A-Level Maths, Computer Science and...?

Obviously all depends what your child's interests and strengths are.

The rest of that post was therefore somewhat irrelevant except to imply that maybe don't apply to imperial if you explicitly don't want to do fm or another science ... which is fine as there are so many other good courses. There's plenty of software/computing jobs needing 'softer' skills or other types of domain knowledge.

Definitely look beyond the self - defined marketing group that is the Russell Group. The point about informed choices website (which is one of their marketing tools) is that it does set the info out really clearly and is a good first step in their research. But yes def great unis that aren’t RG.

I think taking in to account the housing at the uni is increasingly important too. Has a massive impact if you attend Manchester but have to live in Salford, or Bristol but end up in Wales etc

Imperial (which is an excellent place for computer science) lists maths as a requirement.

Computer Science, further maths and physics are listed as desirable

So the optimal combination would be maths, further maths, computer science and physics.

For the third A Level I'd suggest physics. Alternatively chemistry, economics or history could be good choices either to expand scientific options or improve writing skills.

Then take further maths as the 4th a level. I think further maths is best taken as a 4th subject otherwise the curriculum becomes very narrow.

Obviously all depends what your child's interests and strengths are.

Well 17 of the top 20 are RG. They might be in their own club but they are the majority at the top for this subject. My point was that the three others won’t be any easier to get into. Coventry or Teeside will be.

If dc wants a wider choice of unis, FM keeps more doors open.

If the student wants to do it, and if can get a good grade. The OP unambiguously said her DD didn't want to do it. And if there's any chance they may change their mind about uni course, doing 3 inc FM can close doors too.

That’s what I’m saying- Russel Group unis are not the be all and end all. There are other great universities which are not in the self described gang ( like the unis you listed)

I know a couple of people who did maths/ computing A-level with subjects that seem unrelated - one did music because he wanted to get into digital recording - technical side of music industry. The other art, which is more common. He's had a very successful career in the film industry.

@Dotchange But Bath and St Andrews are top 10 for this subject and not RG. They will still be competitive. If dc wants a wider choice of unis, FM keeps more doors open. Loughborough is 17 in CUG but does anyone think FM wouldn’t be useful for their course?

Physics, if she is interested in computer science then she might also be interested in electical and electronic engineering or robotics which she won’t have any experience of so far.

That just links to Russell Group courses. There really, really are other universities. It is a good place to start though

Completely agree with this. If she would be aiming for a top ranking university then although they will not say further maths she will be competing against applicants with further maths. There are sometimes statistics on the university website stating what applicants were successful and for everything else there is google and Freedom of Information requests that ask this question too. Further maths isn't offered at all sixth forms/colleges and some universities want it but can't state it as it would disadvantage some applicants. A very small percentage of students take 4 A levels and half of them take further maths.

At the end of the day if the course is oversubscribed which a lot of them are for computer science, then they cherry pick. DC is doing computer science at a university in the top 10 and will tell you that you absolutely need further maths to make your life easier. Business Studies isn't as well regarded as Economics too.

or chemistry (which when combined with maths opens all STEM, except squishy biology stuff)
Chemistry and maths without physics don't 'open all STEM'.
However... if you're into programming and software development but have a strong interest in science, then a degree in that can lead to scientific software development

Further maths is useful for computer science, and depending on the course she selects, she might be increasing her workload at university as she will have to learn things that others have covered.

Some courses however are not so maths-y, so desirability of FM depends on where she is aiming for.

Psychology or physics are good choices, but with maths and comp sci you could have anything as the third subject, so she can choose whichever excites her. English language could also be a good one

But if she has any thoughts that she might want to choose something else, then physics (good for all engineering) or chemistry (which when combined with maths opens all STEM, except squishy biology stuff)

Bollocks.
The people who can design good computer code and write clever algorithms are the ones who will be in higher demand than ever.

As AI will be taking over most of the maths and computer jobs in the next 10 years, she should choose something with a future resilience with regards to jobs.

Sorry, my first post was a bit irrelevant on this thread as an answer to OP. DS1 is doing Further Maths but as a 4th not a 3rd A level, and my understanding is that this is normal with FM, so it's still possible to take another choice. The entry requirements are higher for overall GCSE grades for 4 A levels though, as well as needing an 8 for FM compared to a 7 for Maths at the (5) places DS1 was offered. And Further Maths itself is seen as quite hard. I would go through Computer Science courses, and possibly other courses of interest with your DD to check that she has a good chance of getting on to those that appeal to her without the FM.

The universities considered must be commensurate with ability level. The more competitive the more likely FM is good prep for making an application that gets a place. CS and similar courses are sought after so judge what unis are a possibility.

Hi @IngridMcDonald !

I would consider what career she might want eventually. And then I would look at the web pages of specific courses at, say, three different universities and their Entry Requirements in terms of A Levels.

Technology study means lots of maths and some physics. So whilst Maths, Computer Science plus another A Level might be enough, many universities would prefer Physics or Further Maths as a third A Level. Some, such as Imperial College, might specifically exclude Business Studies.

Economics is more macro level (think the uk economy) whilst Business is more allied to running a company. However DC should just choose one. If DCs ever start up a business , business A level has its uses.

Lots of dc in this country specialise early and avoid essays. They do indeed end up with poor writing skills and are not as employable as they should be. English and Maths are two of the maligned “facilitating” subjects (as described by the teacher without using the word) but often need a third A level, eg physics for engineering, French for French etc to get on these courses.

A level Maths, Computer Science and Psychology could be a combination to consider.

If she wants to do a CSci degree then the third subject is there to give her the third grade, so pick something she enjoys and thinks she'll be good at. Incidentally most don't require CSci A level, either.

But, it's good to keep options open. Both my eldest two children have changed their minds (several times) about what degree they wanted to do, during the course of A levels. If she's absolutely sure she's not a scientist, History or Economics are both still good options.

Has she looked to see which History syllabus her school do? That might help decide. She could also ask to look at an Economics textbook/revision book/course notes to see if it seems interesting.

If there is any possibility of starting 4 A levels and dropping one, that is a really good idea.

Does she do any languages? Latin or Spanish might be great options if she does any language GCSEs. DT works well as well. To be honest the third one could be any subject that she enjoys. Physics is definitely useful as well but any subject you choose at A-Level should be one she enjoys and is doing well in.

Has she looked at the curricula for the A level economics and business to get a feel for what's entailed in them?

While physics undoubtedly does keep a lot of doors open in combination with maths and CS, if she isn't keen on any sciences then maybe they'd be doors she'd never want to step through.

One question might be whether she's got any sense of what sort of computing she might be interested in eventually doing. There's some which is very mathsy, some might overlap with electronics, some might be business/economics focussed etc etc. Good communication skills are definitely useful ... I've just seen the poster recommending English language, in many roles it's not much use if you can communicate brilliantly with computers but poorly with humans. (Of course you don't necessarily need an A level in English or an essay subject to develop that ... I work with STEM types who can mostly write well, even if English isn't their first language.)

In our school they encourage you to apply for 4 and drop one if you can't decide.