A levels, is 4 too many?

[NameChangeEmbarressed]

My child is going into year 11 but is starting to think about A-Levels.

He has mock results of 7,8,9 accross the board so is an intelligent and capable lad.

He wants to do a levels in geography, history, maths and biology.

Is 4 too many, especially with the heavy subjects he wants to do or should he be capable with those mock grades?

I did 4 subjects many years ago, albeit one was art. The main problem was a lack of study periods during the school day so absolutely everything had to go home. It wasn't helped by two A-level Latin classes and one life class after school for three nights a week. But it was doable, and I still had a splendid social life.

Some people enjoy learning.

Plus some practice for my degree, the notes for which were about the same as A-level every 2—4 weeks for the first couple of years.

I enjoy learning but it doesn't have to be A levels! Plus unis only want 3 and doing 7 would lessen the amount of effort you can put into the 3 or 4.

DS is starting 4 next week... history, law, psychology and computer science

His sixth form advised 3, to do the 4th he has to have an extra interview so they were happy he could do the work.

I have DC who have done three A levels and DC who have done four (with fourth being FM). My comment is your DS needs to allow time in his weekly schedule for things other than study, which could include some or all of: socialising/relationships, sport/hobby, paid work/volunteering, general relaxing, learning to drive etc

If his ambitions continue to focus on teaching, he needs to show he is developing his communication and rapport building skills which actually are honed through activities outside study rather than 'study and yet more study'. I would drop the Biology if he thinks Maths, Geog and History are the subjects he most enjoys (and the option blocks allow for those).

Really can’t see the point of doing four A levels tbh.
Both my dds originally started with four against my advice. Both dds are very academic . Within six months dd1 had dropped the fourth subject . Within three months dd2 had dropped the fourth subject.
My friend’s dd did four A levels in Maths, Chenistry, physics and Spanish. She was predicted four A stars. She got one A , B and two c’s . These are good grades but she didn’t get her first choice or insurance and had to go through clearing.
She regrets doing a fourth A level ( Spanish) because she didn’t really need to do it and is convinced that this messed up her chance of going to her chosen university

It can be good to start with 4 if any of your a-levels are subjects you've never taken before and you might find you really don't gel with it. Gives you options to drop one after a month or term.

I was always told to think of it in this way. You have a bright child who wants to do 4 A levels. They apply to uni and because they're doing 4 A levels, their grade offer is AAAA. Their friend is doing 3 A levels and is offered AAA. Results day arrives and the friend gets AAA and accepts place. Your child gets AAAB and hence no offer. Think carefully.

Not necessarily Knackered. My son was doing 4 A levels and his offer was 3 As. So if he'd got AAAB he'd still have met the offer.

This isn’t usual. Generally university offers are for 3 A levels regardless of the number the student is taking. They are more likely to specify a grade in a particular subject.
FWIW my Oxbridge offer was A*AA and I got AAAA and they still let me in.

Ditto, DD has the same profile and is doing almost exactly the same subjects. She is going into Y13, enjoys all of them and is very reluctant to give one up.

The key thing is - only do four if they can manage it without compromising their best three grades, which will be where uni places are won and lost.

I think there are some small advantages to doing four - if you are doing well at them all it gives you four chances to hit three grades, plus it shows an ability to manage a tough workload for unis where that is relevant. If they want to do a course where entry requirements are not ridiculously high it's not that risky. Might be useful for teaching to have breadth. But these advantages only count if the DC is doing well. If they start to struggle, drop one asap.

It has worked well for DD as we are in Wales so she has 4 x AS in the bag even if she does drop a subject in Y13.

This is good advice.
Lots of kids are probably capable of 4 but, unless you are aiming very high and actually need 4 it's a huge amount of work and very little free time for other things.

For those saying they did 4/5/7 unless it was in the last 5 years or so then your experience is not relevant as A levels have been reformed and now it is only recommended to do 3 unless it is maths & further maths.

DS1 did Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
He did Maths in Y12 and FM in Y13.
He was a studying machine though!

I was undiagnosed dyslexic, ASD and ADHD when I did 4 A levels Chemistry, Biology, Psychology and Business Studies. And also had a part time job on the weekend. I got ABBB

If you Son enjoys these subjects and is capable 4 will be ok. He can always drop his least favourite or one with lowest grads after AS level?

Some schools allow a 4th one with an exam at the end of Y12 (old AS style).

DD's school only recommends 4 A-Levels if you have 9s and 8s all around the subjects and even then they will invite you to an interview to discuss why because they fear you stretch yourself too much.

It's 30 hours per week for DD's 6th form for 3 subjects, no idea where she would fit another 10 hours in without stopping all extra curriculum activities she loves and enjoys and are vital for her mental health as well.

I think you need to take into account that not all A levels are equal in terms of workload, but this does depend on the individual. If you find sciences and maths easy then you can whizz through homework and revision isn't particularly laborious. But I don't think anyone can whizz through essay subjects or arts ones - it just takes time to write an essay or create something and the difference between a talented student and a less talented isn't the time it takes but the quality of the output.

So sciences and maths are more suited to being part of a 4 A level selection than essay/arts subjects. But probably only for the kind of student who didn't break a sweat at GCSE.

It also depends on what else they are trying to cram in. Lots of sixth formers have weekend jobs. I am not sure I'd attempt that with 4 A levels.

No it's not. Average is 3 if they're excelling 4 is fine.

I know people who did 6. That was too much. They were either genius or they were broken by the end.

If he is as good at maths as he is he really should be considering FM as a 4th and not one of the others.

Eg. Maths, FM, biology and geography would be a good combination as geography is a cross over humanities/social science/science subject.

Dont know why you would. Quality not quantity surely. Dd got all 8s and 9s and is currently doing 3 a levels and an EPQ and is working very hard with those.

To the poster whose child is doing 4 including law a level drop law it’s not respected at all in the profession quite the opposite. Just do standard academic a levels if she wants to go into the law.

Who told you that pile of nonsense! 3 of my kids did 4 a levels and grades were either based on 3, or received a dual offer such as either A*AA or AAAB.The only one receiving an offer on 4 was Cambridge maths where everyone takes 4.

Do four if it includes further maths or 3 plus an EPQ related to the fourth subject. Would probably drop geography or history. Check coursework (NEA) requirements for the humanities and if the history options match his interests.

I don’t think it’s necessarily too many. Depends on the student really and how many other commitments they had. I did 4. However, I didn’t have a load of sporting and DofE type out of school commitments like some of my friends.

Lots of the students I teach still do 4 - but it's a very selective school and the ones who do are usually almost straight 9 students. If he is not extremely intelligent and really hard working I would say it's a much better idea to concentrate on 3. Also, History, Geography and Biology are extremely content heavy. Most of those who do 4 at our place have something in there which doesn't generate as much independent work/require quite the same level of exam prep (I'm not going to say easier, as French/Physics/English/Politics are not easy at all, but they don't have quite such a huge volume of content).

Also, I did 4 A Levels 18 years ago and did lots of extracurricular stuff and had a job, but these days kids dont seem to be able to manage all these commitments unless they are exceptional or don't do much outside school. For my own children I would rather they did 3 and e.g. had a job of it was a trade off. We also didn't have As to strive for and did modular exams. I suspect if I'd needed AA*A for a Cambridge offer which some of my students need I'd have dropped my 4th A Level.

Please don't listen to those posters automatically saying he should drop geography or history. Both those subjects are needed to study them at university and it sounds from your original message that he might want to pursue that route. Not everyone needs to do maths a level to lead a fulfilling life ..