Does your child want to do a "XXXX Studies" A Level?

[Ponders]

Make them read this before they choose!

A grades in drama and theatre studies, religious studies, and English language and literature, but no university offer 2 years in a row...

Drama/theatre studies and English lang/lit is obviously not a good combination; much too similar. Religious studies may well be (& should be) quite rigorous intellectually - I have no idea what the syllabus is like - but I can imagine admissions tutors glazing over at 2 lots of "studies" without looking any further.

Frustrating for the lad but who let him choose those subjects? His school should have advised him!

I am quite surprised he didn't get into any of them. I attended one of the universities he applied to a few years ago. It has got a lot more competitive in a pretty short space of time. Religious Studies is absolutely fine, but maybe for English choose Lang OR Lit. Drama...hmm. I would say not unless you are actually applying to study Drama.

Mine is doing Chemistry, Biology, History and Maths AS, starting in September. Hoping to get into a good uni afterwards. Was a bit concerned about an earlier post saying a language will be required at GCSE, DD hasn't done a GCSE language, she didn't seem at all interested in the lessons leading up to options.

A few of her friends are staying on to do Media Studies, Textiles, Pychology (SP) etc, not sure what they want to do afterwards.

My nephew is about to start a fairly random (to my eyes anyway!) collection of A levels at sixth from college in September. He had an interview to get his place but at no time has anyone said to him "what on earth are you planning to do with these subjects?".

There is a place for vocational subjects, media studies etc but as part of what is appropriate for that student. It just seems a shame that with so much information available people aren't accessing it.

"If his parents had sent him to the right school he wouldnt' have been allowed to make that mistake over A level choice because (a) drama and theatre studies and (b) combined English language and literature would not have been available."

"Also parents who are unsure go and look at th elists of A level subjects available at schools like Westminster and North London Collegiate etc They are the lists of what are academic good A levels to take usually (as all the children in those schools are likely to go there). Indeed the few areas with state grammars probably have the same lists on their web sites too I assume."

Just done that, Xenia and Westminster school does indeed offer Theatre studies 'A' level. It also offers Critical Thinking, which very few universities accept at all.

Theatre studies is also offered at North London Collegiate too.

Yes, westminster does offer those. But theatre studies can only be done as a 4th (in fact they insist on 4) and critical thinking is mostly a fifth AS and is not usually caried onto A2 level. Even art is not allowed to be taken as a third A level unless you are going to go to Art school. They are not allowed to take more than one non-academic A level (art or theatre studies).

Well, he did Theatre studies and English language and literature, both easier A levels. RS isn't grouped with them but lots of the lazier people seem to do it.

Interested to know what he got at GCSE..

Critical Thinking is generally done as an extra in Y12, at AS level only. It doesn't count as a subject, but is supposed to be an asset & they get UCAS points for it, don't they?

this is informative (no date on it though)

"That Critical Thinking doesn?t count in terms of UCAS points doesn?t mean that it doesn?t count at all. Many universities view Critical Thinking favourably; other things being equal, an applicant who has Critical Thinking will be preferred to one who hasn?t. This is because the skills that it helps students to develop are genuinely useful for students in higher education.

"Some universities even set Critical Thinking-style entrance exams to help them to identify the best candidates; these aren?t worth UCAS points either, but doing well on them makes a substantial difference to an applicant?s prospects of getting an offer!"

(However the site is criticalthinking.org.uk so possibly a teensy bit prejudiced )

Have any of you actually seen the syllabus for A Level Theatre Studies? It's just as academically rigorous as RS, IMO. Only one module of the course is practical work, and students have to study (for exam) both pre- and post-19th Century play texts, as well as study two influencial practitioners. OK, these are theatre practitioners, but the study itself is no less academic than studying an influencial psychologist or historian. The final part of their exam is to be able to write about productions they've seen as part of their couse, so they are learning to express and justify their opinions. There is plenty enough difference bewteen A Level Theatre Studies and A Level English as well - you could just as easily argue that A Level History is too similar, and therefore should not be taken with English - both are about reading stuff and writing essays, after all.

