Engineering people: how much does engineering GCSE matter?

[PacificState]

DS2 (Y12) thinking about uni choices and veering towards engineering which he's always been interested in.

He's doing maths, FM and physics A Levels and on course for As/A stars in all three (no final predicted grades yet). You can't take more than three A Levels at his school.

My worry is that he got a 6 at GCSE in engineering! It was because of his practical project which he couldn't complete properly. All 8s and 9s in his other subjects including maths and physics.

Will engineering admissions tutors be ok with this? He's shooting for competitive unis. I don't want him to bugger up his chances if the 6 is likely to make admissions people think twice. (His alternative would be maths, but he's just not quite as keen on that.)

I was going to say it doesn't matter at all, and he'd be better with maths and physics (and Chem for Chem eng). But given he's already got it, it is what it is.
He should still apply to the places he wants to go to, but maybe put the last 2 choices as lower tariff places, rather than fill the form with aspirational places. To be fair, he should probably do that anyway.

One of my sons is a post graduate engineer. I can't speak for admissions tutors but in his field it is the maths that is important with physics a close second. Making stuff for projects at uni tended to be in teams so if your son can speak to what he learnt from his project in his personal statement that might help.

It won't matter at all. The Uni would much rather he had maths and physics and if he's predicted good A-level results then this would override GCSE results anyway.

As @JurasicPerks says though - put the aspirational unis on the application but also put a couple of options with slightly lower requirements incase you need the insurance option.

GCSE engineering matters zero to admissions at university level, and Maths at any reputable uni is far more shall we say a marmite option than engineering. Definitely not a fall back degree especially if he is not crazy about it.

Ohhh good thinking re personal statement, thank you. Thanks also @JurasicPerks

Thanks @ladyinthecampervan @maryso that's reassuring. And yes good point about maths. His older bro is doing maths and to be fair to DS2 his worry about maths is that he's not as in love with it as his brother is

@PacificState
You need to look at what the admissions tutors will evaluate. Are GCSEs part of the mix or not? Possibly not. DH is CEng and they want people who understand engineering concepts. Maths is vital but it’s only part of the mix. If he’s not a mechanical/product project type person, he might prefer civil engineering. Look at all the options. Most universities would see very few with Engineering gcse anyway. DH has engineering a level when it meant something! However what’s he’s doing will be fine but he needs to find a branch of engineering he likes.

Thanks @TizerorFizz.

I did a long stint as a STEM admissions tutor at an excellent Russell Group university. Our School required grade A, preferably A star, in Maths. Occasionally an excellent candidate would come along with a low-ish GCSE Maths mark. (Presumably it considered anomalous, because they went on to A Levels or an equivalent qualification) We did not care at at all. I think it very likely the same will be true in this case.

Having said that, I agree that it is prudent to make at least one non selective choice just in case, and that @TizerorFizz has given you something interesting to think about

Thank you @poetryandwine that's really useful

@PacificState
It really is not necessary to do an Engineering degree at one of the big names either. You don’t need to go to Imperial or Oxbridge. I would suggest looking at Sheffield, Southampton, Manchester and Bristol (there are others) to get a good idea of the breadth of engineering courses and disciplines. Lots of DC doing general engineering might look to jobs in the City so be aware that the vast majority of engineers do choose a discipline for undergrad study. Make sure he applies for MEng and the course is accredited. (It almost certainly will be at a RG university). Then check out the Engineering Council engc.org.uk and look at the institutions listed. Looking at their web sites might give him ideas about taster days etc.

In addition, see if he can visit a Consulting Engineers office over the summer and work shadow. All info gleaned is useful.

Thanks @TizerorFizz

Reflection on the mistakes on the project and trying another project with more successful results could be a good way to deal with this on the personal statement. Engineering is often about improvement through iteration.

Thanks @mellicauli - the advice here about using it as an opportunity to show learning/reflection has been really useful and I think he's happy to take that approach. Thanks all

There are lots of different branches to engineering, so definitely worth thinking about what interests him - civil/structural, mechanical, aerospace, electrical, materials, environmental etc. Without chemistry A level I would think chemical engineering would be off the list though.