A Level Maths - how important is it?

[JockTamsonsBairns]

Just looking for some advice really - Dd1 has had her acceptance letter from sixth form college today, which we're delighted about - but she now needs to fine tune her A-Level options by the end of the week. She's currently Year 11, and will be sitting her GCSE's in May/June, and would like to eventually go to Uni to study Sports Science. She has to take 4 A-Levels - Biology and PE are definites, Sociology a probable. English a definite 'no' as it's her weakest subject. I've advised her to take Maths - she's good at it, but doesn't enjoy it and would love to drop it after GCSE.

I'm just wondering about Uni applications without either English OR Maths as an A-Level? I completely accept that my experience and knowledge of UCAS is about twenty years out of date, and I'm happy to accept that I'm wrong - but it's quite a competitive course to get on to, and I fear she'll be on the back foot if she doesn't have either English or Maths.

magrat - thanks, that's reassuring to hear. Back in the day, in Scotland anyway, I don't think an application would've been considered without Higher English or Maths.

They sound good choices op.
But please can people not sound the 'doom & gloom' klaxons everytime AS maths is mentioned! DD1 is at a state comp and doing AS and really enjoying it. She got an A at gcse (and that was with me helping her at home with past papers etc). Her school say minimum of a B at gcse and some of the ones with Bs are doing fine, some are struggling - but the same can also be said of ones who got As and A*s! The ones who seem to 'get' AS are the ones who enjoy algebra.

Thanks tiggy. To be fair, in DD's school they do an extra algebra course in year 11 to help 'bridge' the gap. But she is loving maths and on target for at least a B in AS (got As in her 2 mocks so far) - assuming she doesn't have a terrible day!

OP we had similar conversations with DD1. She chose Chemistry, Biology, Geography and Maths as her original A level options, but gave up on Maths after half a term. She just did not enjoy AS Maths and, as others have said, found it a massive step up from GCSE level and very hard work for those who do not have a natural flair.
DD1 then swapped Maths for Govt. and Politics, which meant lots of family members insisting that Maths was the way to go/best option for a career/essential to understanding life/good to work hard etc etc.

Her final A levels were Chemistry, Geography and Govt and Politics.
In the event, DD1 got offers from all the RG unis she applied to (she studied Geography) and now has a much sought-after graduate training contract with a Big Four accountancy firm.

For her, doing what she liked and felt an affinity with topped the idea of doing something because it was 'good for her', so make of that what you will!

Hello again Tiggy - I just read the link you posted and it is very interesting. Thanks!
Good luck Op - DD1 is loving 6th form. She enjoys the fact that she is studying subjects she really likes now - I do think this is 'key' to doing well in AS and A level.

Please don't push her towards maths unless she wants to do it and has an aptitude.

At school and at home, everyone told me I'd need maths to do sciences at University. I'd got an A at GCSE without too much effort but my heart wasn't in it. I got to the middle of the first term of A level and couldn't hack it, it just didn't interest me at all, and I swapped to a humanity. I got in to medical school without any issues. I know if I'd struggled on with maths I'd have got lower grades in other subjects because of the extra time I'd have needed to take to keep up.

Tiggy quite puzzled by the idea that algebra is the sticking point and stats seen as easier?
Unless they have done a stats GCSE, most of the concepts are completely new.

Circular, it doesn't matter that the stats concepts are new, S1 is mainly calculator skills and sticking numbers in formulae. Calculate the equation of a regression line, calculate the standard deviation, calculate Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient, or the Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Most of the formulae are in the formula booklet. The main problem students have with S1 is permutations and combinations because the questions actually require some thought, the rest basically tell you what to do. Most students usually do better on S1 than the core modules.

Algebra on the other hand, if you can't manipulate algebraic expressions easily and confidently, you're going to find the core modules very tough. Stuff that's A* grade GCSE that a lot of A grade students will not have grasped are whizzed through in C1 then expected knowledge in C2.

Hmm - either all boards are not he same, or DD1 has a really weird way of thinking. Perhaps its the wordiness of some of the S1 questions that make them more difficult for her. Shes finding C2 the easiest, and did far better in that in her recent mock.