Dd wants to do a levels in geography, politics, English lit

[Worriedagainmum]

She has no real idea what she wants to do with these land it worries me she has no plan

DD’s grammar sixth form is very science dominated. At open evening they were clear that students must choose what they like and are good at (basically told parents to back off pressuring them in to science/medicine route)

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

Do have a quick look at requirements for Geography degrees. Some places like you to have Chemistry A Level to read for Physical Geography so her current choices may restrict her to Human Geography. This is broadbrush advice - each University has its own rules - but it's best to realise this when sooner (when choosing A Levels) rather than later (when applying to University).

I used to run courses for teens not in employment, education or training. Every group had 1 or more where they had opted for A levels that their parents wanted and then dropped out during the first year. They were the easiest ones I had. Quick discussion about what they wanted to do/we're interested in, discussion with parents who at that stage were just ecstatic that they wanted to do A levels/level 3 and book them on a course for the following September

I'll tell my nephew earning mega bucks with one of the big consultancy firms that he shouldn't have done history then.

I agree with others that this sounds like a good mix of well-respected subjects, and all the better if your DD enjoys them and finds them interesting (I think that’s really important). I understand your worry about your DD not knowing what she wants to do at uni, but she has got time on her side.

If she’s choosing her A levels now, it sounds like she’s doing her GCSEs and in Year 11 - is that right? If so, she has still got lots of time - it’s good that she’s decided she’d like to go to uni.

Maybe it would be helpful if she had a chat with a few of her teachers and a careers adviser at school, and did a bit of online research, just to have a think about what she’d like to study at uni and what kind of careers might interest her. Has she done any work experience with school?

Repayments with earnings of £50k are a lot higher than £10 pm but that’s ok as she’ll be earning a lot! The point is that if she doesn’t earn a lot it’s ok as she won’t be paying much either.

Easy there rishi sunak.

Cant really see any issues, great choices and can lead to a huge array of careers! If she works hard she’ll get into a good university and pick up plenty of transferable skills; long gone are the days of doing a degree in your chosen career. I did Politics, English Lit & History, went to university (English Lit & History) and had a job arranged a week after I finished for the summer in marketing for a big company in my university city. Starting salary was £23K & I don’t think I even noticed when I started paying back my loan. Sounds like you’re being old fashioned and unreasonable.

It’s difficult - DS is doing 3, one of which he got a 9 for at GCSE but the other two he didn’t. He’s focused on a career which needs good grades in subjects which he did ok in but weren’t his strongest at GCSE. We’ve let him choose after some discussion. If she’s had some career advice at School etc I’d let her choose what she wants.

Good mix. Could go into environmental professions with that, the environmental sciences needing both geography and English writing skills, and politics would be good to inform there too. So landscape architecture, environmental science or related environmental policy/ law/ management perhaps. I wish more of my environmental consultant graduates in my team (consultancy) could read and write properly….

Politics is a lot of overlap with history. If she dropped history in favour of geography yr 9 or 10 just check syllabus appeals. My dc is loving politics it’s American and British politics and with how everything is at the minute lots to discuss.

What science?

Yeah I think this is what is driving this post, just the worry of it all
plus myself or dh didn’t even go to uni so we don’t know as much as people that have

Wow, I must let my employers know that. They normally recruit lots of people with humanities degrees. I have four of them myself. And I'm a rather senior manager with a nice employment package...

They're strong A Levels for someone to do if they don't yet know what they want to do in their future. They offer a variety of skills and are seen by employers and universities as valued subjects. Geography is a humanity (and a very enjoyable A Level, having done it myself), English Literature provides higher literacy knowledge/skills and politics is another topic which is often viewed in high esteem by potential employers. All three of those A Levels have the potential to be difficult, meaning a decent grade in any of them will show hard work, perseverance and good understanding of a topic. These are what the employers and universities look for as well as just the subject being studied.

