Help DD with her future please!

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DD is in Y11 and has to give in her preferences for A Levels over Xmas online. The deadline is Jan 1st for her school and she has had countless talks at school and support but she still has little knowledge of what she would like to do and what would facilitate her future etc.

She is toying with these subjects but will have to narrow them down to three.
-History
-Geography
-Spanish
-English Literature
-Drama
-Biology

Biology is the odd one out in a sea of humanities/arts

She also isn’t sure what she would like to do after University and thinks something to do with languages (she also does French but not as keen) might be good at University but she wouldn’t want to just do languages and isn't sure that she would be academically inclined enough to do something to challenging at University.

DH and I are little help as DH is in Politics but had a very maths/IT based career beforehand, which she isn’t interested in and I’m in the art world, but again she doesn’t enjoy art.

Honestly we are desperately running out of time and I can’t believe we have let her ignore the deadline for so long but have dealt with a very traumatic bereavement on DH’s side before the Xmas holidays so this was understandably not at the front of our minds.

Do you need to see her predicted GCSE grades/mock grades to help? I wasn’t sure.

This just feels terrible and poor DD is so overwhelmed.

English lit, biology and Spanish.

Basically because the others don't actually matter on getting into uni as it's mainly English and maths. She's got a science if she decides on a scientific degree, and a language if she wants to do a language degree.

If the others were more important as well, she'd be insisting on them.

I'd be tempted to do biology, geography and French/Spanish. Biology to some extent keeps foot in door of science if she wanted to go down that route. Plus degrees like biomedical can be better at newer university's who dont necessarily require chemistry/maths

Looking at ucas Durhams biomedical degree classifies geography as a science if you have biology

Science teacher here - Biology and Geography go well together, and as she got 9s in her mocks she sounds more than capable. A Level Bio is about 10% maths, but with a 6 in maths she should be ok - just will have to work at it a bit. I don't think any of the other options would really compliment Biology and Geography, so she should just choose the other option she enjoys the most!

In most schools these choices aren't final. I'm old but at this point I chose French, German, Geography and English Lit. After results (all A*) I ended up doing French, Maths and Physics with an extra language GCSE on the side - so it is possible to change.

I fell out with Geography over coursework, decided I didn't want to do yet more poetry and literature in French German and English - and really found I loved physics in the final term of GCSE teaching!

It is better to make the right choice now- as there is more chance of the school making your choices possible - I couldn't fit 2 languages with Physics or add Chemistry without dropping French because the timetable was set on my everyone's original choices! But these choices are not set in stone - I learned a lot about what I really enjoyed under the pressure of GCSE revision!

Biology teacher here.

Not trying to sound dramatic, and she’s getting 9s so is obviously talented....but.... she should only take it if she loves it as a subject. It is hard, and most students will hit a wall with it at some stage. There is a lot of content and some of it is quite chemistry based. She’ll also have to learn statistics and be able to apply then.

Obviously, I think it’s the best subject ever, and if she do well, it can open doors.

My advice to any year 11 is to choose what you love doing. After all, once you start, you’re stuck with those subjects for three years.

*She's in this predicament because she knows you'll swoop in and rescue her. I'd bet you do this a lot for her. And look what you're doing. She sits back and lets you sort out of her life. It's no way to behave.

She has the deadline. Tell her to step up, act her age, and sort herself out. Problem solved.*

Please stop @Devereux1
This is just unhelpful and borderline nasty. I have already stated that we have suffered (DD more than the rest of us to a degree) a horrible, painful family bereavement which resulted in DD not having her options sorted as she has been grieving.

And there is absolutely no need to presume things about my family; I do not swoop in and fix things for her unless necessary, like it is right now.

She's in this predicament because she knows you'll swoop in and rescue her. I'd bet you do this a lot for her

Fuck me @devereaux1 that's a hell of an extrapolation. I have quite an acerbic manner, but shitting hell you are downright vindictive, to a 15 year old recently bereaved. Do you feel better now?

OP - ignore the poster who said do Spanish because some unis want it. They don't. Unless she's contemplating a Spanish degree. That said if she's thinking a Spanish degree, it's not a popular choice at uni so likely to get in with dropped grades. Uni and A level are lit based - does she like reading texts in Spanish?

Biology - goes well with Geog, but unless thinking about a Bio degree it's not much use.

Geog - good choice. Not too essay based.

So Bio/Geog/Spanish?

Or Geog/History/English?

Sorry about typos - I’m on my phone!!

I would say that Geog and History A Level are not really similar at all.
History is all essay based and develops your skills in reasoning and debate.
My perception is that Geog is much more science based.

You do have to be very good at English Lit GCSE to do well at A Level - it’s a lot of reading, being able to dissect texts, memorise quite a lot and I think you need a passion and aptitude for it to do well.

French is difficult at A Level - a big jump from GCSE.

@mrcow
Thank you for the first hand advice, I think that’s the key thing really, if she will genuinely enjoy the subject. And no worries, I can’t type to save my life on a phone

@titchy
Thanks for breaking it down. That was really helpful. She does like reading in Spanish, definitely but I think she would struggle as she finds the grammar really tricky, whereas she finds French grammar easier oddly.

What is it she finds interesting about geography? If it is the physical or environmental aspects she likes, biology could be a good match. If it’s the more human angle, history and a language would not be a bad combination.