MN is incredibly snobbish about certain subjects. I did English and Theatre Studies at Warwick University - hardly a mickey mouse subject at a tin-pot institution. It was a very difficult course to get into (and one of my A Levels was Classical Studies - shock horror) I find it really fucking irritating that there are so many judgemental mummies on here who wouldn't "let" their child do a "waste-of-time" subject like Drama and who crow "well what does he expect" about a student who failed to get into his choice of university. My suspicion, as a teacher and a Sixth Form form tutor, is that he may not have had much else to offer - he was applying for a competitve subject at popular universities. They may well have had a great number of straight A students, and can therefore pick and choose the students they feel will benefit their institution most.

Schools should be able to offer whatever A levels they like. The broader the choice the better. The problem is the advice given at the end of year 11 when choosing AS subjects. A pupil has to have some idea of which direction they want to go in and what they may be capable of. At this stage choice of A levels should ensure that the maximum doors are left open. Schools should have an obligation to advise an academically bright pupil of the correct type of A levels to choose from.

And what about what the child is actually interested in? DH and I had a long conversation about this the other evening. At 16, I was quite capable of taking pretty much any subject at A Level, as are a great many children. But, had I taken Physics, Maths and Further Maths (and plenty do - surely that's just as terrible a combination) I would have hated it and would have been less likely to get the grades I got for English Lit, History and Classical Studies.

A lot of parents seem to think that they have the right to veto their childs' choices - surely the child should be able to choose what they want to study? I don't imagine many bright children with university ambitions would actually go for BTEC Hairdressing, btw, before anyone leaps in with that arguement.

But there is a difference in syllabus between Theatre Studies, and Drama & Theatre Studies, isn't there, eviltwins?

Not hugely. The edexcel syllabus for Drama and Theatre Studies is still largely academic, rather than practical. I would argue that is is as academic as a number of other AS/A2 subjects, since it involves a lot of textual analysis and essay writing.

I think a lot of MN mummies just see "Drama" and think "cop out". It's insulting.

My DH is part of the selection panel for a very prestigious science based degree course. The prospectus details very clearly which A levels are preferred.

BUT, the most essential point is the personal statement and what a student has in addition to a very good batch of A level results. ie. do they have the right, relevant work experience? Have they pursued other interests to a high level?

This is a degree course that takes students with AAA, thousands apply, few succeed, but it's the extra stuff which really makes the difference!

Personal statements matter too, very much and in some courses their own tests too. Anyway phew... all my 3 oldest have graduated now. Just 2 more to go. I wonder what system we'll have in 7 years' time.

I would say Drama is a very important subject depending on what you want to do afterwards. DD did it at GCSE and it was worthwhile.

aren't 25% of all a levels A grade??

3 A's is not what it used to be

Here is the link regarding UCL and GCSE languages

www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/dec/13/schools.accesstouniversity

thanks for that, silver

I am extremely pleased now that my DS (just finished Y12) has good grades in 2 languages at GCSE - hoping that will make all the difference when he applies in Y13!

"aren't 25% of all a levels A grade??
3 A's is not what it used to be"

true, PPP, but then there are probably at least 50% more applicants than there used to be, so 3 As must help sort them out a bit!

Thanks for the link silver. Mine didn't get languages! and felt the lessons weren't teaching her how to speak a MFL. She won't be applying to UCL. I admit I was worried about her dropping French and German but no point in pushing them into something they don't enjoy.

true about speaking, eve.

Mine knew he wanted to do one language at AS but mithered about it for weeks, because he sort of preferred French, but found speaking it far more difficult than German.

They don't do nearly enough actual speaking at GCSE & the accent required for French is very embarrassing for a self-conscious 16-yr-old!

one in 4 get A

What is this English Language A Level? I did A Level English, and there was no other back in the 80s.

I thought it sounded promising when I read you could do language only, thinking it might delve into linguistics deeply, but on questioning a young person I know doing A Level English Language, she told me they were doing The Apprentice role play and looking at how different people speak