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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

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Original poster

which 3 of these 4 a levels?

19 replies

maudmadrigal · 27/02/2025 10:29

Hi,

Third child is choosing A levels. Current choices, in order of how likely he is to choose them, are: Geography, Maths, French and Biology. He says he wants to go to university but doesn't have any real goal in mind yet.

Geography is his favourite subject. Likes both human and physical geography. Has a great love for, e.g., memorising flags/capital cities etc. Interested in weather/ocean/climate change. I think that's a definite, and probably the area he's most likely to go on to study further.

He's good at Maths and should get at least an 8 at GCSE. Disappointed at the amount of mechanics in the A Level course (hates Physics!), but likes most of the rest of the maths he's done so far.

I think the main question is if he picks French or Biology for the 3rd option. He likes both - probably doing slightly better in French at the moment, but he does combined science so it's a bit hard to tell based on mock results. I can see the benefits of both in the longer term, but not sure which keeps more options open to him/fits better and would welcome any thoughts/experience?

He's a decent student - mocks were a couple of 5s (English), but mostly 6s, 7s, and 8s - but I think he'll find A levels quite a step up and he does lack a bit of drive/self-motivation. (My elder kids are super-motivated, very high achievers though, so my frame of reference is a bit skewed and it might be he'll be absolutely fine and grow into it... Unlike them, he is interested in my advice and options, though will ultimately make his own decisions.)

OP posts:

clary · 27/02/2025 10:49

My immediate thought (and MFL is my subject) is biology fits well with the other choices. DS did bio and maths and they supported each other. Maths was hard tho (he got an 8 at GCSE).

Otoh French A level is great. Has he looked at the spec? The topics are a lot more interesting and current than the GCSE spec IMHO - political and cultural issues for Francophone countries. What grade is he looking at in French GCSE? A 7 is the minimum for A level IMO.

Either French or biology will keep open the door to study that one at uni – obvs dropping one will close that door, so that's worth thinking about. Biology leads to a lot of possibles at uni (bio sciences, possibly some engineering degrees), has he considered those?

Original poster

maudmadrigal · 27/02/2025 11:13

Thanks for replying @clary. Yes, the French A Level spec and the very impressive MFL staff at the 6th form he'll attend are what have prompted him to consider it - it does sound really good. (His cousin has just come back from the fabulous A Level trip to Toulouse, which hasn't done it any harm either!) He got a 7 in his recent French mock - I think he'll get that in his GCSE - perhaps an 8 on a good day. I have a French degree and we have relatives in France, so we are well placed to support him with French if he does choose it. I agree with you that Biology perhaps seems a more natural fit though.

Definitely not interested in engineering! But I could imagine him choosing to study something like Marine Biology/Biomedical sciences, so Biology would keep those doors open...

OP posts:

clary · 27/02/2025 11:23

Biomedical science will usually require chemistry A level.

Marine biology tho is a good one.

A 7 is OK for French A level but be aware that the A level really builds on the learning from GCSE (and doesn't go over it again) so vocab and grammar and verbs need to be really secure. Going from a 7 at GCSE I would expect a grade B at A level as a general rule. It’s great that you can support but he needs to have the skills.

What is he likely to get in science?

BarnacleBeasley · 27/02/2025 11:31

I was also thinking he might want chemistry if he is thinking of studying marine biology or geology later on.

Shintoland · 27/02/2025 11:35

Does he have any options on where he studies? A friend's daughter chose her sixth form entirely on its MFL offering - they have french conversation lessons with a native speaker. We've also seen different maths syllabuses at different colleges. Edexcel has lots of Pure with mechanics and stats; OCR only has 1/6 of marks for mechanics.

Personally I hated Physics too and was rubbish at it, but Mechanics was by far my favourite bit of double maths. Frankly it was much easier than Pure. So I would encourage him to really look at the A Level mechanics syllabus before dismissing it.

Biol, maths, geog would keep tonnes of door open but it really depends which course he is enthused about. Neither are perceived as easy subjects so interest helps carry them through. Friends' children find Biol a bit onerous because you need to use exactly the right language to get the marks - but I guess French will be just the same in its own way!

parietal · 27/02/2025 11:39

maths is the most important as an enabling subject to allow him to do lots of options later.

i'd skew towards biology rather than french but whichever he enjoys

Original poster

maudmadrigal · 27/02/2025 11:50

Thanks for the responses - lots to think about.
The marine biology etc is more my idea than his, based on the limited info I can get from him about what he might want to do. He really doesn't seem to be very engaged with the future yet. (I think/hope this is within the normal range for his age!)
That's useful advice about French. I definitely don't think his grammar etc is as secure as it might be at this stage, but he has a lot of room to work harder if he chooses.
He got 7,6 in recent science mocks (I think that probably means biology a secure 7 as it's his best science).
Maths board is Edexcel. I think the only possible alternative 6th form do OCR though, so might be worth us researching that a bit.
I'm finding it hard to gauge just how big a jump he will find it to A levels if he comes out of his GCSEs with the results I think he'll get - 6s in English, 8/9 in Maths, 7s/maybe 8s in the others.

