjects he enjoys and will do well in (hence the random choice he made of physics, PE and Media Studies) but physics seems unlikely without maths. They have had an awful couple of years and I think he just needs to enjoy 6th form.

@EwwSprouts

I did wonder about that but school have a large number of students doing A Level PE and I would say 95% don’t play sport at a very ugh level. DS is a good all rounder. He can do virtually any sport to a good standard that he tries (apart from trampolining, he wants to block that trauma from his memory all together!! ). He plays football and is good but definitely not Elite level. I assumed that it was better to have a good all round level of fitness and sports awareness than focus on 1 particular sport. I know a lot of the course is theory/science based so he should do well in that part.

Biology with PE to be a PE teacher (my son considered it so I did some research). No way was he ever going to do math.
My daughter is doing art, history and biology and psychology if they allow her to do a fourth. She wants go for a degree in art and illustration, so the biology is purely out of interest.
Sixth form is an experience in itself, not just a means to an end.

My concern was that a lack of Chemistry would rule out courses allied to medicine which is the area that DS is specifically interested in.

Ok, if it is medicine then chemistry is a must. This website is a good one.

www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/choosing-a-medical-school/what-a-levels-do-you-need-to-be-a-doctor/

Doing all three sciences is a good combination, there are lots of courses that are open from this (not just medicine).

Take a long hard look at PE A Level requirements. DS school does not recommend it for many because you need to be a high level player to access top grades. The problem wasn't the ability of students but enough high enough level events/competitions in reasonable travelling distance to video. I haven't explained that well but DS plays county level sport and got a 9 in GCSE PE and still the steer was best not.

Sports Science at Loughborough is one that he also looked at. I think that’s more him somehow.

Maybe PE, Biology and Media then? I think we will need to look at specific course requirements and go from there.

Thank you so much for all your help anyone, it really helps to just talk it all through.

Don't want to hijack OP's thread but also Huddersfield and Lincoln do sports journalism (and Sheffield does journalism : high entry requirements). They are pretty well regarded amongst the 'newer' unis.

picking not oicking!!

Just oicking out a few non connected/ not ex sports stars sports presenters (which is quite hard!):

Sally Nugent : Huddersfield degree then postgrad journalism at Huddersfield
Dan Walker : Sheffield history degree then Sheffield postgrad
Ore Oduba :Loughborough Sports Science
Mike Bushell : drama degree at Winchester and then on the job training (but he is a bit older and that local rag type stuff not so easy these days..)

Well a blog about his fave footy team can't do any harm and might give him an idea whether he enjoys it. Sports pundits on TV are often former players of course (Gary Lineker, Sue Barker, Ian Wright) tho John Motson must have started somewhere.

Otherwise PE teacher with maths A level is great.

@clary
Thank you! I will get him to have a look at Derby. I think he us completely overwhelmed (and currently trying to write an email on Fate in Romeo and Juliet!) and just doesn’t know what to do.

What I meant by reporting and not necessarily writing, is that he is aspiring to be some sort of sports pundit I think with a column in the newspaper but who interviews people on TV and radio rather than purely a written journalist.

I think in all honesty he’d be better focusing on becoming a teacher which is a job he’d be very good at, he has patience and empathy in bucketloads which I assume is a good starting point.

He does play sport, football. He is however lacking motivation to do anything extra at the moment which would help himself.

I think he probably needs some guidance in general about what route to do next.

@ihearttc the sports journalism course piggy mentions at Derby has no specific entry requirements in terms of subjects so not doing media won't close that to him.

I agree with Piggy btw, while many many journalists don't have a degree in journalism (including me), you probably should do one if that's what you want to be. It's a long way off being a prestigious degree (112 UCAS points for the Derby course) but will give you experience and connections. It's a very tough profession to get into and v competitive so any advantage is worth having.

You mention salary as a downside of teaching - salaries in journalism are way below teaching, especially for those starting out.

Not sure what you mean by him liking sports reporting rather than writing but if he is at all interested, there is nothing stopping him writing a blog about his favourite team and what they do each week. If he wants to do PE A level I assume he plays a sport. It doesn't matter if it's footy or some other sport. Obvs football matches are being played but other sports are happening too. He needs to have something to show, much more important than a certain A level.

She did English Lit and loved it but said it took her a couple of months after the exam to be able to read for pleasure again.

It took me about 5 years after my degree!!

Ah that’s interesting thank you! Nobody has ever heard of it when I mention it. I did wonder if that was the case, I think it probably attracts students due to the location and connections.

We visited UCFB iheart. I wasn't enamoured, must say. But it is good for building up good connections. It was the teaching I was very a bit dubious about. Derby Uni does an excellent sports journalism course that might be worth looking into.

Eng Lit certainly shouldn't be done by students who don't like it! So much reading!

@Piggywaspushed

Thank you that’s really helpful. It’s more Sports Reporting than the writing aspect he is interested in but obviously they go hand in hand. If he did that sort of course he wants to go to the UCFB (University College of Football and Business) in London which is affiliated with Wembley. There is one in Manchester as well. I realise it’s not a typical red brick university but a lot of the course is done “on the job” through Wembley itself which is obviously a good way into the profession.

School don’t offer English Lang A Level, only English Lit which he won’t do. He is great at the writing aspect itself but hates Literature. So I think if he can’t do that it’s going to rule out that sort of course anyway. Changing schools is not really an option. We live in the middle if nowhere and there are no transport links to other 6th forms. There is a train to a College 25 miles away but he would rather be at a school which sort of limits his options.