Which A levels to take?

[GizmoIsSoFluffy]

Option 1 - chemistry, maths and physics

Option 2 - chemistry, maths and geography.

No fixed career aspirations yet, due to get between grades 7-9 in all above subjects at GCSE. Just can't decide whether to take physics or geography.

Thank you for any help

Option 2 is a slightly broader range so you’ll meet more students and have a more diverse skill set.

What GCSE grades are expected in Physics and Geography?

How much does she love maths? 1 will be very maths heavy - and is similar to what both DH and I did (I threw biology in there just for fun!). Both are decent sets of subjects tho.

I did option 1 (plus biology). I dropped physics after AS level though and wish I'd done georgaphy instead so I'd go for option 2. As someone else said, it's a broader range of subjects.

@inthelabyrinth, she is due a 9 maths. She enjoys it.

I did option 1

Start all four. She’ll know by October half term which one she wants to drop.

Its not your decision
Let her choose.

There's nothing wrong with any of them.
The wrong choice is one the parent wants them to do and not what the child wants. They need to buy into their choices to own them and succeed

Either is fine.

When my child was struggling to choose between two options we looked at what degrees they wouldn't be able to do without X or Y and that helped them choose.

So can you study geography and related subjects at university without geography A-level? Can you study physics and related subjects at university with physics A-level? Is either combination better for e.g. medicine, law, accounting or are they happy to rule these out?

Depends what she wants to do after A levels. Option 1 for anything engineering based.

I would suggest that she puts the different options into a degree finder and see which degrees interest her more.

On a purely practical level option 1 is almost certain to be possible on the timetable so if she is wanting to keep her options open as long as possible and the school are asking for A level choices now to prepare the timetable choose 2. She should be more easily be able to switch from option 2 to option 1 after GCSES. My dd really crystalised her decisions on her third option after doing all the revision and past papers. She found one style of question suited her much more than another. They let them swap a levels even a couple of weeks into September. Dd didn't but lots of others did.

For me, Option 1 with a "fun" AS.

Triple science opens the door to a really nice array of STEM careers. I work in tech and its good hours good pay, amd offers great quality of life.

I may be biased as all the geographers from school are now overworked lawyers and miserable management consultants?!?!

Sorry not exactly triple science - but three "sciences" its very early/late
Bloody pregnancy insomnia!!!

Thank you everyone. Well, mostly everyone. I have no intention of choosing for her, she will work it out herself. I'm just trying to find ways to help her decide.

Slightly brutal but the STEM route will offer the best chance in a structured way of definite employment and more money. DH and his mates all did STEM degrees, it was Cambridge so thats an advantage I just went to a mere RG University. Myself and my mates are all social scientists. Now many years hence those STEM careers have paid off overall, The ones that didn't stay in science ended up working in banking and earn obscene amounts of money, we know because they love telling us.

Option 2 will give them all the A-Levels needed to study a STEM subject at uni. Adding Geography will give them experience of more long-form answers, essay-writing etc. that Option 1 would miss out.

I would go with whichever subject you prefer and the one you think you are better at. Maths and chemistry will provide a good foundation.

Is there an option to take all four? Or to start all four for a term and decide then which to drop? He/She sounds very intelligent so could handle the workload.
If not, with no specific career idea, option 2 covers more options for follow-on.