Would you let your child choose “easier” A-levels to get better grades?

[ainawatson]

My child is about to start sixth form and we're having a bit of a disagreement about subject choices.
They're considering subjects they genuinely enjoy and feel confident they can get good grades in, but I'm wondering whether they should choose more traditionally academic or “useful” subjects instead to keep more university and career options open.
Would you prioritise enjoyment and the chance of higher grades, or choose subjects based more on future career prospects?
Interested to hear what other parents and students would do!

When I chose my own A levels, many eons ago, I didn't consult my parents and didn't expect them to get involved. Can't remember whether I even told them what I was studying - an A level student is old enough to know their own mind and should be making their own choices anyway.

When it came to my own children, I similarly kept out of the process and only listened if they wanted a sounding board to their own choices. My son didn't discuss it at all, my daughter wanted to talk things over but she very much made her own choices.

Can't understand these parents who are so invested in their children's futures they're still directing them at A level choice stage (and even beyond).

Haha, fair critique. I was definitely overdoing the "agreeing with everyone" bit just to be polite! my own preference is for him to take Maths, Chemistry, and English to keep a strong, balanced mix. However, he's still figuring out his own goals and what he actually enjoys most, so I'm just gathering different parental perspectives before we sit down and finalize it.

For us, the ideal combination on paper is Maths, Chemistry, and English. I like that it balances STEM with an essay subject. He’s still deciding what he actually wants to do, which is why I’m asking around to see how other parents balanced their own preferences against what their kids actually wanted.

This dates from before they were reformed, I think.

Both then and now, there’s a separate question which has come up which is pertinent to your initial question about getting better grades is that ‘easier’ subjects ( or at least, ones tending to have an overall somewhat less strong cohort taking it) don’t gain as high a percentage of A/A grades as the ‘harder’ subjects. The most obvious case is Further Maths which gets by far the highest proportions of high grades - not because it’s easy but because the intake is much more selective than other subjects. Typically sixth forms ask for higher minimum grade requirements for some subjects especially STEM than for others.

Related to this is that some types of subject may be ‘easier’ in that more candidates could make some sort of stab at them. ‘More broadly accessible’, maybe?

@ainawatson your DC needs to get a wiggle in then as my dad used to say. Schools near me went back today and he must have submitted some choices on GCSE results day. Hmmmm

Chem, maths and English lit certainly keep plenty of doors open. Medicine possibly at some unis, English lit, chemistry. Not engineering tho, nor maths at a higher tier uni.

Well mine was easy - my ‘preference’ was that she did the subjects which would best educate her for going onto what she’d been set on doing since she was in yr 9, and which fortunately fitted well with her abilities. The engineers’ perfect triad of physics, maths and FM (which obviously wouldn’t be good for someone who wasn’t sure of their path and didn’t have the ability). I might have ‘preferred’ her fourth subject to be chemistry (following my and DHs line) rather than comp sci, but either were entirely appropriate and the decider was that they had a good CS teacher but were having staffing problems with chemistry due to ill health and maternity leave. (This can be a very important factor which isn’t always discussed!). And we were fully supportive of her dropping the fourth subject (fortunately pre reform so after gaining an AS) to focus on top grades in the other three as she was ‘aiming high’.

As Clary said, the only limit may be if he decides to pursue something very sciency which would need either Biology or physics.

If he's undecided, could he start 4 and then drop one?

That's what my DD is doing. She was planning on doing Maths, Bio, German and History and then seeing which she likes least and dropping one by Christmas. She has just switched bio for English as thinks she's more likely to pursue essay subjects/MFL.

You can guide and encourage your children but forcing your child to study something they don't want to doesn't usually work out well.

Your language today, OP, reveals that you still believe parental choice should have a major role in DC A level choice. Most of the advice you are getting on this thread favours DC choice being the main factor. Have the comments shifted your position towards your DS deciding?

I'm puzzled, as are others, that he hasn't made his choices yet. Most state and many private schools are already back. Making preliminary coices in the Summer term is the norm, based on GCSE result predictions. The actual results have been out for nearly a fortnight. Timetables will already be in place so staff and rooms can be allocated, based on approximate numbers. In your shoes, I'd be suggesting he takes advice from school as well as you, and quickly. Is he able to start four subjects and drop one after a term? As he is undecided, that could work well for him.

This is really helpful, thank you. You are right that I am probably still holding on too much. Did your DC end up doing 4 then dropping 1?

