3 A* predicted grades - which uni for history / history & polictics?

[lifeturnsonadime]

Just as the title asks.

DS has nailed year 12 despite a strange secondary education. Previous school refuser due to undiagnosed sen) and was home educated for GCSEs so we find ourselves in a bit of a strange position where his likely A- levels mismatch his GCSEs (only did 6 - with 1 8, 1 7, 3 6's and a 5 in maths).

He has really excelled in 6th form and having spoken to the SLT he is going to be predicted 3 As if the trajectory continues, currently working at A A A

Obviously this opens opportunities that we hadn't imagined.

He has a preference for London location wise but I want him to consider other locations as well.

Anyone with kids on history/ history & Politics courses who can recommend as we now need to start thinking about this?

MTIA

Lots of modern and contemporary options at Birmingham.

Ancient & Modern History at Oxford would be worth a look - perhaps see if he could go on an open day and chat to tutors as there is a 4 year option with a foundation course. But he'd need to take the HAT which it would help if school was able to help with preparation.

Durham do look at circumstances so he could try contacting them to see what they might be prepared to do re overlooking GCSEs for contextual purposes.

Holloway & Nottingham are both excellent at looking at individual circumstances (DD (Ancient History applicant) had a spinal fracture in year 12 which impacted pretty well all of 6th form and they were both really good to her).

Ds1 is at UCL studying hsitory and having a good time. The UCL history course is unusual in that it allows a massively wide range of periods to be done - from pre hsitory to modern , if that appeals. I think his first year he did something about legal reforms in the Roman republic and the unification of Germany.

Don’t think I agree with the comment upthread about history being less competitive for entry - not the sense I got watching his cohort going through.
A slightly off thing is that appart from Durham everywhere he had any interest in was AAA tarrif, but at quite a few of them isnsuoectnitnkfiht have been trickier to get a place is that was all one was offering.

And I think the reference (and a brief para in the PS for safety) could deal with the GCSEs thoroughly. Even for Oxford - for history at O contextualised gcse are an important metric for selection for interview , but with a proper detailed explanation I am sure they would tweak that field.

You may find that he doesn't get offers at the same level due to the gcse situation, if that's the case the simple answer is to apply after grades and take a gap year, from experience (on the other side) universities are a little suspicious of predictions outside of actual gcse likely parameters.

Also a consideration is whether the additional stress of london is a good idea, sorry to sound negative but I know so many young people who have dropped out

That's fab that he has such good prospects and likely a pick of great unis. Sounds like the right learning environment will be important...what is it that is working about current provision and/or wasn't working for him at school before? Is it important to be able to study flexibly, e.g. from home? Is high pressure likely to be a problem? Exams Vs coursework? What sort of living arrangements and study spaces etc? Any hobbies that are important for wellbeing that he will need access to? I'd make the decision based strongly on where he is likely to be best supported for health. I work in HE and see far too many young people under stress and not enjoying their studies as much as I wish they could, so with my own kids I know I'll be prioritising a uni experience with good mental health over and above anything else when it comes to uni choices.

Oxford
UCL/LSE/Kings - should have a look at which degree he prefers. They are all good though slightly different.
Durham
Bristol

He had a breakdown due to undiagnosed autism and dyslexia and not understanding why he was struggling with things that his peers were not struggling with, now he has accommodations like extra time and understands that he processes slightly differently he's fine. He is studying A - Level (and did a GCSE in psychology) so that has built up his self awareness. Also he had sensory issues that his peers didn't understand which he has now largely outgrown.

His mental health is now fine although he does take anxiety medication to manage it.

He works very well under pressure, exam pressure is no issue. He is very self sufficient and manages his own learning better than his peers due to the home education.

He wants to live away, and wants to be in a big city specifically London. It is important to his self esteem that he is allowed to progress in the way he wants.

As a parent I try to facilitate rather than block his wishes. We have a great relationship. When he struggles he now tells me. I am sure that if he started on something that doesn't work for him he will tell me. And I know he trusts me enough to assist him if things don't work out.

At the start of his A - levels he had a bit of a wobble but he told me and we worked through it. I don't want to restrict him to being at home, I can be at the end of the phone and can rescue if (hopefully not) required.

I had years of being told I was mollycoddling , especially when he was school refusing and I said 'enough was enough' and home educated. We have gone through so much together that I know he is capable of university if it is what he wants to do, which it is. I think he has better skills than kids who have had an easier ride because of the issues he worked through when younger.

He does have interests, tennis being the primary one. There are lots of tennis clubs all round the country he can join.

DD has just finished her exams at UCL, like a previous poster mentioned there are a huge amount of different modules on offer there.

She also applied for Oxford (rejected after interview), QMCL, York and Exeter.

We live 20 mins away from Birmingham so I think that will mean a no from him!

Birmingham is fab though, my sister studied medicine there and my nephew is hoping to go in 2024 to do the same.