OP posts:

Snorlaxo · 27/02/2025 11:54

My dd did A-level biology and one of the topics was Ecology which would probably interest a keen Geography student. Plus I would imagine that there are jobs for environmental experts after uni if that would interest him.

Justsayit123 · 27/02/2025 12:04

Drop French.

JaninaDuszejko · 27/02/2025 12:14

Does he get taster sessions at his prefered 6th form? DD1 and her friends all quickly realised which subject they wanted to continue with. I don't think either option is bad but tell him to check some universitie course entry requirements to see what will be cut off to him.

Pythag · 27/02/2025 21:31

Maths is 2/3 pure, 1/6 mechanics and 1/6 stats for every exam board. I don’t think choice of exam board for maths is really a deciding. The mechanics covered by each exam board is also the same content. I’m a maths teacher.

Maths A-level is quite a step up. Only do it if you are prepared for hard work!

Original poster

maudmadrigal · 28/02/2025 14:48

Thanks for the replies.
No taster sessions, but it's big enough that he'll be able to change subjects right up until mid/late September.
I am definitely concerned about the step up to A level, and know Maths had a reputation for there being a particularly big step. (This was my own experience years ago - sailed through GCSE and struggled at A level.)
My vague understanding is that someone who is getting around a 7 at GCSE in most subjects should broadly be on course for around a B at A level (obviously subject to the individual, the work they put in, the quality of teaching etc etc) - does that sound about right to those of you who know more about it?
I think biology seems a better 'fit', but I think he might enjoy French more.

OP posts:

MiddleAgedDread · 28/02/2025 14:50

Geography, maths and biology would be a good combination IMO

clary · 28/02/2025 14:53

My vague understanding is that someone who is getting around a 7 at GCSE in most subjects should broadly be on course for around a B at A level (obviously subject to the individual, the work they put in, the quality of teaching etc etc) - does that sound about right to those of you who know more about it?

Of course it massively depends. DS got an 8 in GCSE maths and found the A level a struggle, with excellent teaching according to him. Maybe he put in less work as he only needed a B – which is what he got. But he got AA in biology and PE (with 9 and 8 at GCSE).

DD got an A in GCSE French (old grades) and only a C at A level but the jump from the old style GCSE to A level was even worse than from the newer GCSE tbh. Also there were other factors at play for her. Also my two examples are just that – two examples.

As I said, a grade of 7 at GCSE French if that's the student doing their very best, IME would suggest around a B at A level. Which is fine of course. The thing with MFL A level IMO is the point of assumed knowledge that the course will start from. It”s a good idea if he is going to take French to keep up with the grammar and vocab between May and September (which is quite a while after all) and maybe do things like watch the news in French online, read up on some of the topics etc. The AQA textbook is available online for a smallish fee if that helps.

timoteigirl · 28/02/2025 15:27

I have been told many who have A*s in GCSE maths still struggle in maths for A-level, it is very different scale. As previous posters have said, biology would go well with geography.

BUT another way to approach this is to think what kind of person your child is. What I mean is that Geography has a lot of writing. field projects, maybe trips.
Maths is a lot of hard work and either you get it or don't. French is a very different subject to study and could bring variety and a balance to the A-level studies. And Biology is loads to write the same as geography.

clary · 28/02/2025 15:32

Plenty of writing in French A level too <leaps to her subject's defence>

You need to write a two-minute presentation on a Francophone-related subject of your choice for starters – and that’s just one element of one exam.

Plus another paper where you have to write two x 300-word essays on a film and a book. Or two books (why tho?) In French. Obvs. (I say obvs but when I did French A level our lit essays were in English, much to DD's astonishment)

Pythag · 28/02/2025 17:51

A grade 7 at GCSE normally will not be good enough for a B grade at A-level for maths. Typically students with a grade 7 at maths GCSE will have some significant gaps in their algebraic knowledge and will get really found out at A-level. A student with a grade 7 at maths GCSE will need to do a great deal of work to get a B or above at A-level. Maths is a useful subject and some people only do it because it is useful. But if you don’t love it and you are not massively able, it is a tough couple of years.

MagicalMystical · 28/02/2025 17:54

If you think he’ll enjoy French more, it’s a no-brainer. Fuck fit, I say. He’s a bright kid so he needs to choose based on what he’ll enjoy the most (life’s too short!) - Geog and French sound nailed on to me as he enjoys them.

Philandbill · 02/03/2025 22:03

maudmadrigal · 28/02/2025 14:48

I think that it's harder to predict individuals than statistics. DD1 got a 9 in GCSE biology but really struggled at A level. Her grade after much work and tutoring was a C (and I'm really proud of her for that C). She got an A* in art textiles (GCSE 8) with solid work and a B in psychology (no GCSE) with very little work. From what I have seen you have to love and "get" maths to attain the higher grades. DD2 got an 8 in her maths GCSE but all of us (including her maths teacher) were in agreement that it would not be a good fit for her for A level. My concern with a language A level is that those who are bilingual in it from birth probably have an advantage and there's only a limited number of higher grades given out each year.
A level choices are a nightmare, it's like playing a lottery.

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