Choosing A levels when you appear to be a genuine all-rounder

[Flarerave]

My daughter just achieved 9 9s and 1 8 (Eng Lit). She aspires to join a big 4 accountancy firm/ bank - perhaps as a degree apprentice.

She's opted for Maths, Economics & Geography A levels. But is wondering about swapping out Geography for Physics or Chemistry because feels intuitively more comfortable with short answer assessments and already feels Economics will be quite essay heavy.

Her teachers' advice is that on average an all rounder student could expect to achieve a whole grade higher in A level Geography than in chemistry or physics because the jump from GCSE is much greater. She definitely doesn't want to pursue a science-based or engineering degree so is there any point in taking one science on its own - especially if it's - on average - harder to secure a very top grade in these subjects.

She could also consider further maths but definitely doesn't want to study 4 a levels so it would be a third which I think is too limiting. Would really welcome any opinions.

She should pick what she enjoys but, yes, I absolutely agree about STEM, especially Chem/Physics is very hard and I think some kids get one mark if not higher in Geo comparatively speaking. Not that surprising as the step up is so high and very applied/problem solving based whereas you can get a 9 in e.g. Physics in GCSE without being excellent at problem solving.

Also, the grade boundaries are more bunched at the top in Chem/Physics as students generally have to have 7-8 in GCSE to do these subjects whereas that is not the case in Geo or Econ.

I'd also say that getting as high a grade as possible given the students' ability is key. I was shocked to learn that when you apply for internships etc they don't actually generally look at the subjects (even for analytical jobs) so even though it's - as your daughter's teacher said - 'easier' to achieve an A in Geo than Physics when you apply they will not look at e.g. Geo A and Physics B as the same. Go for the subjects where you think she has the highest chance of achieving highly (as long as she enjoys it obviously)!

Not entirely sure what you mean here? Plenty of females at Big4.

@Flarerave your DD needs a back up plan. There’s not that many degree apprenticeships around sadly; certainly compared to uni places. DD1 did an ACA (level 7) ‘degree’ apprenticeship with a Big4. She also had uni offers for economics as a fall back. Her A levels were Economics, Maths & Chemistry. I’m not sure how much that mattered as the assessment process for these apprenticeships are pretty onerous and she had the job offer prior to results day. DD applied for around 8-10 apprenticeships, I think, certainly not just the big4. They’re looking for more than high grades. I’m pretty sure she didn’t need 3x As. Regardless your DD needs to choose what she’ll enjoy the most and ensure she does things other than academics.