Any knowledgeable people out there, advice on A-levels

But what dues she want to study at uni? That would be my first question.
And I'm sure someone will suggest that website where you put in various A level combinations and it suggests careers - it's useless (my daughter is doing art, history and psychology and the outcome was really varied).
And doing well and being interested in a subject are two different things.
She should pick an area (say civil engineer, as 'engineer' is too vague) and look at the entry requirements and work back from there.

I think English Literature is what most students know - studying and analysing fiction texts etc.
What are her favourites? Is she into reading lots, writing essays etc or more technically minded?

• Which of Bus Studies, Economics or English would be more 'highly regarded' (if at all) by uni admissions?

I'm no expert, others will be better qualified to answer but my 50 cents. Economics and English both highly regarded. I believe business studies may be slightly less so (in terms of academic uni applications).

• If students are strong in English and Maths, would English be a more enjoyable subject compared with Economics e.g.?

Not necessarily. I think economics can be a really interesting subject for many. Real life case studies; applied mathematics; even philosophy. English is great too if you love reading but some find the reading of Shakespeare etc, long essays etc. onerous tasks. What are your child's real passions?

• Of course A-levels are a real step up but, which of the following would you regard being the biggest step up if you did them at GCSE: Biology, Chemistry, DT, English, French, German, Latin, Maths, Physics?

Not really sure on the last question but overall I think you'd do well to get a couple of uni brochures/careers books and get a sense of longer term goals. This will help to give an idea of best for subjects/which not to drop. For, example to study psychology you do not need maths a level but I think it makes it a lot easier for students at university if they do have it.

If they want to be an engineer: Maths, Further Maths, Physics, chemistry etc would be most valuable; A banker: maths, further maths or computing, economics, a language maybe; a lawyer: English would be a good one; a nurse: chemistry, biology; marketing: English, maths and economics/business studies or psychology maybe. Psychology: maths, psychology, biology. Do they want a well paid business career or a caring/giving back, rewarding but possibly less well paid, career, or a creative career, practical career etc etc.

I believe the sciences can be made easier by doing more due to the overlap. My school advised to do chemistry as the central science to add biology/physics to

Hi OP - I see you have mentioned MFL which is my subject, I think the A level is a big step up from the GCSe, even though the GCSE is a better prep for the newer spec A level than the pre-reform GCSE (which was last sat in 2017).

My DD took French and did more work for it than her other two (Eng lit and Geography) put together. In addition, if someone is considering French or German, other things being equal I would cynically advise German - not just bc it is more unusual, but bc based on grade boundaries (and assuming AQA board) it is a lot easier (hah!) to get a higher grade in than French. Check the marks for French and German needed t get a grade B or A over the last few years.

Wrt your other queries - is that eng lit or Eng lang? They are very different (and Eng lang is very different from the GCSE). Eng lit takes you to a uni degree in Eng Lit, whereas economics is not needed for any degree (economics degrees need maths not econ), so in that sense Eng lit keeps a door open - it may not be a door your DD wants to push against tho. Economics seems like a good idea if you are thinking of it as a degree to see if you like it - but I have no direct experience there.

Maths and a science will keep open doors to study that science at university; if she adds FM it will also keep open doors to maths at uni and engineering (but check which science - physics better than biology for that. If she took maths, FM, physics and economics she would really have to LOVE maths as that's a lot of what she would be doing.

DS2 took maths and biology and found maths a big ask - he got an 8 back in 2019 (so I mean he sat the exams) and worked very hard for his B at A level. Biology came a bit easier - but otoh I believe it is a challenging A level - he is just really keen on it (degree choice).

HTH - sorry for essay