Page 12 | English, History and PE A levels, potentially for Oxbridge

Drangea · 2025-06-29T23:49:35+00:00

DS is considering the above combination. Aiming to read English or History. Teachers are recommending he applies to Oxbridge. High achieving kid at a super selective boys grammar that send lots to Oxbridge to give context. We have not discussed with teachers yet, wanted to get a feel first. Thanks in advance (also posted in further education, but was advised to move to here)

Poinhvi · 08/07/2025 17:08

I was 110% wrong. I retract my statement and apologise for my inaccuracy and smugness.

mumsneedwine · 08/07/2025 17:27

Also have a Cambs vet who did bio chem and drama. Got 4 offers.

mimbleandlittlemy · 08/07/2025 17:28

Words · 08/07/2025 14:59

PE? Just no. Choose something academic. He can play football or whatnot in his spare time.

I take it a language is out of the question?

@Words - could you also read @SarahAndQuack's contribution to this thread, and also the OP's contributions where she says her DC isn't a language taker, either MFL or Latin.

Piggywaspushed · 08/07/2025 17:56

'Football or whatnot' says all it needs to say, really.

Original poster

Drangea · 08/07/2025 18:50

Lots more replies thank you!
The other two subjects in the mix are either RP (one of his top subjects, top performer at this) or Politics (untested obvs as they don’t politics as a subject at GCSE)
He/we were just thinking eng/hist/RP was too narrow really and maybe PE might be more “fun” and offer a change in how he studies

At HM presentation last week he said actually the school got 54 Oxbridge offers. I am sure they will guide us (but might play it a bit safe?)

OP posts:

LiteralLunatic · 08/07/2025 20:12

English Literature, History and RP isn’t too “narrow”, it’s focused on skills and knowledge that are relevant to the degree he wants to take.

If he is a top performer in RP and enjoys the subject, it would be foolish not to take the subject. If you are aiming for an A* and Oxbridge, pick a third A level that you find easy.

For me, the big risk of PE is that he ought score good marks in the academic side of the A level (if he is a bright student of Oxbridge calibre) but there is always the risk of injury or an unexpected poor performance in the practical side. If he wants to study an academic degree at Oxbridge it would be awful to drop a grade because his football skills weren’t up to scratch that season…

I would also consider that if he is attracted to PE because it is more fun and he doesn’t enjoy the other subjects as much, maybe he needs to rethink what he wants to study at university?

JulesJules · 08/07/2025 21:32

Poinhvi · 08/07/2025 14:05

PE would be a big no no for Oxbridge

Simply not true for Oxford, see above. Once you have the essential and/or recommended A level/s for your course any other A level/s with the exception of General Studies are admissable.

Poinhvi · 08/07/2025 21:36

JulesJules · 08/07/2025 21:32

Simply not true for Oxford, see above. Once you have the essential and/or recommended A level/s for your course any other A level/s with the exception of General Studies are admissable.

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I retracted

clary · 08/07/2025 21:47

I agree that if RP is a really good subject for him then he certainly should consider it.

Other things being equal, it's a good idea to take the subjects you will get best grades in, especially if applying to Cambridge, especially if it is the third subject and thus not going to be the degree choice (and thus really it is only the grade that matters if that makes sense).

If he will do better in RP than PE then it is a good plan. I don't think PE will be helpful to him as such – it is basically a science subject. Would he feel the same way about biology – that it’s fun and a change? Does he want a change? Surely if he wants to study Eng or history then a subject like them would be what he would enjoy? DD would have done Eng lit Eng lit + and Further Eng lit if she could have. And DS actually did do biology and biology + (= PE haha).

I think the PE issue could be around injury, fair enough (DS2 has not played his sport for almost 12 months due to injury, tho not an educational issue any more). I doubt that a student's football skills would not be up to scratch tho (unless through injury which might be what the PP meant). Any more than his Eng lit essay skills might not be very good one summer. If you’re good at running fast then you get better as you work at it.

TizerorFizz · 08/07/2025 22:33

@claryPE isn’t on the list as a good third option either! For medicine yes. For History or Eng Lit, other choices make more sense.

JaninaDuszejko · 09/07/2025 10:56

Piggywaspushed · 08/07/2025 15:17

Just sighing out loud.

Cancel the cheque 😁

TizerorFizz · 09/07/2025 14:15

@Piggywaspushed Just because you know the odd one getting in, that’s not the best advice is it? It’s anecdotal and probably misleading If you look at subjects taken for top academic courses at elite universities, the majority will follow the Cambridge advice. Mainly because these are hard academic subjects with a tried and tested background. Occasionally they might not follow their own advice! That doesn’t mean that’s available to every applicant for every course and is probably only available to state school dc. You do know they have a supplementary list don’t you? I think advice should be tailored to what the majority do who are successful. What you can do is very different.

Offtheygo · 16/06/2026 22:21

MrsAvocet · 30/06/2025 13:42

PE is a perfectly respectable A level @Drangea I've defended it on previous threads to people who clearly don't know much about the subject and have neither the time nor the inclination to do so again, but in many situations it's a completely suitable choice.
However, for your DS I'm not convinced, for several reasons.

