Confused over A level choices

[ihearttc]

DS1 has just finished Y11. He is a fairly bright boy and is predicted 6s, 7s and 8s for GCSE. He has picked his a level choices…PE, Geography and Biology. These are some of his best subjects and is predicted 8 in both PE/Biology and a 7 in Geography.

He had his induction day at 6th form this week and PE/Geography are ok, the Biology didn’t go well. He thinks the teacher is great (he taught him before) but the others in the class are just not on his wavelength. I’m aware that sounds really shallow and pathetic but 2 of the boys especially are very hard work and he said he was only in there for an hour and wanted to walk out. There are 10 of them and he said there is literally no one he could talk to. He is rather cool and sporty…they are the complete opposite so I can see why he found it tricky.

Anyway…my question is does he suck it up and just accept the fact that he is going to hate a lesson just to do the subject or walk away and chose something else. He wants to do something sport related…either sports science or become a Secondary PE teacher if that’s relevant.

The other option is his other choices are limited due to timetabling. It would have to either be the biology, Media Studies (which he did for GCSE), a BTEC medical science (which seems not at his academic level) or Maths. The obvious one is maths but he is freaking out over hard it will be and he doesn’t want to fail.

Any thoughts if that makes sense at all?

Tricky one. Depends on how much he wants to do the Biology. He's got nearly two years of class time with these kids and if he's already having doubts it's not ideal. However if he is happy with his other choices/classes he could maybe suck it up. The teaching is the most important thing imo. My DS doesn't gel with his biology class either - but adores the teacher.

Don't dismiss the BTEC - they are much more highly rated than they used to be. Considering what he wants to do next a BTEC in Medical Science might be a really good fit.

A Level maths is proper hard!

I'm sorry but if it were my son I would be telling him it's school and to suck it up, cool and sporty is for out of school. Does he realise his other a levels are actually hard work? Pe isn't just sport

Thank you…we’ll have another look at Medical Science. I found some of the exam papers yesterday and it looked easier than his GCSE biology but I may have been looking at the wrong thing.

I just feel so bad for him…he so wanted to do biology and this has just made him doubt it all. Appreciate they don’t need to be best mates but assume they will need to do partner work at some point and knowing who is in the class that would be tricky.

He is good at maths, top set and predicted an 8 but had to work hard for it. His mate is doing A level maths and is on a whole other level…DS would never cope with that!

Surely there will be non cool non sporty kids in all a level classes - particularly maths

@motogogo

Fully aware that A levels are hard work…he knows exactly what PE entails. He isn’t even doing it for the sport element so much, it’s the theory and coaching side he is interested in.

You imagine putting kids that don’t fit into the Sport/PE side of things into a PE class and see how uncomfortable they feel? It works both ways. Just because he can do the work and is able doesn’t mean he feels like he fits in with the rest of the people in there.

I’m probably explaining it really badly…it’s very obvious to me as I know who the kids are (one of which made DS’s life very difficult in Primary School) but it’s like trying to make a class of polar opposites. There are 9 of one type and 1 of another type…it’s extremely difficult for the odd one out.

I think he has all the information, he can make a choice. There is no wrong option - too many unknowns. Good experience of weighing things up. Maybe have a look at uni courses using the A Level explorer and the possible options to see if any of the choices rule out anything for him www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer

Choosing an A level based on other kids in the class is ridiculous. He can just hang around with other people he likes.

@HasaDigaEebowai

I’m probably not making much sense and making my poor DS sound like something he isn’t! It’s not that he expects them to be like him, it’s just that the whole class is the complete opposite. A really bad example but imagine most of the class is like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory and DS is like Jack Grealish.

I think he needs to stick with the Biology and suck it up, it's only one lesson out of the three and Biology is a very solid A level which will really help with his future. It's only two years, which might seem like a lifetime to him now but it will fly by. If he wants to do a degree in Sports Science then Biology is must to do well at it. Also, PE and Biology have a lot of similar topics so doing both will help with both A levels (my son did both).

Also, regarding the BTec, some universities will not entertain them, like Leeds, didn't even give my other son the time of day with a BTec Sport on his UCAS application with a double distinction.

One of my daughters took A Level Maths, after achieving A* in Maths GCSE and A in Statistics, and A in additional maths. She struggled at A level as despite being good at maths she wasn't good enough to achieve top grades.

I have no idea who jack grealish is. I do however think you as a parent guide your child to look beyond his view of how uncool the other kids are.

My maths A Level was in 2005 so a fair while back...but although the entire class was made up of those who had A or A* at GCSE about half either failed the AS year or dropped out.

I loved maths and A* at GCSE was a breeze for me - I didn't even need to revise. A Level...sheesh. Whole other level.

I scraped a B at AS Level, but with more work/effort needed than my other 3 subjects put together! Then I dropped it after year 1 because it was just too much for me.

A Levels maths is VERY hard. Personally I think you need to be bordering on mathematically gifted to do half decently in it and your average 'very good at maths' student is likely to struggle because it's such a massive, massive jump from GCSE.