For what it’s worth, I did A levels in biology, history and geography and ended up doing a degree in geography. I personally feel that biology gave me more in terms of a different way of looking at things than history did.

• Get her to rate them in numerical order based on what she enjoys

• going by GCSE grades is not always a great idea. It is ability and enjoyment that will see her through to completing her A levels.

• WHY does she like each of the subjects?
• which subjects does she ( proportionately) enjoy most. Ie - does she like all of geography, or only part?

• what knowledge/ skills does she want to gain?

• if she takes away the " sensible" options, are there subjects that she is ready to let go of?

• surely the school will let her change her mind if needed? If so, does she need to put pressure on herself now?

If she really isn't sure, I would suggest Biology, Spanish, and History or Geography would provide an even balance of areas (science, language, humanities).
Check the syllabus of history before choosing it - I loved history gcse so took the a-level but the subject on the syllabus was not an area of history that interested me so I wish I'd taken another subject instead.

I'd recommend English Lit, Spanish and either Geography or History, leaning towards Geography. I've looked at some degree entrance requirements and they don't specify History to study History, whereas they do rec Geography to study Geography. I think she should forget the Biology unless she is super keen as really needs Maths or another science (as well as Biology) to get into a Science degree IME.

I wouldn't have thought Drama esp useful, unless she def wants to pursue that as a career.

@Savingforarainyday
If she goes with pure enjoyment I think she would be leaning towards English Lit, Geog, History, Spanish and would then need to discount one of them.

But I think she is also wary of History, English and Spanish as her grades aren’t what the school recommend for them at A level, or are just borderline/scraping the grade. Her HoY is pushing for DD to pick Biology (which she does enjoy so could do so) and French with the Geog as she is doing so so well in all three of them.

I'd pick History - for developing critical thinking and writing skills.
Geography - as a science.
Spanish - languages are useful and because she wants to do it.

I was pushed into doing the A levels my teachers wanted me to do. Completely flunked one of them - got a U!

A mixture may be unusual but it's fine so long as it won't cut off any options in the future.

DD is at Cambridge doing a Humanities subject, and also did languages (1 to A Level, 1 to AS) and a science at A Level.

I think if your DD really is interested in Geography she should do that - there are loads and loads of options now at Uni due to climate change and Geo science etc. The human side of it also lends itself too Sociology.

She should then pick her next 2 based on what she is best at - I was made do Chemistry instead of Art (I got and A in Chemistry and would have failed ART - I loved art but had NO ability).

I think pick one area you love and the others based on ability and liking something (I ended up loving Chemistry as I was so good at it, I only wish I had done it at UNI - I did French, and I did not have the level to study it at Uni where, TBH, you need to be nearly at fluency to survive.).

My other thought would be, unless your DD is fluent in her languages, do NOT study a language at Uni as it will take down the grade of your overall degree. You can now do an Erasmus year around the world without needing to study a language so she could still travel without the stress of studying a foreign language at Uni.

Hope this helps.

What about the IB program? International Baccalaureate
Cambridge, Oxford all take on IB students. It’s has UCAS pts accepted like A levels. It is also accepted by EU universities so if she wanted to go to Brussels to study to be a UN interpreter...

Does she know the teachers that she will have for each subject? My sixth form was attached to my school so I knew the teachers well and this helped my decisions.

I have both geography and biology A-Levels. I loved geography (I had a great teacher) but biology was HARD. It is about 5 steps up from GCSE, although a good teacher could make a massive difference here. I also did English lit at AS level but I hated it (again, due to the teacher taking it, she had no real passion or interest in us succeeding).

Does she have any idea what she might like to do? I did a psychology degree and I'm now a teacher. DP a geography degree and now works in PR. Unless she knows she wants to do something related to 'science' e.g. pharmacy, nursing, midwifery, medicine, dentistry, etc etc where she would need a science A-Level to get on the course I would lean towards what she enjoys and is good at.

I would take a look on UCAS just to get a general feel for what courses are out there and the requirements to get on each one at different universities.

From
www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk/evaluating-ib-vs-a-level-for-sixth-form-study/

Offering more breadth than A Level study, a student pursuing the full IB diploma will take one course in each of 5 groups, including two languages, a social science, an experimental science and maths. A sixth subject must be chosen from an additional arts group, or another subject from the first 5 groups. Some subjects are studied at Higher level and some at Standard level.

When considering the IB Diploma as an international applicant, it is important to research which language will be studied and examined as first language and which as second language, (e.g. non-native speaker). Most UK schools offer first language English only. However, some will facilitate a student taking first language German for example, if transferring to the UK from Germany.

In addition to the above, the programme has three core requirements that are included to broaden the educational experience and challenge students to apply their knowledge and understanding.

With my DS we looked at uni courses he liked the look of, and what the a levels requirements for those courses are

It does not have to be super specific, but he said engineering or computing. We then found out that he'd be best off with maths and sciences (physics) and that a level computing iSn't actually a requirement actually For a computing degree.

Work your way backwards

Not drama... sorry but a waste.

Not spanish unless she wants to do languages plus alevel is much harder as the subjunctive is introduced, a tense we don’t have in English (I think).

Combo of any of the others would be viewed as good.