It doesn't seem a particularly good fit with his other preferred A levels or to have much relevance to his intended course. My DS did it and he, and most of his classmates did it along science A levels and have gone on to do STEM degrees. Most of the theory is Biology related and it's accepted as an alternative to Biology for lots of courses. I'm sure it's not impossible to do very different A levels and do well in them but I'd think it's easier to do 3 that are more natural bedfellows.
It's time consuming. Collecting the evidence for the NEA does take time and if your DS needs to divert time to other supercurricular activities more directly related to his intended course of study that may be an issue.
Particularly as he'd be applying for a course where it is an unusual choice it may not be well understood and could possibly count against him.
Applying for Oxbridge, especially with something of a "non standard" choice of A levels, I'd hazard a guess that they'd ask for an A star. About 5% of candidates got an A star for PE last year and it's hard to achieve one without getting high marks on both the practical and theory components. Just being a great athlete won't get you a top grade on it's own (one of my DS's classmates was literally world champion for his age group in his sport and he didn't) but the practical element carries enough weight that if you don't score highly on it it would be quite hard to achieve an A star. And the standard required is quite high - it's a big step up from GCSE where improvement is the main goal. I'd advise you to look at the specification for your DS's sport to try get some idea of where he'd need to be in a couple of years to get high marks. Obviously if he's already competing at a high level it may not be an issue, but as a PP said there's always an element of luck in sport - anyone can get injured or have a bad season for some other reason, and in some sports there is subjectivity to the marking rather than being based on objective measures such as race times . Of course it is not easy to get an A star in any Alevel, but if achieving one is crucial it might be better to opt for something with a bit less potential for mishap. It's early days yet and your DS has lots of time to think. But personally, whilst I think PE is a good A level, I'd probably encourage him to explore other alternatives.

@MrsAvocet what do you think about the combination maths/physics/psychology/PE for A levels?
looking at economics or engineering undergraduate degree, loves sports and thinks long term they will work in the sport industry possibly on the business/management/contract, but really not sure at this stage.

we have to start with 4x A levels and then very most likely drop one

MrsAvocet · 16/06/2026 23:11

Offtheygo · 16/06/2026 22:21

@MrsAvocet what do you think about the combination maths/physics/psychology/PE for A levels?
looking at economics or engineering undergraduate degree, loves sports and thinks long term they will work in the sport industry possibly on the business/management/contract, but really not sure at this stage.

we have to start with 4x A levels and then very most likely drop one

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Well my DS did Maths, Physics and PE and is on an integrated MEng course now. He got offers for all the courses he applied for so at least 5 admissions tutors thought it was a satisfactory combination! Psychology should fit pretty well with PE too I'd say as there'll be some overlap.
My DS was undecided between engineering, sports science and physiotherapy when he chose his A levels and Maths, Physics and PE left all those doors open. He enjoyed the subject mix too as PE was so different from the other two. He's ultimately hoping to work in the sports industry too but on the technical/equipment design and manufacture side of things.
I don't know anything about economics sorry so can't comment on that.
.

Offtheygo · 17/06/2026 10:43

@MrsAvocet thank you very much very useful
wishing al lthe best to your son for his future career

Runemum · 17/06/2026 10:47

@Offtheygo
Maths and physics is needed for engineering. Some places require further maths.
Maths is needed for many Economics courses and LSE and Cambridge require further maths.
Maths, Physics and PE sound like a reasonable combination. Ideally with Further Maths as a fourth.

Offtheygo · 17/06/2026 10:49

@Runemum thank you very much, we don't love maths enough to take FM unfortunately and understand it's putting some courses out of reach.

Londonmummy66 · 17/06/2026 11:35

SpanThatWorld · 02/07/2025 08:34

So dispiriting that young people are put off studying something they are interested in because all the focus is on how the grade boundaries might work.

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But the grades are essential if you are very bright and want to go somewhere like Oxbridge. It would be much fairer to have different exams for native and non native speakers. Otherwise its not really a level playing field.

On the subject of multiple A levels DH did 7 but 3 were maths, one was physics with quite a bit of overlap and one was general knowledge. He did 2 early so had met the EE offer (oh the halcyon days) before taking the chemistry exam and could have failed his Chemistry A level and still got in which is a bit insane.....

More usefully I would be cautious of taking an a level where an injury might affect the grade. (DD didn't do PE but ended up dropping two grades as her final A level paper was spent largely lying on the floor in pain due to an injury - special consideration didn't touch the sides of the marks missed).

crazycrofter · 17/06/2026 14:48

@Offtheygo there will be useful overlap between PE and Psychology as there are aspects of Sports Psychology in PE.

Offtheygo · 17/06/2026 15:00

@crazycrofter thank you
we thought it would tie up together, but I saw that particular thread and got a little concerned about PE
but then my son got into a top course for mechanical engineering with Art (and maths/physics) I really they should be allowed something they like/be it different as long they have two cores.
thank you everyone

WizzyBizzy · 17/06/2026 15:22

Have not RTFT (sorry - it’s long) so sorry if this is a repeat, but please call admissions at one of the colleges and ask about PE. They’re very helpful and much more reliable than some strangers on the internet (even me!).

mondaytosunday · 18/06/2026 23:31

That is not at all correct @OneGiddyRubyViewer- I don’t know a single person who has taken five A levels and when you look at TSR I don’t recall seeing anyone on that taking five! The vast majority of students doing humanities subjects at Oxbridge students have three, for STEM often have four(FM in particular).

My DD was interviewed (no offer sadly) with History, Psychology and Art A levels for HSPS. That’s considered a riskier combination than PE. Make sure supra curriculars are up there.

RedBeech · 18/06/2026 23:41

OneGiddyRubyViewer · 30/06/2025 01:49

They do focus on 3 levels but doing more helps convey that you are able to take on a large workload. It’s not technically essential but most students who get in (I’ve known a few) had 5 a levels. He also needs 3 A*s or A’s.

as I said though depending on what he wants to do with his life Oxbridge may not be the best thing for him.

if he does apply- make sure he has backup choices of uni

Edited

I went to lots of talks over two open days at Oxford and one at Cambridge. In every talk they said 3 A levels are fine. Wanting more would be preferential treatment to private school pupils and they are actively against this bias now.

Umbilicat · 19/06/2026 10:38

This thread is ancient, I'm sure the OP's son has chosen his A levels by now