best A levels to go for

[lickandstick]

my dd is taking her gcses next year then going to college for A levels , she is not interested in anything job wise so doesnt know what A levels to go for and where they can take her ,she keeps asking what ones should she take to give her more job options , i really cant help and dont know what to advise her , has anyone else been through this and got any advice .

The main, perhaps the only, rule: Do at least one that she really enjoys, whatever it is. A-Levels are a pretty big jump and I recall finding the first half of that period very hard. You have to be interested in the subject, even better if you know you will get a good dynamic teacher into the bargain to teach it.

If she genuinely doesn't know what to do from there, I would recommend either English or Maths, whatever she is better at and more interested in. Everything future-wise will take these seriously. Again, consider the strength of the teaching where she is.

Some people get to do subjects such as psychology and law which they don't do at the earlier stages. Although this is a big generalisation, quite a few people I have known who were really up for psychology and still wanted it as a career did not in fact find the A-level very interesting. I don't think it covered the things they expected.

One option might be to make a shortlist of possible A-level options and then go to a library and look up or borrow some of the good revision guides for them. This will give you a clue of what is probably going to be taught and whether that sounds good. She doesn't have to be intimidated by the 'testing' content - it's just to give an idea of actual subject matter and whether it looks as if it will be interesting and her sort of learning - such as lots of diagrams and fact interpretation (probably more science) or more discursive writing questions (history, languages etc).

Also, once she is stuck in to her gcses, she could 'interview' some of the teachers of the subjects she likes about what happens with further study and what kinds of career path she might have. This tends to be quite motivating, I'm sure they would be happy to do that.

TBH there are two ways you can go. You can follow the "do what she enjoys route". The danger here is they often change their mind because they dont know what its going to be like before they start; also, there is a risk they pick the subject by the name, the teacher, or what their mates are doing. Sometimes this leads to them picking a weird combo of subjects, and/or subjects that arrent that popular with employers or universities.

Or you can follow the "safety first route" which means you pick subjects from the Russell Group "informed choices" document. here This is a good document for both of you to read anyway, about how to pick A level subjects. The only thing is, it's aimed at kids who want to go to Uni so that may not be her plan.

I would say that the key thing is getting her to think about how she sees her future. Does she want to work straight out of College? does she fancy a degree or an apprenticeship?

Why is she doing A levels at all? perhaps she ought to consider NVQs which are much more vocational and may suit her better- there is more emphasis on work placements, and a more "adult" atmosphere. They are a bit more of a single path though- if she changes her mind and doesn't fancy hair and beauty any more, she would have to start again.

If she really, really doesn't have a clue then you cant go wrong with Maths, English and one other.

thank you for the advice she only likes maths at the moment but said she doesnt want to do that as an A level , i suggested accounts , thought that might open more doors , shes agreed to that one , shes worried as a lot of her older friends have dropped subjects in college that she was interested in saying they wont get her any where in life , if she picks the wrong things shes worried she will be stuck for opportunities , will get her to look in the library and ask her current teachers for advice like you say , i think she wants A levels as she doesnt want to pick one course and get stuck on one path that she might end up hating , does seem like maths and english will help overall .

I am an accountant and it is an excellent career path. I would suggest she takes a look at the schemes that let her qualify on the job from A level.

but don't- seriously, don't- do A level in accounting, business, or any of that stuff. Employers don't want them and nor do Unis.

Have a look at the programme for school leavers at a big firm like KPMG here She would need ABB at A level plus GCSE B in both maths and English and kids go to one of Durham, Exeter or Birmingham, coming out as fully qualified chartered accountants. It's a great career- the world is your oyster, or you can work part time in a small communnity.

There's an email and phone line in the brochure so you could ask them about what A levels they would like to see. But being able to express yourself fluently is at least as important as maths. Perhaps she will be more up for maths if she has a sense of where it might go. It's also never wrong to do a modern foreign language.

Well exactly. I followed the 'Russell Group plan', if you like (although I wouldn't have realised that at the time). I wanted to go to uni, did well, and went. I then spent most of my 20s doing jobs I thought I should do and hated...I'm now doing what I love and might have been better off following a path of what I loved even if the academic picture fitted other things right at the beginning of the job escalator. I feel I've wasted time - not on my degree but on trying to follow the path it prescribed. So if you love something, you will do well at it, and that is probably about half the goal of the A-levels as the marks you achieve will open you the doors to the next stage - ditto the quality of teaching (notice I didn't say personality, or charisma...) There's a difference between getting a B or C, say, in something you are genuinely passionate about, or a D or E in something you did because you thought you should and then found it uninspiring or the teacher did not prepare you well.