I really think if he is contemplating sports science or even maybe he could aim for physio, he must keep the biology. Biology also complements geography really well.

Better to be with serious types than dossing slackers.

Just reread your post, if he struggled to get an 8 in maths then I wouldn't be encouraging the A level in it. My daughter said in her maths class 1/3 were brilliant and just breezed through, 1/3 had to work hard and got decent results, 1/3 worked hard but got average results. She was in the bottom 1/3 after getting the results at GSCE mentioned above.

I knew I shouldn’t have posted this because it’s honestly not about choosing an A level based on the people in the class. I’m simply querying whether it’s worth being uncomfortable for 2 years to do the subject he wants to do. Of course he can hang around with other people…but at the same time he needs to feel confident within the lesson. He said he feels like they are mocking him, whilst I appreciate that’s his opinion and I’m sure they aren’t it’s how he feels.

You imagine putting kids that don’t fit into the Sport/PE side of things into a PE class and see how uncomfortable they feel? It works both ways

That’s a false equivalence. The other boys in the biology class presumably like, and want to study, biology. Your ds likes and wants to study biology. It’s not the same at all as someone studying PE who hates PE.

If he wants to do sports science or teaching at university he needs to find out what subjects those courses prefer and work backwards. I can’t get my head around doing media studies instead of biology at A-level when you are interested in biology and want to be a teacher because the other boys aren’t cool enough. They do (or should) grow up a lot in year 12 ime.

OP if he becomes a teacher he will have to meet, work with, adapt to and tolerate all sorts!

However, I know kids do choose subjects because of friends and enjoy having kindred spirits.

Is there more than one biology class?

Thanks everyone…I think the maths is definitely out of the question. It’s not something he wanted to do anyway as he knew that he would struggle but there were few other choices. He is most definitely not mathematically gifted, it’s a fairly low attaining state school so I think in another school he wouldn’t even be in the top set.

Jack Grealish is a England footballer…currently in the Euro squad. Really nice chap who gives the impression of not being very bright but is probably rather intelligent…bit like my DS hence the comparison!

Can he go to a different school? Any colleges nearby?

My sons are like cool and sporty like Jack Grealish, I know what you mean, but he just needs to get on with it and potentially them, as he will have to at uni and work. A levels and sixth form are more serious and a different dynamic. I really don't think he should be making decisions regarding his future on these boys.

Also, it's very important to look at preferred universities and courses and you'll see what they require. Like for example Loughborough or Bath and Sports Science.

@Shadedog

I was trying (and failing!) to show how uncomfortable he felt. It’s not about being cool enough…it’s about being in a class with people you have absolutely nothing in common with and who make you feel like you shouldn’t be there.

Media Studies was his reserve choice anyway if the other subjects didn’t work with timetable as he was also considering sports journalism.

OP my ds2 has just finished year 13 and did PE and Biology (and maths actually). He said PE and biology went well together so I would encourage your son to stick at it.

Maths was hard, ds got an 8 and he will be very happy with a B at A-level. PE is interesting as, at DS's school, it was not an especially academic choice. They told me he could get A* but they didn't predict it as they never had one (bear in mind it's a newish spec).

I hear you on the not fitting in thing, I think ds found some of his maths class a bit nerdy, but tho sporty he has always been happy round nerds as well. I hope your ds is more like Harry Kane than Grealish btw!

@Shadedog

We live rurally so next nearest college is nearly 30 miles away and an awful bus journey starting at 6.30am. He has a place there too doing a Sports Science course but really wants to do 6th Form.

Nearest school has no 6th form…it’s a bit of a nightmare!

I think if I’m honest he is just having a wobble if he is good enough and his experience in the class has just compounded it all. Maybe when he gets his results then he might feel differently.

Jack Grealish is a England footballer…currently in the Euro squad. Really nice chap who gives the impression of not being very bright but is probably rather intelligent…bit like my DS hence the comparison!

oh sorry I am not a Grealish fan, hence the Kane reference! I agree with others, look at what he will need for sports science. My guess is biology will be good, mate of DS's who hopes to go to L'boro fir sports science did PE and biology (and business I think).

I think sixth form is as good a time as any to learn how to get along with people who may not be the kind of people you would gravitate towards naturally. As long as the other people in the class are not going to disrupt your son’s learning, he should surely be able to manage to be polite to them for a few hours a week. It can be a challenge to him, to find ways of interacting with those who are different from him

If he wants to do Sports Science or become a PE teacher, he'd be a absolute fool to ditch Biology no matter how too cool for school he is:

For Sports Science courses, you'll usually need at least two A Levels (or equivalent) from the following subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics, Psychology and Sports.

I suppose he could replace the Biology with Maths - as long as he's on for a 7 or higher in that it should be possible as long as he's prepared to work really hard. Does he really think the Maths set is going to be more on his wavelength than Biology?!