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?

No I think it would have been four years ago.

It’s AQA they do. I’ve just looked at the course content and there does seem to be some human biology but not as much as I expected tbh.

@titchy I’m chuckling at your daughter singing hymns in biology lessons!!

Tbh I think he is just having a massive crisis of confidence in his abilities. Maybe when he gets his results and he gets an 8 he’ll feel completely differently.

This is aqa: www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/as-and-a-level/biology-7401-7402/specification-at-a-glance

This is the human spec from ocr - doesn't look too dissimilar tbh.

Hopefully it is just a confidence crisis. Hope he's ok.

FWIW my dd adored AL / degree/postgrad biology, and is planning a PhD!

No hymns though

Sorry, not read the full thread. But I teach in an 11-18 school and totally get what you mean.

The divisions of y11 can heightened and cliquey. Usually a few weeks into y12, students are far more fluid in their friendship groups in lessons. Especially if they all enjoy the subject.

@titchy

This is aqa: www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/as-and-a-level/biology-7401-7402/specification-at-a-glance

This is the human spec from ocr - doesn't look too dissimilar tbh.

Maybe dd lied when she did barely any human biology in the first year. Or maybe her teacher lied when he agreed. Who knows.

There isn't much human biology in A-Level biology. There used to be a separate human biology A-Level but it had little take-up (teachers said it was much too hard to get an A grade) and was abolished by Michael Gove. Students used to complain that we required them to pass an A-Level in hedgehogs to get to medical school. The new specifications are much more about fundamental principles and schools can choose human-oriented examples for many of them, but this still leaves a lot of human anatomy & physiology untouched.

There's more specifically human biology in A-Level PE so far as I can see.

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne

That’s pretty much what DS teacher said. He is already doing PE a level. Think we really need to investigate the medical science BTEC further. If it’s enough to get him a decent grade and onto university then I’m seriously thinking it may be more useful than a Biology A level where a huge huge chunk of it isn’t relevant. Whilst I appreciate that’s the same for every course, it’s a hard subject to take if you aren’t going to enjoy a big part of it.

Sorry, I've forgotten many details from earlier in the thread and I don't have time to read it all again. Something I would always advise students to do is look at possible post-school pathways (e.g if they want to go to university to explore courses and instititions), as some will be restricted if you've taken a BTEC instead of an A-Level. In most cases this will be a matter of cutting off the option to apply to a small number of eliteist universities, but there are some (very few) courses that won't accept BTECs in general. Schools & colleges don't always advise well on this, as they might be too focused on the number of UCAS tariff points rather than eligibility for specific courses.

pathways (e.g if they want to go to university to explore courses and instititions), as some will be restricted if you've taken a BTEC instead of an A-Level. In most cases this will be a matter of cutting off the option to apply to a small number of eliteist universities, but there are some (very few) courses that won't accept BTECs in general

Which? Even Cambridge accepts BTECs, according to its website.

@Bryonyshcmyony

VCE A Levels, Applied A Levels, GNVQs and BTECs don’t provide an appropriate preparation for most Cambridge courses, where the emphasis is more academic than vocational. As such, these qualifications can’t, unless otherwise stated, be used to replace the required or highly desirable A Level subjects listed for each course.

However, if any required/highly desirable subjects are covered, a six unit VCE or Applied A Level could be taken instead of a third A Level or as an additional fourth broadening subject. This combination of A Levels and VCE or other qualifications may be acceptable for some courses.

Potential applicants taking these qualifications are advised to seek further advice from a College Admissions Tutor as early as possible.

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/entrance-requirements

Note also the references in the Cambridge web text to VCE A-Levels and applied A-Levels, neither of which exist any more. Evidently this text hasn't been updated for several years. The entrance requirements page does explictly state that T-Levels aren't accepted for engineering courses (but nothing about any others), which suggests BTECs aren't likely to be.

Some colleges might be slightly more relaxed than others but looking through a few Cambridge course requirement documents shows several that clearly will not accept BTECs unless they are taken in addition to three A-Levels.

