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

A-level subject choices and combinations that give preference

28 replies

winterrabbit · 05/01/2024 00:07

DS1 is currently deciding which A-levels to study next year. I've read that schools/colleges give preference to certain subject combinations and that you're more likely to get accepted if you pick one of the preferred combinations. Does anyone know if this is right and, if so, what the subject combinations usually are? DS will probably do French, Economics and one other.

OP posts:
clary · 05/01/2024 00:29

Ah OK. Acceptance at sixth form is not usually an issue unless a) it is a very competitive sixth form (I gather these exist but have no knowledge really) or b) your GCSE grades are not good enough.

Most schools require 4/5 in eng and maths and then 6 or 7 in chosen A level subjects. So if a student wanted to do biology but got a 4 at GCSE, school might suggest another subject. But I have never heard of a post-16 destination giving priority to students who chose specific subjects for A level (except as I said, if there is a subject clash issue - but then I would hope they would discuss and suggest alternatives).

Original poster
winterrabbit · 05/01/2024 00:24

Thanks Clary. Yes, I meant at sixth form not uni. Yep, we did think about maths as it's his highest prediction but am a bit wary as I've heard it's a very tough A-level and needs a lot of work to do well and DS is pretty lazy (bright but lazy). He has ADHD so has been a struggle with behaviour thus far. No idea what he'll study at uni but good point to bear in mind.

OP posts:
clary · 05/01/2024 00:20

Do you mean colleges as in sixth form destinations? Or as in universities?

If the former, then it's only an issue if there is a combo they cannot accommodate due to subject clashes (possible if one is a less-chosen subject). So you need to check that with the school.

If you mean as possible uni subjects, not really. Obviously if you don't take A level English lit then you won't get accepted to study eng lit at uni (ditto for biology, or history, or German, or many other subjects)- but then presumably that doesn't interest you (or you would have taken the A level).

If he is interested in economics at uni tho, he should take maths A level and maybe consider further maths. If econ is just a general interest and he wants to study French at uni (yay!) or some other subject that has no specific A level subject requirements then happy days.

Swipe left for the next trending thread