28 A Levels

[miniaturepixieonacid]

I was reading about the girl in this BBC article with 34 GCSEs now doing 28 A Levels. The tone is, I feel, relatively negative (cost, no university needs more than 4 etc) and I do agree that doing that many is pointless and would be a huge pressure. But the other side of me thinks that it actually sounds really fulfilling and exciting, not stifling and unnecessary. Imagine how well rounded and extensive your knowledge base would be. I bet she's a fascinating young woman to talk to. 17 year old me would 100% have cracked under the pressure but nearly 40 year old me is almost inspired to start building on my own collection.

What do you think?
YABU - it's crazy, no one needs that many qualifications.
YANBU - worthwhile, exciting use of time for someone who can cope with and enjoy it.

28 A Levels

What's to stop me as a grown woman deciding to study GCSEs and a levels I didn't choose to study at school?

Nothing, if you have the money and if you need it, can find a tutor. It's not slways cheap.

I have done German and Spanish GCSEs and AS-levels at evening classes - I'd have done A2 as well, were it possible, but not enough of us wanted to do it for them to run classes. I wanted a taught class for the speaking as much as anything, as I'm fully aware my accent is rubbish. I'm currently learning Welsh, though probably going to opt not to take an exam at this point of a number of reasons, including availability.

It's a bit odd taking exams with a load of teenagers, but it happened even in my day - we had a mature student join our French A-level class back in the '80s. I quite enjoy a good exam, now it doesn't mean the difference between whether I can leave home or not. There's something about the challenge of answering a question within a set time that I enjoy. (Not thst all subjects/questions are essay-based.)

I've also done an OU module for fun. There are tons of free courses online these days from all sorts of providers. If you're in a university town, it's worth checking if they do any extra-mural classes. There are also organisations like the WEA, even if your local authority doesn't have much in the way of AdEd these days.

I have always thought we narrow education too early in England and Wales - I still resent that I could only take 3 subjects at 6th form. I'd have been much more suited to a bac-style system.

I hope she's building up her hand strength - even when I did writing by hand every day, two three hour exams in a day would have my hand aching and starting to cramp by the end of a paper. Although a friend who teaches says they do get their boys to do hand exercises in preparation.

Yes I think the key point is that intelligence alone won’t secure success.

A workplace that is threatened by intelligence sounds like a shithole.

But obviously it’s important to also develop good social skills.

And AIUI, emotional intelligence is a better predictor of career success than ‘mensa test’ intelligence.

You are actually taught a lot of the emotional intelligence/ resilience/ breaking bad news/ communication stuff as part of medical studies now. It isn't necessary to come equipped with sparkling social skills. No more than any other subject. I was taken aback at how some of the younger students thought it was appropriate in mock scenarios to speak to patients but they improved quickly with the teaching. I think maturity and exposure plays a bigger part than prior socialisation as these were very sociable types.

Oh, yes, I wasn’t disbelieving you - I’m just incredulous that it’s even possible! How have they managed to avoid that knowledge?

Some of these posts sound so bitter and weirdly jealous. Can’t we celebrate extraordinary achievement?

I think she’s amazing and why not get a breadth of knowledge rather than going to university too early which can cause so many problems?

We rightly have more understanding these days for those whose brains are wired differently which can make it harder for them to achieve good results. Why not have a similar understanding for someone whose mental makeup tends towards exceptional achievement?

I bet in many other countries she would be admired. Here some posters are almost willing her to fail and implying she’s a weirdo with no life or social skills when actually she comes across as pretty normal, just clever. It’s embarrassing.

That’s great to hear this is taught and developed in med students now!

Again, this is deviating somewhat from the topic but people with high IQ's do not get 'discriminated against'. A lot of them simply rely too much on intelligence alone. That's all.
Exactly. Too much intelligence is a hindrance. Someone of average intelligence who is attractive and likeable will be more successful than someone who has super high intelligence and nothing else. It doesn’t matter how smart she is - other people are the gatekeepers of what she’ll be allowed to do in life.

Biology, chemistry, physics, maths, English literature, English language, geography, history, Homework economics, design and technology computing, French, Spanish, German, physical education, politics, psychology, sociology, R.E/philosophy, art.

If you do different boards, you can probably cover different areas of history (you could also just read more, but...) Likewise, different boards for Eng Lit might give you different books/plays. Maths and further maths is a common combination.

I think her story is brilliant. Good on her if that's what she wants to do! There are much worse ways to spend your time.

