Strange choice of A levels?

[fluffythecat1]

Took son to his sixth form college enrolment today. He is doing computer science, biology and geography. The person enrolling him commented that it was an unusual choice of subjects, just wanted to see what other people thought. He got three 8s, 3 7s, two 6s and a 5 in his GCSEs, 77 for combined sciences, 8 for geography and a 5 for computer science, which is the subject that he is most interested in. Hs CS teacher at secondary was not great and he got a 5 in that subject, I don’t think that he was taught the whole curriculum. He will prob go to uni but to a mid tariff uni that doesn’t need A level maths for CS, or he may go the geography/environmental science direction and do a degree in that at a Russell Group. Do people think he has good options with these A levels? His main priority is a career that is well paid where possible.

I know lots of software developers through work and they are not that good at maths to be honest - I think most muddled through the first year maths module at uni and then just got on with computer science. He won't be able to study Computer Science at a top uni - these are indeed very maths heavy - but he probably doesn't want to, anyway. One of the best system architects I know studied philosophy and definitely could not do maths to save his life, haha.

Not strange at all—it's actually a great, practical mix! Computer Science, Geography, and Biology overlap brilliant ways like GIS (Geographic Information Systems), environmental data science, and bioinformatics, which are all huge growth areas with solid tech salaries. Doing subjects he genuinely enjoys makes a massive difference for his final grades.

Is he leaning more toward the tech side or environmental science at the moment?

Eng Lit, Sport and engineering here.
Feck knows what he’ll do!
He’s doing what he enjoys and is good at.

What would support this combination perhaps is core maths?

Geography is a bridge subject with a foot in both science and humanities.

CS does tend to be done with maths but you are aware of that, and you have an explanation for the lower grade (and you don't need the GCSE to do the A level anyway).

OP’s child may not want to do computer science at university. They may want to do a related subject like Cybersecurity.

Those subjects are fine. Teachers ( who enrol) often don’t see the value of exploring subjects. A bit silly since 16 year olds should still be able to explore academically

I would be wary of doing an a level in CS when he only got a 5 in CS at GCSE. I know dc who lost their teacher during the course but who taught themselves and got a tutor to get through the gcse and they did well despite all that. I would be worried he doesn't have the motivation to self study and fill in the gaps etc.

A Levels are really hard and a leap from gcse. If he is focused on well paid jobs in the future he would do well to get the best a level grades he can.

I think it’s a good combination & keeps options open & as another poster says GIS is taught as content on geography degrees. My concern would be the GCSE grade. What did he get 8s in? I would think those subjects would be better.

He says that his favourite is CS, so leaning towards that I guess. He got an 8 in geography and 7/7 for combined science. He was interested in Robotics Club at the welcome day. He has Asperger’s, so can have quite eclectic interests.

It is always a good idea to do subjects that you're interested in but I cannot emphasise enough that to do a degree in CS in today's world of AI, you need to be really really good to get a well paid job afterwards. I work in IT and all my entry level jobs are populated by CS grads who have not progressed beyond because they are not that talented at advanced programming/data science or things that are actually in demand. I am now able to program bots and things myself without any need for developers thanks to AI. It's a tough world and you need to be not just interested but really good. Sorry to be blunt

The combination is fine, the 5 at gcse is a problem, especially with only a 6 at maths.
He would be better off dropping the CS and taking another science ideally - chemistry makes most sense with biology and geography.
Or English is always a good 3rd A level option especially with an 8 at gcse. He doesn’t have to do a degree in English he just needs a third A level he can get a good grade in.

My son is doing Computer Science, Maths, Geography, and Biology.
Computer Science will be helpful for GIS systems in a geography degree.
He has always been passionate about geography, and got 9s in Geography, Maths, and Biology, and an 8 in Computer Science.

Dd took biology, chemistry and ancient history, which was seen as odd but her uni biology course includes dinosaur biological research in year 2, and she’s so excited, so the history element makes perfect sense. Because she’s into science, no one seemed to comprehend there’s a world outside of human biology she might be interested in.

This. I think the actual combo of subjects is fine, but with a 5 in CS and a 6 in maths there may be an issue. I wonder if that's what the enrolment person meant in fact? If a student has gained 888777 in other subjects, you might well wonder why they would choose the subject they got a 5 in. Bit like DD choosing maths A level (heaven help us if she had) or DS2 taking Spanish (ditto).

If he likes it that's something, but tbh as a PP says, while it is tricky if the GCSE teacher is poor, an able student would perhaps have done some self study to get a higher grade. Tho if he is ND there may be reasons why he felt that was not OK.

I mean none of us are him or you @fluffythecat1 . He needs to be happy with his choices. Is there any way he can start with four subjects so he can drop one at October half term?

It sounds like a good combination to me (I'm a geographer).

CS graduates are struggling. With AI it’s gone from one of the most employable to one of the lesser.

With it being the lowest GCSE grade he got I really would get him to consider carefully.

biology and geography are good. Is there anything else he would consider?

I’d question the computer science if he didn’t do well at gcse - he can’t do it at uni without maths a level. How about economics or business instead?

That’s really interesting! If CS is already his favourite, I think that’s a great sign. The Robotics Club interest sounds like a good fit too — has he had a chance to explore coding or robotics outside school?

Not strange at all, it actually keeps a few different doors open. If CS is what he enjoys most, that matters, and Biology + Geography could also lead towards environmental science, GIS or related areas. Has he got any idea yet whether he’s leaning more towards tech or environmental science?

Teesside uni for computer science if he isn’t going to be going top tier.

It’s not going to appear on the top of any best uni list, but it is considered pretty highly for computer science, entry grades are low, cheap place to live, campus buildings are all right on top of each other rather than spread across the city. And it is in the top few unis for student satisfaction, which for me is one of the most important things if you aren’t going top tier.

It also has links with Apple and is one of 3 unis in the country they are partnered with, the other 2 being oxbridge.

That sounds interesting @Boreded . I was going to suggest a degree apprenticeship in Digital Technology Solutions. No maths modules on the software development branch of the degree. E.g. see https://www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/coursefinder/courses/2027/digital-and-technology-solutions-software-engineering/
(QMUL actually do ask for maths OR computer science A-level for this degree apprenticeship, but I think that's just to ensure that you can think logically. The modules of this degree are focused on software development and do not require a maths background at all IMO, and there is not even a first year maths module, not even proofs of algorithms (which is not maths, either, but thinking like a mathematician helps) or machine learning (where I can see why maths would be required.))
But of course, degree apprenticeships are very hard to get.

Teeside is in lovely crime ridden Middlesbrough isn’t it? I’d not be rushing there.

I don’t think his maths or CS results are great at GCSE. If he’s not covered the syllabus how useless is that for A level study? It’s a risk in my view.