It's none of my business

[katiestar]

..but DS (Y11)has a friend the same age who is a family friend, at another secondary school.he is a very bright boy and will probably get A/A* in all his GCSEs.
For As levelhe is planning to do theatre studies, Maths,Business studies and Biology?
The subjects just don't seem to hang together IMO and give an indication of his capabilities I think he is shooting himself in the foot .Please could any experienced parents/teachers tell me whether I'm right to be concerned ?His parents just aren't cluedu[p about this sort of thing.

You're right. It's none of your business.

It's none of your business, but...
Theatre studies often enables individuals to become clear and confident communicators, which many maths and business studies types can fail on. It shows breadth and balance IMO.
Does this talented chap have a musical instrument and a sport to add to the attractive package?

Maths, Business Studies and Biology are all strong subjects which will give him a wide choice of uni courses - it's excellent hedge betting.

Maybe he is doing the Theatre Studies A level for fun, because he has a talent for theatre or as Goblinchild suggested for confidence.

Maybe he wants to go to Cambridge and join the footlights?

You are right though - it's none of your business.

I think they are great subjects.

Theatre is great for confidence building - when you are in business you have to sell yourself and be confident standing up in front of people.

Maths is beneficial to everyone and a vast range of careers in every industry.

Biology will open up the field for different work opportunities

Business studies - again great for understanding the work environment.

I think they are great topics and will open up opportunities in many different working environments.

What do you think he should do and why do you not agree with these topics?

Sounds pretty good mix actually

Sounds ok to me ..a good mix

It all depends on what he plans to do with them, really - doesn't it?

They do strike me as a not-really a scientist, not really anything set of choices. So might limit degree subject options a bit if he's planning uni. But he might be happy with what he's limited to, so that could be irrelevant.

Not sure that A'levels are meant to be about having a "good mix", are they? I thought they were meant to be an opportunity to study subjects in more depth as a preparation for further specialisation.

If these are the subjects he thinks he'll enjoy most and do best in, that seems a sensible approach. However, I hope he's giving a bit of thought to what courses he'd be eligible to apply for with that combination of AS levels (presumably he'll carry on with three or four of them to A2).

I suppose it is none of your business but if approached in a tactful way, I don't see why you shouldn't ask him what he's thinking of doing after sixth form. Good luck to you if you do - my son has not thought fit to confide his plans to us yet and he's halfway through year 12. I hope I'll know by the time he leaves for university.

Can you subtly have a chat about what he intends to do next. If he is thinking of Uni then help him look at Uni websites which will indicate what are, or are not, good choices at AS/A2 for each degree subject.

Have you seen the 'subjects of death' thread.

FWIW I agree with you that there doesn't seem to be a coherent theme to his current choices and someone that bright could pick more academic subjects (not that he has to, but he may regret these choices).

x-posts with LondonMother. In my defence, there was a long gap between typing and getting round to pressing the send button!

Before this thread descends into the usual "don't let any child choose (eek) Theatre Studies" bunfight, I would like to point out that I used to teach a lovely bright girl A Level Theatre Studies. She also did English Lit and Business Studies. She went on to study Theatre Studies at Warwick, then on to Law School in York and is now working in her first job as a lawyer.

So there.

Cambridge University suggestions on A-level combinations.

Not suggesting he should necessarily be aiming for Cambridge, but a useful benchmark for a bright pupil as it does indicate that his choices may be limited should he wish to aim high in his further education.

Depends which uni he wants to go to as Theatre studies and business studies may not sit well with some

I hear what you are saying, ET, but in your case the girl had Eng Lit, Theatre Studies and Something Else. The first two complemented each other and showed where her interest lay.
In the OP's example, the subjects are going in four different directions.

purits - I'm not entirely sure that matters. And anyway, my girl went on to study law - so her A Level choice had little bearing in the end.

IMO, A Levels can be too narrow. Very few of us know (knew) at 18 what we wanted to do with our lives.

It depends on his plans - if he has no definite direction at the moment then he has a good range that will mean his options haven't been restricted for him later on. Of course if he wants to do something specialised at uni such as medicine or engineering he would struggle but if not he will be fine.

And don't forget a lot of unis are looking for that something extra now over and above academic achievement - the confidence that comes with TS will be hugely beneficial and all the extra-curricular that is associated with it looks great on applications.

It's certainly none of my business, but...
He will not be able to take Biology any further without Chemistry. He is unlikely to be able to follow any engineering degrees without physics to back up the maths. Business Studies is seen as a soft subject by some unis.

But then, he may well not want to do any of those courses anyway. If he is a bright lad, he will probably do well at whatever he chooses.

It sounds a rather odd combination and I don't understand all the " it's none of your business " comments .
Of course you shouldn't wade in laying down the law ,but what on earth is wrong with discussing it ?
What's wrong with showing interest ?

Ginger the "none of your business" comments come from the thread title, which the OP said herself. People are only agreeing with her.

Well, ds's friend's big sister was choosing her A Levels, and she told me what she was thinking of doing. She had initially selected Law, English Language and something else. The family is not from this country originally.

When I saw her mother, I mentioned that perhaps they should take a look at the infamous "Cambridge list" and that if she hoped to be a lawyer (which she said she did) then Law might not be a wise choice.

Fwiw the girl's father rang me up and thanked me. I said I had been apprehensive about interfering, but he said how glad he was that I had as the school would not promote one A Level over another.

Not a good combination, imo.

The only two that hang well together are Maths and business studies, though the latter isn't really regarded as a rigorous subject by many universities.

Depends on what he wants to do afterwards really.

If he wants to do something theatre-related, then he'd be better off with English to go with it.

If he wants to do something mathematical, then he should do another maths-based subject eg. further maths, physics, or even economics.

To do anything with his biology he should do chemistry alongside it.

I hear what you are all saying about breadth, but there is a difference between breadth and incoherence, and the subject combination outlined int he OP is the latter. FWIW my dd was wondering whether to do Biology alongside her three arts A-levels to give the impression of breadth, and she was advised against it. Several teachers said that hte students who really struggle at Biology AS level are the ones who are doing it as a lone science subject, because it is such a very different skill set from the arts subjects, and also because they lack the input from doing chemistry alongside.

If there is a possibility that he might want to do serious academic subject at university, then he should rethink his options. And the school should be telling him this, tbh.

If I were him I would aim for 3-subject-coherence iyswim and keep the fourth subject for breadth/fun/inspiration. E.g. maths, biology, chemistry + theatre studies.

I don't think its 'none of your business'. If you have a genuine concern for the child of a friend then I think it is most certainly your business.
How you deal with it is difficult. What about a casual chat with him when he is next at your house - you know, just chatting about the short term future.
If his parents are not likely to be aware of the consequences of his choices then I think it is your duty as their friend to subtly guide their son.