To be furious about this?

[LahDiDahDiDah]

DD went to enrol at college this morning after collecting her GCSE results. She wanted to go on her own with friends so I didn't go with her.

She had been given a conditional place for her chosen 3 A levels in January, and got the required GCSE results.

This morning she was told that she had to chose a different A level as 2 of her chosen subjects had been timetabled at the same time!

She was put on the spot and told to chose a different subject and was told that if they had enough applicants for the course, they may still change the timetable and she can do the one she had chosen.

The two subjects timetabled at the same time are subjects that go together - Maths and Computer Science. I mean WTAF!

So she has no guarantee, two weeks before the course is supposed to start, that she will be able to do her chosen subject.

I have rung the college asking them to get back to me to discuss but AIBU to think this is nuts?

What would you like them to do?

Just to add, she had chosen - Maths, Computer Science and Physics.

She has had to chose Chemistry instead of Computer Science as there was nothing else to chose from.

We had no idea this would happen. We only thought there may be a risk of over scription to a course not that there would be a timetable clash!

It is ridiculous to timetable those two at the same time.

She needs to pick maths. Computer science is useless as an A-level without it. (You can’t do computer science at university without A-level maths. But you can do computer science without computer science A-level.)

Are there other schools/colleges nearby she can contact?

We would have chosen a different college if we had any idea this would happen!

Also, has she considered further maths? What’s her current plan for after A-levels?

Computer Science is also her strongest subject. Got a 9 in it.

Can you contact the other college anyway? They may have spaces now that results are in.

She really wanted to go into the Computer Science field.

I would strongly consider maths, further maths and physics then. If you have a look at university websites, it’s the maths/further maths combo that they want for computer science.

Happened to me back when I did my GCSEs. I had wanted to do English and history which in my mind went well together but they were ended up in the same block. Ended up doing a subject I did not want to do.
It's absolutely crap but not much you can do. You might be able to look around at other colleges?

You still can. Ring round now if she'd rather go with this option and her original choice of subjects than stick with her current subjects.

Unfortunately it's always a risk that class sizes will mean that combinations of options can't be studied. Or due to under/over subscription. I agree that maths, physics, computer science sounds like a really common combination but maybe they don't have (m)any student choosing it?

Other colleges are miles away, and this is the best college in the area. She has a serious medical condition so doesn't want to travel far.

6th forms require uniforms still and she had ruled them out due to sensory issues as cannot stand wearing a tie and blazer!

How can this college offer a computer science A level and timetable Maths at the same time though! That is insane surely?

I would imagine maths might be timetabled in 2 blocks but the other one clashes with Physics. Worth finding out if this is the case if she would prefer to drop physics?

Chemistry and physics together will be a nightmare and also make it look like she likes general science. Can she change?

Just to back up above advice.

For computer science at Uni you need maths at A/A* but not comp science a level.

They also like to see an essay subject and another maths based subject.

All the students I know who did comp science at into did Maths, physics, economics, further maths, history, psychology and politics!

I can understand why you’re pissed off and it doesn’t make sense, and can understand why she wanted to do comp science.

So o would either choose an essay subject she’d enjoy or look at other colleges she could attend.

Nope we have the timetable.

Maths and Computer Science are timetabled at the same time.

Yeah this sort of thing is quite common especially at the smaller settings.

a college that has a couple of thousand can generally offer free choice and it’s ok (although even then there will often be minimum numbers for some less popular courses - Latin, Russian, that sort of thing).

sometimes if a course doesn’t get enough students it’ll be cancelled on literally the first day of term and students can swop,

you don’t need computer science a level to do it at uni so most places don’t consider it an important a level,

I’m surprised they don’t have more then one maths class though.

There are always things that will clash, it's just unfortunate that this combination is one that impacts your DD. It also depends on staff availablity and how they have been timetabled.

My soon to be year 13 is doing NONE of the subjects he applied to and was accepted to study.
I was only thinking of the benefits of a smaller setting - smaller class sizes, shorter travel times.
I didn't consider that they literally had no capacity to cope with teachers leaving or being on long-term absence. He feels very let down.

Just because they both have the word English in them, does not mean that English language and English literature are nearly the same subject. Sigh.

Then you need to decide what's more important, the travel time/uniform or the A level.

Thanks.

She wants to get an apprenticeship (data engineering) after college instead of going straight to Uni. We know an IT degree is no guarantee of a job!

We live in between London and Cambridge so there should be opportunities about, most are remote.

Exactly the same happened to my Daughter last year, but we knew there were risks of a clash. She's doing Maths, Physics and Philosophy with Ethics. It's frustrating, I agree. I'd phone around different colleges asap.

It's not a small college. Students come from towns around.

2,500 16-19 year olds. 6,000 total students.

It's a 5 minute bus ride from us and the gym DD uses is next door!

Those are odd subjects to clash. Could she apply to another college/6th form where they wouldn't?

The timetabling will be prioritising more popular combinations unfortunately.

She will be fine with maths, physics and chemistry, plus computer work in her own time. There will be free online modules she can take - I’d get her to research these.