A Levels are quite the step up from GCSEs so the main thing is that she does A Levels that she wants to do and, preferably, enjoys. Persuading her to do an A Level subject that she does not want to do will make it even more difficult as if she is not enjoying the learning it will be harder to take in the information and motivate herself for the assessments and exams.

I would say all three of her subjects are strong and will set her up with a wide variety of options once she finishes her A Levels (depending on her grades of course), but one way of setting herself up for the best grade she can achieve is by taking A Levels that she wants to do and feels she can do well in.

Don't think of it as specific subjects, think of it more in terms of the skills she's going to learn. Those subjects will cover things like analytical skills, comparisons, cause and effect/consequences, pattern/behavioir recognition, research and debate, problem solving, critical thinking, strong communication skills, cultural and social awareness, time management, and so on - all skills that are attractive to employers and very transferable.

Hi OP, I can't understand why you think that combination could possibly be unreasonable in any shape or form?

Can I ask - what is is you think she should be doing?

Unless she is one of those who has a burning mission to be a doctor, or teacher etc from a young age, it's absolutely normal to not be pinning yourself to a certain 'career' at 15/16. I would argue it's definitely preferable and far more realistic to have your options open at that age.

My DD did Geography, Economics and Spanish. She is now at Oxford studying Geography. It's a very relevant degree that lends itself to many careers (sustainability, global warming, global inequality - all big questions for this generation!) and she has been offered many internships (including ones in banks, international development agencies and even Amazon).

So with those A-levels, your DD could apply for Geography, Politics or English degrees (obviously). If she got top grades she would be perfectly placed to apply for HSPS (Human, Social, Political Sciences) at Cambridge. She could apply for Liberal Arts degrees anywhere. She could apply to Politics or Dual BA programmes at international institutions such as LSE or UCL. Or Anthropology degrees there - even Sociology-type degrees at those two unis, or the LSE degree Culture and Society. A degree from any of these top unis will open doors for her and give her so many options. Then, if she wants to specialise in a more career-specific area, she can do an MBA or a more specialist Masters programme.

These are brilliant A-levels which complement each other and will stand her in good stead. My only word of warning would be that if she wanted to apply for more Physical Geography courses (or Environmental Science or Geology), a Biology or Maths A-level may help for applications to unis offering purely those type of science- based Geog courses. But it doesn't matter much because most Geography degrees start general and then they choose modules to match their interests.

Education has and is changing there is a move to understanding and appreciation of transversal skills, crossing sectors will become the norm as it is happening internationally at very senior level and it will trickle down. Research in third level predicts increase of bridging qualifications small in size.

I would advise all students to play to their strengths and their passions. Happy students do bette. The likelihood is the jobs she may do may not even exist yet.

Wishing her the best in her studies.

No one who says they "wouldn't mind" being a teacher should be considering a career in teaching.

English Literature in particular is widely well regarded.

Bollocks

Lots of people have no specific career plan at this stage. And many of those who do, change their plans later on.

These seem to me to be very reasonable and respectable A levels, that would keep lots of options open.

Good choices if she fancies being a teacher.

Your daughter wants to do proper a levels and go to uni. That's great!

She is only 16 presumably, the vast majority of 16 year olds dont know what they want to the next year let alone in 2 or 3 (and if they did, are likely to change their mind).

I was an all rounder and got top marks in all subjects at school. I floundered a bit at uni as didn't have anything I was really passionate about. Others who were really into the subject did better.

In a practical sense, trying to steer her into something you think is a 'better' subject or that leads more directly to a job is likely to backfire. I have met a few people who did courses or subjects that they felt their parents wanted them to do, or their parents steered them to do, and it has never ended well (and even where it has been a 'success' on paper, these people remain unhappy and trapped in careers they never wanted but feel unable to leave).

I think you can have general discussions about vocational vs purely academic subjects, different types of careers, and other related issues (eg is it worth doing a job you're not that keen on, if the money is great? How much does work / life balance matter? How much does family friendly hours matter eg working weekends when the rest of the world works 9-5 mon-fri etc.) But just asking questions. Anything else will not end well