What do you wish you'd known before your child started A-levels?

[ainawatson]

My child is starting A-levels soon, and I'm starting to realise how different it all seems from GCSEs.
For those who have been through it with their children, what do you wish you'd known beforehand?
Was the workload more of a shock than expected? Did they need to become much more independent? Were there particular subjects that turned out to be far harder than they expected?
Or is there something you wish you'd done differently as a parent at the start?
Would love to hear what surprised you most.

I agree. But whether the responses are useful to OP is a moot point.

Glad not just me!
My ds2 has no idea what career what he wants so chose the subjects he loves and excels at - History and Maths. Then he chose Politics and Sociology because he is interested in them. He is enjoying them so far but the volume of work has shocked him - but he is keeping on top of it so far. He is considering Oxford for Economics/History but no idea how realistic that is based on the A-levels he is taking. Do we really need to start open days asap? I feel as though I have dropped the ball on this. Ds1 was very independent at this age and sorted it all himself and went to Durham and Dd didn’t do A-levels or uni. Ds2 isn’t as independent and is autistic so I’m thinking I should have been more involved rather than just telling him to do what he enjoys 🤦🏽‍♀️

Re working - even though most sixth form settings only expect the student to be in school/college for classes, form time and such, students most definitely aren't supposed to be doing a weekday daytime job. At uni this might be a permissible option but it's not whist at sixth form.

Agreed.

Haven’t read the entire thread but did we ever establish what “actual maths” is?

When you say work experience - in what if they have no clue what they want to do?

Thanks @clary, but your comments on my post also sound a bit bot like.

I am weirdly offended by this haha.

No I do not use AI when I write posts.I don't need to and I don't want to. My posts on any thread will be pretty consistent (unless I switch views based on another poster’s cogent argument, which I will acknowledge). @ainawatson you contradict yourself repeatedly (for example, you say you know nothing about A levels then speak with apparent authority on how they have changed and what they involve – just one example, but typical of AI IME), you try to agree with everyone and your timeline for your DC's experience makes no sense.

I'm not a bot. Search me on MN if you like.

Even this response is bot like 🤣

As a prolific contributor to this thread, I am joining those who wonder whether OP is using AI to draft her replies. There is certainly something not right about OP's posts in the round and those on her other thread. OP has received a mountain of solid advice but it's hard to conclude any if it has been useful, not only because she persists in over-parenting, but also because most direct posters' questions are not answered.

What we know is that DS and OP had differing views on his A level subject choice, that Eng lit, chemistry and maths were chosen (not sure by whom) very late in the day, that OP has sidestepped the thrust of the advice here (to recognise that at DS needs to be in charge of his own choices and study), that DS didn't complete his maths bridging homework over the holidays as required, that DS is struggling just two weeks into term, and that OP is taken aback by the jump from GCSE to A level.

All in all, a bit of a dog's breakfast and probably a case of the blind leading the blind.

It does seem surprising that a generation or two ago, when relatively few women worked FT, that they had a lot less involvement in their children's lives-they did way more up to 5, usually looking after them all day and seldom using nurseries much, but once they went to school, apart from nativity, reading in the infants and the odd parent's evening, that was it. Yet now some FT working mums know what actual books are on the A-level course, etc.
One thing I was told OP, is that the environment for learning is much better in college. So if your kid went to an average school, they say that most of the lessons were taken up with bad behaviour, so at college, more of the lesson time is actually learning, which is why kids who didn't get great GCSEs can get good A-levels, despite the leap.

Some parents have always been overinvested in/supportive of (delete to match your own views) their kid's education. The difference now I think is more people understand how much difference a parent can make. Maybe not everyone does it quite right, but more interest from parents is not a bad thing IMO.

@clary and I have often been on the same threads for several years. She is a geniune poster (unless I have been hoodwinked 😁)

Others have said it but as a parent who has just had two very different children finish a-levels, keeping on top of it and working every day (not crazy amounts but every day) makes a huge difference (both kids academic and able but one prioritised work and one prioritised socialising). Also, yes maths is step up, and further maths even more so but don’t give up if it’s not all easy straightaway. It takes adjustment. And lastly, year 13 is so short. 6th form is not really two years of learning, it’s 18 months. And it flies by!