Changing an A-level?

[TortoiseshellTom]

My Y12 DD is doing Eng lit, history and biology A-levels.

Although she got a 7 for GCSE biology, she is finding this subject at A-level incredibly difficult. Admittedly I don’t think she’s worked as hard as she could have but in her first report she’s been predicted an E! Obviously I know she can turn this round to some extent but she just seems to find it an enormous struggle. Her brain is obviously much more wired towards the humanities and she’s regretting not taking sociology or Art.

She told me this weekend she thinks she’s going to fall or do v badly and it’s sapping her confidence and diverting her focus from her other two subjects. She wants to go to uni though she hasn’t decided on a course yet - but obviously 3 A levels is the normal requirement.

Has anyone’s child successfully switched courses at this late stage? I’m going to ask to meet with her teachers to discuss a plan but I’m feeling really worried for her.

It was ambitious to do an al level with a 7 in my opinion

throw in a lack of work ethic for the subject

and yes - wise to change asap although she will really have to work very hard to catch up

would the school even entertain the idea?

Surely the first step is to talk to the school/college to see if there is still scope to switch courses.

They are actually funded for 3 years of Level 3, so there is scope for an extra year.

What grade should a student have to do an A level? Because apart ftom maths / further maths, the 6th forms in our area require 6’s (sometimes 5s) to do most A levels.

In my son’s school, it’s 8 and 9s only

Personally, I think it's too late in the year to switch. We are not keen on students moving after October half term. Speak to the head of sixth form but she may need to drop to an AS, if possible, or stay a third year.

If you get a 5 at GCSE, then doing an a level in the subject seems… ill judged

We don’t allow it after October half term. If she were swapping to any of my subjects she’d have missed far too much content to catch up independently.

the only difference would be PERHAPS if she was stunning and I thought she should have done it anyway, she was willing to accept a c/b unless she could catch up the content and she was failing science. I wouldn’t have time as a class teacher to offer this level of support.

but honestly it’d be such hard work. Art would certainly be a no go as they’ll have done so much practice by now too.

btw we usually ask 6+. In subjects

Presumably some sort of Selective school, targeting all As.

Unrealistic for the vast majority of teenagers. A 7 is an old A and a very respectable grade.

Or just not wanting students to spend two years on a subject that right from the start likely to struggle

Thanks all. Yes, I’m thinking it’s just too late for her to catch up independently.

Not sure what we can do now. My concern is that trying to get even a C in this subject is going to affect her chances of high grades in the other two.

Is it possible to drop to two A-levels, pick up a third in Year 13 - and then do an extra year to complete it? Is this even allowed?

But that would mean the vast majority of kids not doing any a-levels at all! That’s nonsense.

My daughter didn’t get any 8s or 9s… she did get several 7s, which we considered to be good grades.
She is doing well in Eng lit and history, but biology is proving to be a huge step up.

Biology is a difficult subject in that the candidate has to use the exact words that are required and has to answer in a certain way. My son had a bit of a wobble with it but by practising exam questions and asking his teachers for help he did extremely well and got an A* and is in fact studying it at Bath.
I am not saying your daughter is going to go from an E to an A* but it is a real possibility that with work she could vastly improve her grade.

That’s extremely unusual. The only time I’ve ever seen an 8 stipulated is for FM and even then that’s a certain kind of school.

7 is broadly akin to an A in the old world or a very strong B. You didn’t need A* in every subject you wanted to do at A-level a few years ago.

I think you have two options. Get a tutor and focus on it.

Speak to the school and see if she can switch. If she’s a hard worker they might let her move - if it fits with the timetable of course. She needs to do it asap.

Only 25% of grades awarded last year were 7 and above. What are the other 75% of the population doing?

I doubt the school will permit it
Have you engaged with them at all about this?

The question that should get asked and often doesn't is if a child takes this A level subject coming in on a grade 6 from GCSE what is the typical grade they come away with? I think parents and students should be walked through this document

https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/Images/735630-144.-progression-from-gcse-to-a-level-2021-2023.pdf

Previous years are available.

@Smartiepants79 A levels are not for everyone and not everyone is heading to uni where you need a higher grade profile. The students on less than 7s are just going to colleges or different sixth forms. My children went to an outstanding sixth form with entry grades needed 5 grade 4s. Not all of them do A levels but they cater for all grade profiles. It is oversubscribed and has a great Progress 8 rating because they encourage children not to be constrained by their GCSE grade but it requires work and commitment which they reward.

@TortoiseshellTom She should have been walked through her exam paper in class so she can see how to gain a perfect score on that paper. What is she missing? Is it understanding? Wording? Not reading the question properly? Look at that with her first before throwing in the towel.

Not yet because I was hoping that with hard work my DD would start to see progress. She’s at a new Sixth Form and it’s taken her a while to settle.

She’s just had another test that she did work v hard for and she feels it’s gone badly. I’m going ask to meet with teachers this coming week.

Yes this is possible.

there are three years of level 3 funding and it’s quite common for students to retake year 12 with a change in subjects.

not sure about the taking 2 and then picking up a 3rd.

the usual arrangement is to drop back a year and restart with new Choice

BTECs
vocational qualifications - catering, plumbing
apprenticeships

some a levels are accessible from lower gcse grades.

maths generally isn’t and the sciences are also very tricky. They take off like a rocket,

I suspect it will be too late unfortunately. At least too late to do a new subject in the same time frame as her others. Whilst we talk about A levels being 2 year courses, in reality it's 5 terms, as the Summer term in year 13 is basically the exams plus revision. So your DD has missed a fifth of the course for whatever course she'd want to do instead. Trying to catch up on that and keep up to date on her other two subjects would be a big ask.
Talk to the school - she won't be the first person to be in this situation so hopefully she will get some advice either on how to handle Biology better or on realistic alternatives.

We’ve looked at 5 different sixth form options for our child this last few months. None of them require more than a 6 in anything to progress to a level. Requiring an 8 as a minimum is nonsense.

Came to say this. Ridiculous comment. 7 is a perfectly acceptable grade for A level entry.

However OP if she’s doing ok in her other subjects maybe she’s just not STEM inclined. It’s a funny combo anyway. Could she switch for politics, geography, economics or something more linked to her other two?

Definitely too late to change. Usually in this situation, our students would repeat year 12 with the new subject. We would let a student take biology with a 7 and expect them to get something around a C, and I suspect she could achieve this with a bit of effort, but it sounds like her heart’s not in it. I wouldn’t recommend art; it’s a ridiculously high workload and only worth it if you love it.