Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Dd unsure about her A level choices

31 replies

LaCerbiatta · 10/10/2022 11:11

Dd is bright and ambitious and did very well in her GCSEs.

She likes Sciences and chose Maths, further Maths, Chemistry and Physics. She really liked Biology up to year 10, but got a bit desilusioned with it after doing the first mocks and realising that to do well she had to write things up in a certain way.

She's now wondering if she's made a mistake and should have chosen Biology and is considering dropping further maths and adding Biology instead. Dh and I think that if she wants something like biochemistry she can keep what she has and just pick up the bio side later on. We think if she can do further maths it would be a real advantage. But.... we weren't educated in this country and know very little 😁

Any experience? Advice? Thanks so much!

OP posts:
UneFilleDeBelleville · 10/10/2022 11:53

DS's school does not allow FM as one of three as it's too narrow and restrictive.

What is her concern- is it that she's going to struggle with FM or that she actively wishes she had done biology?

Original poster
LaCerbiatta · 10/10/2022 11:50

User84 · 10/10/2022 11:23

Four A Levels are not required in this country. The only time it might be sensible is where one of them is further maths but even then its not required and she could just do maths, further maths and physics.

Four A Levels will be a mistake if it means getting for example 4 A grades rather than two A stars and an A

That's really helpful point, thanks. I think we need to reinforce the idea that 4 is not better than 3.

She couldn't do just 3 with further maths though, not sure if it's just her school but with further maths you always need 4 due to the high percentage of drop outs

OP posts:
Original poster
LaCerbiatta · 10/10/2022 11:47

She doesn't know what she wants to do next, that's the problem! Biochemistry was an example really of something she might be interested in with a bio component.

She had 9s in all of them except for further maths in which she had 8

OP posts:
User84 · 10/10/2022 11:33

Did she get 9s in all of those subjects?

HonorHiding · 10/10/2022 11:31

What does she want to do next? You mention biochemistry, but is that coming from her?

User84 · 10/10/2022 11:23

Four A Levels are not required in this country. The only time it might be sensible is where one of them is further maths but even then its not required and she could just do maths, further maths and physics.

Four A Levels will be a mistake if it means getting for example 4 A grades rather than two A stars and an A