What happens to good all rounders?

[FiveHoursSleep]

Our eldest is in Y7 and we've just had her first parents evening.
She's doing well in everything and really has no weak subjects. She also enjoys most of her subjects most of the time.
DD plays instruments so would also like to continue with music but isn't very sporty, although she enjoys swimming and hockey.
Next year she's going to pick up an extra language ( trying to decide between Spanish and Latin, she'll continue with French) and will keep working hard, but I wondered which direction your children went in when it came to GCSE, A levels and uni, if they were all rounders at this age?
I'm a bit worried that she's going to find it hard to concentrate on being really good at a few subjects rather than quite good at them all, IYSWIM.

[Theas18]

What happens to good all rounders? THey get a great spread of good GCSE results and then... dammit .... have to decide, at the point they don't know what the heck they want to do whether to take an arts based or science based A level set.

It's very difficult!

DD2 is year 10 and in this " fortunate" predicament. I even thought about moving her to an Ibacc school but the one thing she doesn't enjoy ( though is still good at) is languages so she really doesn't want to take that beyond GCSE.

Maybe 2 arts 2 sciences and maths at AS would be a good route if school would support it,to allow the final decider to be taken after AS exams, I don't know.

[ivykaty44]

Which just screams out loud gsce are dumbed down to what o levels used to be, regardless of the good it does none academic children getting to shine in other areas

[LauraBridges]

ivy, 11 is not normal at many private schools as they like the children to have free time for music and sport and other hobbies. I did 9 O levels. My sons are doing 10 (possibly 9) GCSEs. Some schools add in a whole load of rubbish low value pointless GCSEs in things like travel and tourism, childcare, cooking when those children might be better served with 8 core academic GCSEs. I have heard of some comps pushing some children to do 16 GCSEs with some done a year early. I don't like that trend.

[MaddAddam]

My yr 8 (generalist) is thinking about GCSE options and her current choices for 11 GCSEs are almost identical to my 10 O level choices. RE/culture and ethics instead of General studies. Maybe resistant materials or electronics as an 11th. I was quite surprised how it's not really changed, what an academically-minded child is likely to study at GCSE compared to my experience.

My yr9 is not a generalist and has clear strengths and weaknesses, I suppose that makes options choices a bit easier but only cos there are things she's not very good at. Which is hardly an advantage really.

[ivykaty44]

We were not allowed to sit eleven o levels at school unless we were in the top 5% of the year standard was nine subjects and we could drop to eight if needed in the second year of olevel study

Now it seems that eleven subjects is normal

[motherinferior]

Surely being 'a good all-rounder' just means 'not actually bad at anything'? Which is what I'd hope for a child, frankly. One would wish for a decent spread of A grades across the range.

[LauraBridges]

In fact with RE (but without German) my mother did the same in the 1940s just about

[LauraBridges]

The standard O levels I did - English lang, English lit, maths, history, geog, French, German, sciences and music are virtually the same GCSEs my children have done. I don't think the typical O level subjects most people who went to university did in my day are any different from the good core GCSEs most children going down the same path do these days.

[RiversideMum]

Despite the constant slagging off and dumbing down type press they get, part of the notion behind GCSEs was to allow kids do more subjects so that they were more "rounded" and had better options at A level.

[BackforGood]

They have the luxury of being able to make choices by what they enjoy, rather than by ruling out those subjects they feel / are told they won't do well in.
I can't see how this could be perceived as a problem.

I know a lot of people who are at University who don't know what they want to do for a career - I really don't think you need to be worrying about it in Yr7

[MaddAddam]

I was/am an all-rounder and found O levels and a joint honours degree (which spanned arts, science and social science) suited me much more than A levels. I hated having to narrow my options down to 3 subjects.

One of my dds is similarly an all-rounder and I'm encouraging her to think of the IB at 6th form - our local 6th form offers this and it sounds great for people who aren't particularly oriented in any particular direction. That way you get to do 6 subjects across quite a range.

[cordyroy]

My DD is a good all rounder and is the situation of having to choose options in year 8 which is really hard - they way the option bands work out she's having to drop subjects like History which she really enjoys and a second language to accommodate music. At 13 it is really difficult to know what direction you want to go in and I think kids will miss out on a really good broad education by narrowing their subject too early.

Hopefully our all rounders will discover their passions as they study subjects at a more in depth level

[FamiliesShareGerms]

I was and still am an all rounder. There are various degrees that allow lots of different subjects eg international studies

[Jamrollypolly]

Just be aware some schools are choosing options in year 8 now.

[kritur]

I was an all rounder, did 2 sciences, history and French at A level and I now have a PhD in Chemistry. I just picked what I enjoyed and it hasn't held me back.

[jennyl131]

I was an all rounder, but wish I'd been directed where my natural talents lay (sciences & maths), rather than following an arts-ish path to a degree course in Uni where I was mediocre.

Ask her teachers where her talents are, are there any subjects she just "gets" rather than having to work at them? These might help her focus on an area rather than a specific career path iyswim.

[LeMousquetaireAnonyme]

international baccalaureat?

[MirandaWest]

I was a good all rounder up to gcse. I don't see any problem with it tbh

[minipie]

I was a good all rounder. GCSEs I just dropped the subjects I enjoyed least. A levels I picked the ones I enjoyed most and which gave a good mix (maths, one science, one humanity, one language) oh and were not too horrendous a workload (i.e. not 4 essay subjects!)

I think it's possible to carry on being something of an all rounder right up to university.

[ivykaty44]

You should have another three years yet and then surely things may change a bit in three years?

[sunnydaylucy]

FiveHoursSleep
I was always a good all rounder. It took me until I was 37 to decide what career I really wanted. After enjoying my "first" career I am now embarking on the next (If I ever get my dissertation written!). It's not a problem not having a plan at a young age IMO. Pension age is along time away these days...

[FiveHoursSleep]

Thanks everyone. At this stage I was more sure of where I was going to go career wise, so wasn't sure how it works out for people who aren't!

[ISAmum1]

Don't worry about having an all rounder, when it comes later to GCSEs, she will find herself in the wonderful position of having lots of options.

My daughter was strong in all her subjects in Year 7, now in Year 9 still a strong all rounder she has chosen her options. English X2, Maths, Science X3, History, Spanish, 1/2Latin, 1/2 PE and Art. She is taking two GCSEs this year, in RS and ICT. She has chosen her subjects based on her potential career path, science and subjects she particularly enjoys and does well at.

Hopefully by Year 9, your daughter will have a better idea of what she wants to do and can chose relevant subjects and/or subjects she excels in. Meanwhile, enjoy the fact that she is likes all her subjects. A definite plus!

[LauraBridges]

No rush. Many children are good all rounders. It is worth thinking about careers when 14 or 15 though as if say she wants to be a doctor then she will need to science and perhaps maths A level, if a French teacher obviously a French A level etc.