Thank you for your opinion. I definitely do not want to force him. Do you think arranging a tutor could be a good way to support him?

Please don't make them do subjects you wanted to do or think are "worthy". I did this and hated every minute, went on to dodge Uni in the same subjects and have been a huge disappointment to my family ever since (after high GCSE grades and big expectations). If I had taken the subjects I enjoyed I would have gone to uni and probably had a brilliant job I loved. I went back to Uni in my 40's as a mature student and did something in between and got a 1st but now too old to break into the area I love. It feels like I wasted a large chunk of my energetic youth trying to please my family.

That's a really interesting point about the pure science routes! Starting with four subjects and dropping one before Christmas is definitely a solid backup plan if the timetable allows for it.
Did your DD find the transition to four subjects overwhelming in the first few weeks, or was the school pretty supportive about letting her swap Bio for English so early on?

It could be useful only if your child is fully on board and actually prepared to put the effort in. Tutors aren't a magic fix to get better grades if the student doesn't put in the effort.

Make sure thoroughly research tutors. There are too many who don't offer the service they claim to provide.

Stowick's DD has literally just started back to year 12 (as is pretty evident tbh – she would hardly switch subjects at the start of year 13) so your comment makes no sense at all.

IDK why I am still replying on the thread since the OP is clearly a bot or at any rate a person just feeding answers into ChatGPT. :)

My DD changed school for A levels as she was awarded a music scholarship. She attended 'sample' classes in five subjects at the new school in the Summer term before she started so she had firmed up her choices before the Summer holidays. She did Music, French and English Literature. As I also did A level English Literature and French, I knew she had strengths in both (although I had concerns about knowledge gaps in French, which turned out to be justified), enjoyed both, and was predicted to do well at GCSE. She attended a music academy on Saturdays and practised her two instruments virtually every day at home, testimony to that being a good choice too.

The only part I played was to talk to her about her experience of A level teaching before she finalised her choices and to ask her why she had chosen what she had chosen. At that stage, the assumption was she would go on to university and read music. In fact, she opted for French, so it's just as well I kept my thoughts about her lack of grammar to myself!

When does your DS have to make his choices by?

Why would you think at this early stage that he’ll need tutoring? Some kids may need extra help (e.g. if the teaching turns out to be poor) but by A levels they need to be getting more self motivated rather than being handheld/spoonfed. Which is one of the reasons they should be doing subjects they’ve got both the aptitude and enthusiasm for.

My DS's both had tutors for A level Maths from day 1- at their request. In fact it was from before day 1 as they started with bridging work in the holidays between year 11 and 12. They both knew that it was going to be challenging for them (they both got 7s at GCSE) but they needed to do Maths in order to get on to the University courses they wanted. I actually thought it was pretty mature and responsible of them to recognise the potential problems and be willing to put in extra work from the outset rather than risk falling behind and having to play catchup later in the course. It paid off for them both anyway,

Didn't you attend all the sixth form/ college open days and talk to the staff?

Every school and college that I know makes it very clear how A levels should be chosen.

I assume you didn't take A levels yourself. Otherwise, you would know the process.

@Clary is right, DD has literally just stared y12 and asked on enrollment day if she could switch biology for English. Luckily there was no issue. I don't know how she'll find the workload but as she knows she's not going to carry on with 4, I think she'll cope until she decides what to pursue.

I think most of the schools that she applied to would only let the stronger students start 4 though so that might be a consideration.

That sounds like a really sensible approach, especially as they recognised early on that A-level Maths would be challenging. Getting support before falling behind can make such a difference, and it clearly paid off for them both!

That’s fair — I probably jumped too quickly to tutoring. I agree that independence and self-motivation are important at A-level. I was thinking more that if he does start struggling with a particular topic or falls behind, targeted support could help him get back on track without replacing his own effort.

This is Mumsnet where you are expected to throw your kids out the door the moment they turn 18.

Back in the real world, of course it is not unreasonable for parents to advise their children regarding A levels choices - not to force them to do STEM if they hate it but to weigh up those they do quite like and how they sit with future careers options.

Some kids may need extra help (e.g. if the teaching turns out to be poor) but by A levels they need to be getting more self motivated rather than being handheld/spoonfed. Which is one of the reasons they should be doing subjects they’ve got both the aptitude and enthusiasm for.

Tutoring has nothing to do with lack of self-motivation. Indeed the tutors I know would refuse to work with A level students unless they are clearly self-motivated. It would be a waste of everyone’s time and money if not.

Did they have private tuition at university too?