General Studies and Critical Thinking at AS level - is there any point?

[optimistmum]

Ds1 has done well in his GCSEs and is staying on at his current school for 6 form. In checking the details for registration I saw that all year 12 pupils have to do General Studies AS level and some of the more academic pupils do Critical Thinking AS level as well.

I tend to think 4 AS Levels are quite enough - he plans to do Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computing so don't want him to be too pushed with potentially 2 other subjects as well.

Have I missed something? Are the subjects worth studying? An older niece tells me that these subjects are excluded from the entrance requirements of the (good) university she went to?

Any experience/ knowledge/ feedback much appreciated.

Your niece is correct; top uni's disregard them (my dd). However, they can be very useful for lesser mortals. My ds flunked his further maths, as it was just too difficult, on top of everything else, and his GS AS just topped him up enough to squeak into a local uni. The subjects themselves may be useful, tho, esp critical thinking. It's A2 year that really gets tough, so definitely only 3 then.

An older niece tells me that these subjects are excluded from the entrance requirements of the (good) university she went to?

Agreed, but they can have their uses. You will sometimes get things like a University offering a 'scholarship' if you get 3x A Grade and that goes across all subjects, so CT and GS are included for that.
More specifically, your DS is doing a lots of mathsy subjects - it might do him good to keep up with an essay subject.

The reason why CT and GS are disregarded is because they are not considered rigorous enough. It is not unknown for DC to get A Grades despite never attending a lesson! What I'm saying is that it needn't take up too much of his time.

The subjects are popular with schools because it is a way of collecting tariff points and getting higher up the league tables.

I would stick to concentrating on 4 good A levels rather than diluting study with GS or CT (Im sure critical thinking has now been scrapped anyway)
I have taught General Studies and it largely common sense and self taught. If he's aiming for good science and maths A levels, the universities he's applying for wont take GS into account. Look at the EPQ for something extra which allows an element of research and analysis which might be beneficial.

Totally agree. Most top universities disregard them. Doing so thing the universities actually want to see, such as projects, curriculum enrichment and work experience is a better use of time.

I taught A2 GS this year and I actually got thanked by a student at prize giving who said he found my lessons interesting. He didn't need them for anything but it was actually an hour without much pressure where we explored interesting issues. I get to cover science and the media.

Nothing wrong with that Donna. It is great to be appreciated. It is just that if the OPs son does 4 x A2, is this a good use of time, however great the teaching? I would have loved it, by the way! I also think it is great for young people who don't get an opportunity to talk about these sorts of topics at home. It helps with interviews and conversing with employers. Perhaps it should be targeted at students who would really benefit from it?

DS took AS General Studies at a school where it was commonly taken but never taught. All that was done was that one lunchtime before the exam, some past papers were given out. He missed this meeting but still got an A despite no specific preparation,
From looking at past papers, I reckoned it was a waste of time for the more able pupils, but might benefit weaker pupils by reinforcing what they should already have learnt (together with the application of common sense).

They are not highly rated subjects. They have now been dropped at DDs school as theyare expected to that 4 A levels through to A2.

Thank you for your comments - they are very helpful. At least it appears that GS isn't demanding (!). If CT is offered (and I think it will be as ds1 did well in his GCSEs) then maybe this is an offer to refuse. I am not sure if the school offers the EPQ but this sounds like a better option.

Ds1 plans to continue all 4 subjects to A2 level if possible.

The school is a high performing comprehensive school with a tendency to make the bright kids do lots of subjects (to boost them up the league table).

Hmm. I was forced to do GS and CT. Admittedly this was a few years ago, but I found CT quite useful - looking at the construction of arguments (straw men, for example) improved both my essay writing and my logic skills, and made me more confident at debating (which I subsequently did at Uni). It was however an 'extra' session for those of us aiming for straight As.

General studies was a complete and utter waste of my time though. I never went to the sessions (or if I did, I wrote UCAS applications/revised for Oxford entry exams). A bunch of us had a pact to see who could get the most mentions of Deal or No Deal or Noel Edmonds into our final essays. still got a B

I don't know if the syallabus has changed - if it has then I am happy to be corrected. But I did find CT useful.

I echo scribblegirl's comments - was at college approx ten years ago, GS was compulsory at AS Level and was completely pointless, we were "taught" it in tutorial time. The only bit I remember was in the exam being asked something about the green belt and something about is it possible to define "cool", "can you become cool", bollocks of that nature. Impossible to prepare for, it's basically can you decipher some text and write an essay type stuff.

A group of us who'd got decent grades at GCSE were picked out to do CT, so it was a bit of a pilot project I think. Nice being with a group who were all quite switched on with the subject and up for an interesting debate or two. It was useful being taught how to analyse an argument and the common sorts of weak approaches people use when writing persuasively, I think it should be taught more widely. Not necessarily as a set subject with an exam, but just as part of how to learn.