Which fourth A-level is better alongside Physics, Maths and Further Maths? Or are chemistry/economics equally good choices?

[Baddogs]

DS is trying to decide on his 4th a level.
He knows he wants to do Physics, Maths and Further Maths, but can't decide whether to do economics or chemistry as the 4th.
He knows he wants to do physics at University and is predicted very high grades so has his eye on some very competitive university courses but I am not sure whether there's a "better".option to take for the 4th a level or whether both are equally good options?

(I studied law so feel a bit clueless guiding him in science choices!)

Yes. I'm not particularly worried about the workload of doing 4, he's breezed through GCSE maths so far and he's doing the advanced maths GCSE this year which will warm him up nicely for A levels. I know it will be a jump up but I think he will enjoy it

It's just which 4th one to pick as there are so many he enjoys

Be aware Chemistry is thought to be the subject hardest at A level at which to get an Astar. DS2 got 85% in Chemistry A level and was still ‘only’ awarded an A.

DD is doing Maths,FM, Physics and DT.

The most popular 4th choice in this scenario is chemistry and CS. There is definitely one kid doing CS outside of school as a fifth A Level. He recently sat the AS level to get a grade for his UCAS application.

DD was an all rounder at GCSEs and chose DT over chemistry partly because it’s continually assessed at her school so it will reduce the workload in the exam period next year ( though there is a ‘making’ exam over 3 days, I think). She enjoys using different skills but is looking at an engineering degree so this makes sense.

She actually misses history, and in some ways wishes she’d continued it. So I would recommend he picks the one that interests him most really.

Also, you don’t say whether he wants to do an EPQ, as this is another qualification where he could study something he’s interested in and it would demonstrate writing skills etc that might be useful in the future. It may not help with his university applications though and I think everyone doing 4 A levels at DD’s school gave it up in the end.

At DD’s school, the 4 A levels do take up a lot of time so she doesn’t get many ‘frees’, especially when combined with an EPQ (though she gave this up in favour of a Python coding course), and other PHSE lessons. It’s meant that her driving lessons have to be on a Saturday for example.

Best of luck to him.

Thanks this is all helpful!

I think economics. Demonstrates a different skill set to sciences, will give him confidence to speak about a wide range of subjects and will be useful if he decides he wants to work in business in the future

His heart is set on academia at the moment but he feels economics will be good because

• he will practice his essay writing skills
• he gets a broader view of the world and an understanding that will help when dealing with the "business" elements of working in a university
• he just really enjoys the variety of stretching himself in a different way

And that all came from him not me - he's a lot more mature than I was at his age
Thank you everyone who has given thoughts, it's helped me understand the options better and have better conversations with him about it