Help choosing subjects for 6th form

[Ladyemem]

My DD is unsure what subjects to study at 6th form. She doesn't know what she wants to do after 6th form (possibly uni)

She definately doesnt want to do science or english subject or maths, or history or geography

so its down to choosing Psychology, Sociology, Law, Art, Dance
and possibly doing a btec national diploma in either business or sport.

Should she choose 3 of the main subjects and a btec or forget about the btec and study 4 subjects (dropping one in the 2nd year),

Academically she is on average a gcse B grade student.

Any advice would be appreciated

My honest opinion, from going through the system as a student (still a postgrad) and working as an exams invigilator: with your DD's marks don't do the BTEC unless it's a subject that you actively want to pursue a career in.

She would, judging from what I have seen of BTECs, do very well in one (as she is a B student) but she is equally capable of achieving Bs at A level, which would open more doors. Psychology, Sociology, Law and Art are all well-regarded. Dance too if she wants to go into performing arts.

If she hasn't ruled out university then I would stick to the more academic route for the moment. Although universities do not actively discriminate against BTECs, some stipulate A levels or will be choosing from candidates with all A levels. Likewise, dance is something that can be pursued outside of school (and be fairly easily demonstrated on an application form, e.g. other qualifications/group membership), which cannot be said of Law etc.

It's also never too early to get a flavour of university - there are specific open days but if you live in a university town/near a campus you could always wander around during half term to see if she likes the feel of it.

thanks for the advice. I did wonder if it was pointless doing btec's.
So should she choose 3 or 4 subjects to study?

She is ruling out quite a lot of subjects there. Is there an option of A level Business Studies? What about modern languages?

That's because she doesn't think she's good enough to study them in more detail or simply doesn't enjoy them. Not aware of there being an option of A Level Business studies. Just the Btec National diploma. She opted out of languages in year 9

The downside to the subjects that she has left to choose from is that with the exception of Psychology they are considered "soft" subjects and she may have problems getting onto certain degree course or graduate training schemes.

Difficult to advise what she should choose if she is unsure which direction she wants to pursue after school.

Psychology useful if she wants to get into business, HR or Marketing for instance. I would urge her to have a rethink of the subjects she has rejected. English is always useful and leaves lots of doors open.

What is she good at? Is she analytical or arty/creative?

My DD has picked 4 A level subjects with the view to drop one after the first year. She says she'll decide which one to drop nearer the time.

She's more arty/creative. ok so is that the norm to start with 4 A Level subjects. Or is that for the more able students??

My DD is heading towards a mixture of A's, B's and C's for her GCSE's. All her friends are looking to study 4 or 5 A levels but I'm not to sure what they are expected to get at GCSE.

I think most people did four with the view to dropping one if necessary. Certainly in the first couple of weeks there was a lot of swapping about. Whilst it's easy to drop something it's not easy to pick it up several weeks in - especially with psychology, sociology and law which are not really taught at GCSE so basics are covered in that settling-in period.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like your DD is uncertain about her capabilities, or worrying about not doing 'well enough'. If she's at a supportive school then there is absolutely nothing to be lost by trying for something, even if she secretly thinks she won't enjoy it/be as good at it as others - she will regret (and I speak from personal experience) not trying, but not trying and getting a low mark. I agree with Haziedoll that a B in English will be better than an A in Law (most people I know at uni who did Law didn't have an A level in it, same goes for Sociology).

Alternatively, and I don't know if it's an option, could she do three + a GCSE language (my old school is a specialist language school so this was an option for us)? If she still hasn't ruled out university this could be a smart option - employers and universities attach extra brownie points to MFL.

Why don't more people just do three? Uni offers are usually based on three subjects ...

I think it might be good to have another look at those she's ruled out (for now ) as there are a lot of them, and they are all good, core subjects. Which of them would be least bad - is she best at/ enjoys most ?

I think it would be good if she could choose one or two of them and then add one or two from the more modern, slightly complimentary subjects she is already considering.

Also, though it's really difficult to do when you're so young, if she could spend some time thinking what she might like to do at Uni, or what job she might be good at/ enjoy, I think that can be very valuable.

Does she enjoy Philosophy/RE or DT? There may be a copy of the sixth form prospectus online where you can see just what the available subjects are. Things like Economics or Government and Politics might be there which she may not have considered if she hasn't studied them at gcse.

4 dropping to 3 is the norm

Moomin I think it's to give you a better choice, plus those offers that were made on a UCAS points basis (when I was doing A levels) included an allowance for doing four ASs then three A2s.

Besides which, it's so competitive that even if you (for example) applied for a course advertising 240 points (I have no idea what this represents any more - three Bs?! ) you could be certain that everyone else was trying their hardest to get 300 to secure their place.

Four ASs for a B student should be achievable with good grades.

Wow ! thankyou for all your advice. Certainly alot of thinking to do to make the right choices for her future.

Norm round here is 4 AS in year 12, then 3 A2 in Y13. A lot also did an extended Project, but it was only the very brightest/most motivated who did 4 full A levels, thinking being that it's better to get 3 good grades than 4 not so good ones.

Very interesting to know that Midnight - especially about it being usual to do 4 in Y12 and 3 in Y13.
In my day it was more usual just to do 3 throughout.

I'm thinking perhaps dd might do Art as her 4th as she enjoys that and perhaps doesn't take up so much brain space ( ie. not so much to remember/ possibly slightly recreational and enjoyable compared to other subjects - she's only in Y8 just yet )

arty subjects (with practical stuff) will take up as much free time as you have, and then some more - DDs friends who did art/DT type subjects found their coursework took up ALL their spare time. Something else to factor in .

In my very limitied experience, it seems that students taking subjects seen as soft, PE, drama, art all have huge amounts of work to do. For example art even with all it coursework and there is a lot they ahve to help with set design of the school shows, programmes for all sorts of events, not very difficult or really time consuming individually but on top of everything else makes for a very very bsy schedule. Likewise sport, compete in your own events/team including all the travelling at county standard, then helping with in school clubs etc plus all the usual work. Its harder than you think (sorry dont mean to be patronising if you already know this).

Interesting Idon'tknow - no, I didn't really know that ! - learn a lot on here one way and the other

But I still think Art could be a possibility for my dd - such a lovely thing to be able to enjoy throughout life - I wish I could draw like she can !

I guess we'll see how it goes at GCSE first

Just noticed your daughter is in y8 - absolutely no need to even be thinking about this now, surely she hasn't even started her GCSEs yet?

My DD is in y9, and is just deciding on her subjects - haven't even thought about A levels.

We put our heads together and decided on dS1's after the o level results came out - think that's pretty normal.

yeah but my daughter is in year 11 and does need to be thinking about her choices. more advice on her A levels choices please. Thanks

My DD found that the local college had more choice of subjects than her school.
Have you looked at all the schools and colleges in your area to see what range of subjects there is?

Surely we all think about loads of stuff on MN that we don't absolutely need to think about though.

I think it's pretty natural, and sensible really, to think about all sorts of possibilities for your DCs from the moment you know you're expecting them

Fair point Juggling - sorry I confused you with the OP this morning - and sorry Ladyemem!
As you were.