I can't think of anything I'd have enjoyed less at that age, but I came from a totally different background and am definitely not Oxbridge material! Good thing we're not all the same.

We had a retired senior social work manager on my degree course. His education had been interrupted by WW2 and afterwards he couldn't go back to it but did after retirement. Lovely guy and one who had insights and experiences that we didn't, like appropriating a jeep and driving in to Petra as the dawn was breaking, all alone. The awe with which he described the colour has stayed with me.

People going back to study later, whether formal or not, are admirable.

Yes but you can’t have more than 24 hours in a day. Even if she slept 8 hours and worked 16 hours per day, 7 days a week - that’s still only 4 hours per A level. Less if she takes time to eat, wash, exercise or travel. It’s not doable.

Utter madness. If she has that much time on her hands she could learn a musical instrument/join an orchestra, learn a foreign language, volunteer for a local charity, mentor/tutor another student … ie things that will develop her whole person and connect her with the world outside her study-bedroom.

A levels offer pre-university foundation information and study skills that is generally of bugger all use unless it is built upon with a degree/relevant profession. This is a child being groomed by a narcissistic parent who wants to flex how ‘clever’ their daughter is. What a waste of time and money - and a total waste of potential as it sounds as though she could do 4 A levels with very little effort and give her time and energy to a community project. I suspect her UCAS personal statement will not get her far when it comes to applying to university.

Madness, not to mention the long commute from home in Slough to North London (which has got to be an hour in each direction even if she's driven door to door and probably 90mins+ on public transport)

As the parent of a child doing standard 3 A levels I can't compute how she has time for studying them all...but I'm not sure she's studying all 28 simultaneously.
DD is doing 2 creative subjects and 1 piece of work can exceed 20 hours, there's no way she'd have time to study for multiple other subjects.

I'm not sure why they've focused on cost in the article, I'm sure time management and the practicality of timetable for the exams would be far more of a barrier than cost. It probably isnt any more expensive than a lot of extra curricular competitive activities at a high level.

An IQ of 161 is unusual but it isn’t that unusual for, say, someone doing maths or engineering at Cambridge. And those kids aren’t doing one million A levels because they don’t need to prove anything.

To me, it seems that she’s proving that she and her mother are either mentally ill or narcissists. Most people read if they want to learn for fun.

Its her life of course but if I was her I would’ve just taken them early and gone to uni early.

How does being attractive and likeable contribute to qualifying as professor of neurology?

If it makes her happy, then great.
However, she could consider other things which will be good for her mental health in the long run.
Maybe volunteering work.

I know of an extremely bright girl who did this. She volunteered for the citizen advice bureau and she was such an asset.
Now is a barrister.

I'd love to see how she learns. I wonder if she's very very good at rote learning but is she good at critical thinking? We see a lot like that at university, they can parrot back any textbook or paper they've read but they can't critique it on their own unless they read someone else critiquing it and parrot that back.

I also don't think a high iq from a background like that (i.e. very supportive parents who constantly encourage if not push) necessarily means anything. The minute you hear mensa you know this person has probably been given 100s of cognitive ability tests. And while those tests are supposed to be reliable and not trainable, the reality is they're not. You can practice your score up.

She’s currently studying 3 language A levels and plays the piano. So she’s got languages and music covered.

And she’s doubling or tripling up on some subjects - ie 2 maths, 3 history - presumably different periods etc.

She has 34 GCSEs and 160 IQ. I don't think she's starting from scratch here. For your average person, it would be completely impossible.

But she's literally done it before.

@TrentCrimmOfTheIndependent Some of these posts sound so bitter and weirdly jealous. Can’t we celebrate extraordinary achievement?

Could their grapes be any more sour? Why can’t they just be happy for her? She seems perfectly happy in herself.

Presumably she'll stay at home being supported by her family til she's old enough or mature enough. She needs to be rounded enough to enjoy that experience.

I wish I was that clever and I wish I'd had that focus when I was younger.

It doesn’t contribute to qualifying. But it certainly contributes to persuading someone to choose you for a job. If you can’t get hired you’re just a benefits claimant with a neurology PhD.

Struggling when she reaches university struck me as well. I was at Cambridge and it was very obvious who the students who'd been told they were extra special geniuses were. They really struggled to get on when they discovered they were as average as everyone else there and nobody was going to blow smoke up their arse or tutor them through a module they struggled with. More than one of them dropped out and she needs to be careful she's not among their numbers.