OP with his GCSE profile as it is, context notwithstanding, please encourage him to have sensible, achievable back up options. Beyond Oxbridge, Kings, UCL and Durham the universities are less likely to expect a suite of 9s and 8s at GCSE - so ina amongst the 5 UCAS choices unis like York, Birmingham, Warwick, Leeds, Bristol, Exeter are safer bets for someone who has come into their own at A level. Rejections for history applicants are relatively rare as , sadly , the subject is waning a little beyond GCSE. But those London unis and Durham are notoriously slow and very choosy. Durham doesn't sound like it fits his criteria anyway, nor does York (although if you are Midlands why doesn't he want to go north of Birmingham? There's a whole world up there with actual cities and some fine unis!)

@Piggywaspushed For History, Bristol weight academic qualifications. 70% A level, 30% GCSEs. It’s not a very sensible suggestion for this DS. Maybe check entry assessment criteria first?

@lifeturnsonadime You do need to check out any suggestions. History is very sought after at the elite universities but Cambridge might be slightly more forgiving on GCSEs than Oxford. HAT results will count highly too. Of course you can try mitigating circumstances but I would not say this is a get out of Gaol in every case. So do your homework.

Do you know what? I originally didn't put Bristol and I added it. In case I was told I was missing it out. I don't rate it but others do and it is in the geographical chosen area in a city and good for history.

I have not heard of any student having problems being accepted for Bristol history with excellent A level predictions and a full range of GCSES from 5 up to 9.

Where do you suggest then tizer as a safer insurance bet for specifically history which is still aspirational - south of Birmingham, and in a city? And allows for leanings towards the more modern.

Take a look at History and Politics at Cambridge.
I know a lad in his final year of that course with an unremarkable GCSE profile. (Attended a leafy comp followed by a large sixth form college that gets 50 plus Oxbridge offers each year.)

For History and Politics we looked at York, Nottingham and Cardiff - may be worth considering these as well? Exeter offer History and Politics too, but on the Cornwall campus.

My DD (Ancient History) has just done some fairly extensive research on unis that might be understanding of a dip in academics for health reasons - she was the opposite to your DS as she had very good GCSEs and issues at A levels due to a spinal fracture. Talking to/emailing admissions tutors she found the following

Oxford - quite understanding if she was prepared to do the foundation year

Durham - understanding and a degree of flexibility but were massively oversubscribed for history and ancien history this year and ended up offering archaeology as an alternative

Bristol - not at all understanding (and I've heard some horror stories about the way they treat "near miss" students on results day).

Birmingham & Manchester- lovely departments but hands totally tied by very prescriptive admissions policies - may well work where it was the GCSEs and not the A levels that were a problem.

Cardiff - really helpful but the admissions tutor DD dealt with on is sabbatical this year.

Nottingham & Holloway - really prepared to listen and take things on a case by case basis both on the admissions front and also the accomodation (Allow early application for those with issues that might affect where they are best accomodated eg ground floor room or quiet block etc).

What DD found was that researching the admissions tutor and then emailing them directly meant that she got a pretty honest assessment of what they looked for. It probably also helped to apply in a gap year with grades in hand as she had enough going on in year 13. If your DS was interested in this then it would be a good idea to see if there is some relevant volunteering he could do eg with a local museum/archive/National Trust property (opportunities on line too with the likes of the London Metropolitan Archives if he prefers) so that he can demonstrate that he is going to spend it constructively. Might be worth looking at for the summer holiday too (plus some MOOCs) so that he can put that on his PS if he can demonstrate it adds to his development as a historian.

Royal Holloway ? Near London. Grade requirements are a bit lower than places like York, Bristol, Manchester

Former History teacher and MA in History.

I looked at Kings for my masters and a number of my students went there to read history, an excellent department by all accounts.

Elsewhere, Durham is also an excellent department.

Whoops - also forgot Lancaster. Very broad offer.

I'm hopelessly out of date and totally biased (as I went there but for computing) but had a lot of friends who did politics and modern history at Manchester and loved it.
Has the benefits of a city but cheaper and more manageable than London. And the student community is more consolidated than London where everyone is spread out.

Well done on all you've done to get your son into a great position.

My son's in the first year of his politics degree at Durham.

He also had offers from Exeter, Bath, Warwick and Nottingham which were all pretty similar grade-wise.

Thanks everyone , lots of options to consider, does anyone know anything about the War Studies and History BA at KCL?

That content looks right up his street.

One of the professors on that course is a mumsnetter - @WarProf I think. If you were to start a thread on the subject in Higher Ed they might well respond

Queen Mary’s is another London Uni to investigate. they rank quite high for some subjects.,DD didn’t like the vibe when she visited but then that is probably more her than the Uni.

Is Leicester too close to you? It can be a good insurance option if aiming for RG Unis for some slots and has a lovely campus and accommodation.