This is probably all academic (pun intended), as the OP's son may well have no intention of applying to Cambridge. But Cambridge won't be the only institution where this might be an obstacle.

It is my understanding that it is science and maths oriented degrees where applicants would be asked to have A levels in essential subjects in addition of BTECs. This is not snobbery at all, it is just that the more practical scope of BTECs do not provide enough opportunities for students to prepare for a more academic than practical course in these subjects.

@GrandmasCat

Totally understand that but it’s a sports science degree of some description that he wants to do not an actual science degree. He is already doing A level PE which has a huge amount of human biology in it. He’s also doing geography which also feeds into the science aspect.

Been doing some research and the UCAS points given appear to be as attached, Distinction 72, Merit 48 and pass 24.

This seems to link to the other attached chart for UCAS points (unless I’m looking at the wrong thing) which seems to suggest that it’s fairly equal to top grade A levels. It’s a BTEC foundation diploma. It’s the first part of an extended diploma but done across 2 years along side A levels.

So unless I’m reading it completely wrong, if the course is as easy as people seem to be suggesting it must be easier to get a decent grade compared to A level Biology and comparable UCAS points alongside his other A levels. Assuming he can find University Courses which accept the course.

Sorry forgot to attach it…

Yes, a good number of universities don’t care about UCAS points so wouldn’t consider BTECs as equivalent to A levels even if they attract the same UCAS points. In all honesty, there is no way getting a D in BTEC is half as difficult as getting an A in A levels, and universities know that.

Having said that having a BTEC instead of A-levels is NOT an issue for a lot of people. Have you checked the requirements for the university courses he is likely to apply for? That is the key thing, ensuring he studies the essential subjects the course may require. If they have not named any “essential subjects” any mix of BTECs/A levels is likely to be fine as long as he gets the minimum grades the course requires.

Yes, a good number of universities don’t care about UCAS points so wouldn’t consider BTECs as equivalent to A levels even if they attract the same UCAS points. In all honesty, there is no way getting a D in BTEC is half as difficult as getting an A in A levels, and universities know that

You only have to read the entry requirements for a few Russell Group university sports degrees to see that they do not agree with your post. I can't believe you actually advise students?

I mean, I only have to look around dds social circle - one just graduated with a First in Sports and Exercise Science from Birmingham - excellent university all round but especially for Sports Science - he didn't do one single A level. He did a BTEC extended diploma (equivalent of 3 a levels). And its actually rather difficult to get Distinction stars across the board.

Can't believe I'm having to explain this to a teacher?!

OP - you will find that Mumsnet is hugely conflicted when it comes to A levels. If he has even an inkling of what he wants to do at uni then email the ones he's interested in and ask. That's what dd and I did after she ploughed As biology.

@Bryonyshcmyony

Thank you. As you can tell this is the first time we’ve done this, I assumed it was down to UCAS points which is why he has been he has been looking at those for whichever course he is looking at. I wonder if it’s the combination of A levels plus a BTEC that’s the problem although lots of kids at 6th form seem to be doing that (mostly A levels plus BTEC Business). Good idea about emailing Uni direct. There is a huge amount of stuff to Wade through and I can’t actually work out if it’s accepted or not.

Ucas points are irrelevant. You need to find the exact modules he'd be studying on the btec and email the unis and say hi I want to do sports science here (I did this on behalf of dd who was in a pickle at the time) this is the BTEC I am doing along with these two A levels, will I get an offer? Bath said no iirc all others yes

I mean they didn't say yes we'll make you an offer but said she'd be considered. She got 5 offers

She also did an epq in an area of sports psychology

Thank you, that’s really helpful. Might have been helpful for his school to have advised him of that too…he thought UCAS points were what mattered!! Loughborough seem to suggest it’s one subject out of PE, sciences or psychology. It says a Distinction in a National Diploma will he accepted alongside that but I don’t know whether it means the full extended diploma.
Good idea re EPQ, he’d already thought of doing it on sports psychology so that will add a little something I presume.