ds's A Level choices drama rumbles on... help!

[lainiekazan]

The form has to be in on Friday and he can't decide.

He is definitely doing Eng Lit and History. Then he hasn't a clue. The runners are Music, Latin and Philosophy.

He is thinking of putting down all 5 but I think he'll have a nervous breakdown (or I will) if he starts off doing that many. He's worried that Music does not look good enough, he would find it difficult to achieve as highly in Latin as students at a public/private school, and that Philosophy would be one essay subject too many and, again, might not look that impressive.

Any opinions?

[lainiekazan]

Blimey.

Isn't life easier if one is good at maths?!

[Beastofburden]

Just remember to look beyond University entrance. Philosophy as a third a level will be perfectly fine as long as he is still doing English and history, wherever he applies, in my experience.

But to an employer, French would be more welcome, in my experience. S if it might also be easier for him, I think you ought to be sceptical about this advice that only native speakers can get a good grade. I'm not sure that is true.

They way to get past feeling like a dick when you speak French is (a) listen to the radio on French stations and (b) go there if you possibly can, ideally staying in a French family for a fortnight with no-one to speak English to :)

[lainiekazan]

Ds did the exchange thing. Frankly that's what put him off! He had a fortnight with a family of vegan health freaks who mainly ate vacuum-packed nutburgers. Ds was traumatised...

[lalsy]

I am not surprised! That would be my dc idea of hell.

[Beastofburden]

Yeah, perhaps not the best introduction to la belle France, land of gastronomie.... Boy, he was unlucky!

Bt my French school exchange was likewise utter rubbish as I got a BOY ugh ugh ugh and we had zero in common.

[mummytime]

My DD got a nice girl, with a very tolerant for a French family (she was vegetarian at the time). I think she had quite a good time, but spent far too much sitting next to the Swimming pool as her partner is a very serious swimmer.

[Beastofburden]

I remember going on a paid exchange, no children, it was a young couple doing up their house and they did this to subsidise it. So if the French for "pass me a bit of two by four and the tack hammer" had come up, I would have been fine!

I also went on some kind of county council scholarship scheme thingy, my memory is hazy but it involved canoeing down the dordogne with a very international group of people, on some kind of adventure holiday. I think school exchanges are often a bit meh because you have all your school friends around and you still have to go to school etc. so you can't sort of lose yourself in the adventure, though of course I can see why everyone does them as its the cheapest way. And I wouldn't want to have to lose myself in vacuum packed nut cutlets.

Still, back to OPs kid, employers do like both maths and modern foreign languages, and so do Unis. OTOH if he will be miserable, and/or get worse grades, then it may be wrong for him. As long as he has two good subjects in English and history he will be fine for Uni entrance.

[marmitecat]

I'd go for music and latin as these will ultimately make him happier. The choice between enriching your soul with music, translating wonderful (if raunchy) works of literature and moping around trying to reason away all the joy in life (think of French teenagers where philosophy is compulsory) is stark. Universities will be sympathetic to the fact that a state school applicant may have had less latin than a public school kid. Latin every time - will look good on his cv later on too.

[Beastofburden]

Totally agree about enriching soul but would put up mild defence of French as my soul was pretty damn enriched by the time I had finished my degree in modern languages, and it is a continuing pleasure to me that I can speak French and German, there is wonderful literature in both languages as well as in Latin.

[antimatter]

there's a lot to say to support ability to read in foreign language!
as for speaking language - listening to radio helps a lot , it would be good to get somewhere with spoken french and use it!
would he consider being male au pair in France?
or volunteering?
www.workaway.info/hostlist-FR.html

[lalsy]

There is an awful lot of sex in Latin A level, an intriguing way to involve teenagers in the problem of translation

[circular]

A bit late to the thread, but just wanted to say dont underestimate the work involved in A level Music.
Composition especially difficult if not your thing, DD1s group pretty much been told very rare to get above a B in that section.
Also, lots of compulsory extra CA music stuff, even I'd having instrument tuition outside of school. Although DD loves this, gets pulled out of lessons for concert rehearsals, and easy to become unpopular with other subject teachers. Always seems to be an ongoing battle with be music department and all the others at Xmas and summer concert time.
Would be worse to juggle everything if doing essay writing subjects alongside music, because of he workload.

[antimatter]

my dd likes composition most; instrument learning is outside of school so is her main orchestra
6th form she is hoping for has had all A's in Music last year, 3 of those went to study Music

I think it all depends on the school how Music rehersals are managed (I guess valid q to ask during open evening)

[ATailOfTwoKitties]

Yep, Lalsy: 'While the storm raged outside the cave, Dido and Aeneas raged within...'

I always suspected that it was just our undeniably pervy Latin teacher with his preference for anything involving the ravishing of nubile young maidens ('Learn the passages on the rape of the Sabines, the Rape of Lucrezia, and, oh, maybe the rape of Io, girls, and you'll be fine in the exam'), but maybe it was the syllabus?

[Beastofburden]

French has sex and illegal drugs

[circular]

antimatter agree, depends on school re standards.
DDs school best for music locally, but not top notch. Get the odd A, but mainly Bs, and familiar with CUKAS, so must be getting some going off to study music.
Her main instrument lessons not in school, but school still insist on at least one choir and one orchestra/ensemble for all A level music students.

Shes new to the school, but did expect music rehearsals to be managed better. Spent much of last week stressing about rehearsals clashing with a mock, only to find there is now a practical clashing with rehearsals too. All music department say is that the other subject teachers should know better, as it happens every year.

[Ehhn]

Philosophy a level not worth it. I'm in an RG dept and know that hist, Eng lit, Latin and music are all highly, highly expected/admired/desired. Not that philosophy isn't, but it is considered such a mature subject that demands incredibly deep critical thinking that it is best studied at undergraduate level.

[lalsy]

I suspect Latin is the only A2 in which a detailed knowledge of the more, ahem, unusual sexual practices of the time, and their relationship with social status, is required .

[Beastofburden]

Quite possibly, though have you read (a) Gide la Porte etroite, (b) Baudelaire les fleurs du mal and (c) anything by Sade?

The first two were on the GCSE and A level syllabus in my day. Sade wasn't, obviously... The only problem was we had bowdlerised versions of the Gide, so we never worked out what it was the main character felt so terribly guilty about having done....

[lalsy]

Scope for a new league table perhaps?

[Beastofburden]

[ATailOfTwoKitties]

Possibly also History of Art, lalsy? Or Classical Civilization?

[lalsy]

Oooh yes!

Who is going to suggest it to that nice Mr Gove?

[lainiekazan]

On the sixth form open evening when ds and I were trailing round the departments, a very, er, enthusiastic male teacher of Classical Civilisation buttonholed him to show him the exciting syllabus. He was waving pictures of men's buttocks at ds whose face was vermillion. Ds said he was "No way doing bum studies for two years."

[lalsy]

Yep, that's exactly it - literary and cultural interpretations thereof!

I like the way this thread has reached such a satisfactory point of agreement - do hope that has been helpful OP....