If she is looking into accounts, do you know anyone who works in that field? She could also ask them about it or see if they could help with a few days' work experience.

So- if I had to decide now- Maths; english literature; and one of a modern language, history, geography, physics, biology or chemistry would be really safe options that give her loads of choice in future if she really has no clue.

DD1 is starting y11 and we are looking at 6th form colleges.

What, if anything, does your DD show an interest in outside of school? e.g. My DD is interested in history to the extent she likes going round places of historical interest, reading historical novels etc. History is therefore on the A level short list.

We have ruled out anything she is predicted Cs in for GCSE, as if she can't get at least Bs she will really struggle at A level.

Make sure you look at the syllabus carefully so she understands what is involved.

Don't go for maths unless she can get an easy A for GCSE.

If in doubt stick to 'traditional' subjects.

sorry to sound thick beast but are you saying to do A level maths english etc at college then go on to do something like kpmg after college instead of going to uni ?

ormally i dont know anyone in that field ,wish she did that for work experience tbh , and there wasnt a taster day at college for accounts.

teen shes predicted a in subjects shes taking except science , but predicted is not certain , shes just typical teen , interests are friends,boys,internet nothing else at all , and i mean nothing .i think traditional is the way to go then, unless a miracle happens and she gets an interest .

just re-read beast i see now you mean a place like kpmg after college when she has A levels, it looks really good will show her the link , never knew about places like this , thanks.

Someone I know, who did gcses last year, managed to temp for a couple of weeks at an accountancy firm. Although the job wasn't closely involved with the core business, she was bitten by the bug and wants to pursue that path 'seriously', possibly without going on to uni.

Have a look at 'Prospects' online, particularly for maths subjects. This is a fairly usual and widespread university careers system but can be a bit dry, even though informative. Plus, it would come into play quite a lot later than her stage (A-level at the earliest, I'd say, so as not to put her off).
www.prospects.ac.uk/options_mathematics.htm

The other thing that might be great is to search for an e-mentor. Looking for this, I could only find schemes for whole schools or for people about to go up to a particular university, but again, maybe ask at the library or email for advice from the Mosaic Network who may be able to help.

thanks a lot ormally that is a great link ,the options with your subjects is really helpful and will hopefully help her decide on some good A level choices .

...Actually, I've just been thinking: Mumsnet would be an ideal way of setting up/advertising for voluntary E-mentors who might be able to point students in the right directions with an experienced viewpoint. I might see if I can suggest it anywhere.

Hope that both your and your daughter's experiences are good ones with her ongoing education.

thanks for the advice ormally i really didnt have a clue how to help her as i never went to college or uni ,and really dont want to give her the wrong advice ,i will show her that link , and i think your E-mentor idea will be great for school leavers , particulary the ones whose parents dont have a clue like me.

I think kpmg is an accounting firm lick. They employ you once you have a degree of some description.

thanks schokolade i looked at the link beast put on and it was about accounting , i thought they paid college leavers to study for a degree with them , then you were locked in to work for them for so long after , i probably read it wrong , ive been looking at so many things online lately.

KPMG mainly take ppl with a degree. But there is a scheme for school leavers which is what I posted here. You work for them and do a degree in accounting plus the ACA chartered accountant qualification, as a kind of sandwich course. They pay your fees and so forth and you are paid. It's become a very popular alternative to doing a degree and then qualifying afterwards.

thanks beast it does seem like a good path to take , just looked again , there are a lot of benefits no wonder its popular .

Don't know much about it, but it seems to me that A-level Maths would be essential for accountancy.

Nope, absolutely not. A level maths is a very good thing, of course, and employers and Unis like it. But you don't need it and it isnt even preferred. I only have O level, and my A levels and degree are humanities subjects.

A level maths is very different from the numeracy you need to be able to handle data and understand what is going on. There's a fair bit of maths as part of the training, but its manageable.

Hello - I just dropped my daughter off at uni this morning, to study the KPMG course. Her A levels were fairly easy for her to pick, she passed all her gcses at A/A* and went on to do maths, accounting, ict and German A levels then spent a year working for a local accountants before applying to KPMG as she was sure this would be a good career for her.
My boy has just started 6th form this week doing a levels in subjects he is interested in without an exact career plan. Most important for both, they are happy :)

I would try to find some work experience in something she might like before choosing A levels. It really helped my DD decide.