UCAS

[gobbl]

My ds is taking 4 Alevels but the pressure is slit for him. He gets highly stressed and has at one time considered running away but changed his mind and came back home. I have consistently asked his school to let him drop to 3, and it is now near the end of year12 and he is starting his ucas application, thinking about his personal statement. One member if the leadership team is convinced that universities choose based on ucas points but keep this a secret. My ds wants to study maths and is looking to apply to Oxford and possibly Warwick and Durham and undecided on his safe options. He is doing maths, fm, physics, and computer science. He's looking to drop either physics or CS.

I don't know where the member of staff is getting his info but he has insisted to my ds that this is secret info that isn't on uni websites or on ucas but that this is what unis look at. That taking 4 a levels increases his chances. My ds could possibly do all 4 and get the grades but it will be highly stressful for him and I worry about his mental health.
Surely the senior staff member is wrong?

They can also be professionally written if you are rich. Or have a staff member whose job is to do just ucas stuff. I think we know what type of schools can offer this.

Not sure of the relevance to this thread anyway...there's another one here

Personal Statements to be Scrapped www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/5122199-personal-statements-to-be-scrapped

Or you can get AI to write it.

Having read a few AI personal statements I'd stay well clear of that. Throws up some v weird interpretations 😂

Your son health is first; he needs to drop one subject and consider whether Oxford is for him. Plenty of other good universities and lots of work ahead of him

This is many years ago but at our school we were required to do it. We did the old JMB exam and the universities that made up JMB - from memory this was Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool etc - did accept it as a full A-Level.

You couldn't really revise for it so it wasn't any extra strain and for a few students it did mean matching an offer they would otherwise have failed on.

The point is, that 4 A Levels are not required! And @gobbl ‘s DS’s teacher is acting irresponsibly in insisting on his error.

@Orquid . I completely agree . Priority must be his mental health and this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Whether he does 3 or 4 ALevels or goes to Oxbridge is not important in comparison. I have seen too many young people collapse under the pressure. His behaviour is sending significant distress signals.

If he is firmly decided on maths as a degree, drop either CS or physics and focus his spare time on the maths entrance tests. How he gets on in those will determine his university choices. An important part of growing up is listening to advice without being overwhelmed by it against one’s own instincts.

Apologies to OP for brief derail (but agree with others that 1. teacher is talking rubbish, 2. your DS should definitely try to drop one of his A levels if he is finding it so stressful and 3. seriously, Oxford really may not be a sensible choice), but same here re the school's reason for choosing the JMB board. With the more recent versions of General Studies only appearing as 'not counted...' (although when DS1's school had it as a required 'extra' ten years ago, it was still more widely accepted and the HO6th did say that a few missed offers had been 'rescued' by a good grade in GS), I tend not to mention it, but given the board, I'm secretly quite proud of my A.

(You didn't attend a school which eventually closed 5 years ago, did you...?).

My old school is still going as far as I know!

I do actually have vivid memories of the exam - it did teach me quite a lot about the things my brain could do and the things it couldn't (and still can't). I remember there was a comprehension on a social sciences topic which I used to get full marks on without breaking a sweat, and a paper where you had to interpret a diagram where I basically resorted to multiple guess.

Got a B in the end.

I actually think that for entry to Arts and Social Sciences degrees that old exam probably had as much merit as an A Level in History or RE or similar. You couldn't get a good grade without having a pretty decent general intelligence level - the JMB were probably right in their thinking.

If your DS wants to study Maths as Oxford or Warwick his offer will be based on 3 A levels with Maths and FM both being required at A star. He will also need MAT or TMUA. As a pp said, perhaps your DS would be better focussing on the Maths tests as getting a good score in these is key to getting an interview or a lower than 3 x A star offer from Warwick, Imperial, Durham. Oxfords standard Maths offer is A star in Maths and Further Maths plus A in another subject. Warwick ask for 3 A star but may drop this once they have MAT/TMUA scores to 2 x A star, A.
My DS has just finished an MMath at Oxford and enjoyed it immensely but as others have said it is very hard work! Maths problem sheets every week without fail. He is exceptionally capable, was in the top 10 of his year at Oxford but essentially worked around 50-60 hours each week on top of lectures to stay on top of the work in Years 1 and 2.