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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Oh bugger. An A-level grumble.

53 replies

KittiesInsane · 01/09/2015 17:33

Can I have a wee parental grumble here? It's all very well letting children grow up and take responsibility for their own decisions and all the rest of it. But DS has just come home from the first day back at his 6th form and told us that he has dropped a subject he got an A in at AS, in favour of one in which he got a C.

That's not filling me with hope for the coming year, really.

OP posts:

Snowfilledsky · 01/09/2015 17:34

LIZS · 01/09/2015 17:42

Any reason? Ds is continuing one he got a C for (remark pending) and dropping a B. He might even apply for the C subject at uni.

batters · 01/09/2015 18:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lalamumto3 · 01/09/2015 19:28

I agree and echo the and advice above. We had a similar conversation as our DD got a B in her favourite subject at the time and we had to persuade our daughter to stick with a subject that she got an A (English) in at AS and to drop the one she got a B in. So I know of and feel your pain. Interestingly my dd later realised that favourite subjects were actually linked to her teachers!!! and as she has matured her favourites have changed.

Her head of sixth form was very helpful as he said lala daughter, if you want to go to X uni, you will need good grades, this will make it easier to get grades, his analogy was that sometimes you have to keep running round the track in order to win the race.

It worked for dd as she ended up with an A in English and got the grades for her first choice uni. She is not going to read that subject, but the offer was AAB and she ended up with A*A (English) B, the A was necessary for her to make her offer.

My concern for your DS with going with the C would be that your DS is going to have to work even harder to get the grade. Could you sit down with him and work out the additional UMS that he will need to get different grades with both the A and the C subject.

BackforGood · 01/09/2015 20:03

Grumble away. I think I would be having a chat with the head of 6th form (or other appropriate person) and asking them why they are allowing him to do it.

ImperialBlether · 02/09/2015 21:38

That will work as long as he is going to a university that asks for points (and doesn't mind how many A levels were taken) rather than for grades.

That A grade would then be well worth having as it would boost up any full A level grades.

However, if he wants to go to a Russell Group or similar, the most he can really hope for is a B, and that's if he gets an A at A2. He needs to be questioned why he made that decision.

Kez100 · 02/09/2015 22:01

Surely you have some idea why the A has been dropped? What subject was it? Has he been moaning about it constantly for the past year because he hates it? There has to be a rationale behind it (even if misguided)

Original poster

KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 10:42

Thanks all. Sorry to post and run - no internet access yesterday , which at least had the benefit that I had a long talk with DS.

The C subject he wants to keep is music, essentially because he loves it even though he struggles with the theory. The one he wants to drop is a 'Something Studies' subject which he is sick of hearing (not from me!) is a noddy subject that universities don't much like. So his reasoning does have some logic to it.

Trouble is, I suspect that an A in Noddy Studies would stand him in better stead than a C or D in music. He isn't of a standard to apply to music school or conservatoires, so music isn't essential to an application.

He used to love the subject he's dropping -- it's a shame.

The other snag is that according to his AS results, he did worst in areas that will count for more at A2. He hasn't talked to his music teacher since his results, only to his form tutor, who apparently said 'Fine, but you might want to re-sit a module.' We aren't sure yet if this is possible, as I think the pieces on the syllabus may change each year -- so it would be more like restarting the course than resitting. DS is under firm instructions to find this out TODAY while there is still time to get back on course for Thingy Studies.

The head doesn't really talk to parents as it's a 6th form college and 'our young people are independent learners'.

OP posts:

senua · 03/09/2015 11:23

The head doesn't really talk to parents as it's a 6th form college and 'our young people are independent learners'.

Sod that! He's not yet an adult. These sort of decisions can be life-changing. Do your thing.

I agree that an A Grade is an A Grade. Universities often stipulate one or two subjects but rarely specify the third so an A Grade in Noddy Studies can be useful (depending on how Noddy, of course). DS got offers on two "List A2" and one "List B" subjects (Lists from Trinity College here)
Which List is your Noddy on?

Original poster

KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 11:42

Interesting list, thanks.

From that list, DS only has Music on the A2 list; then he has two from the B list; and the one he's dropping is on the C list -- so if he was actually good at it (!) keeping music would be the right choice. But he's struggling.

OP posts:

Original poster

KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 11:46

Actually, I'm not sure where 'Combined English Lit and Lang' would fall on that list -- maybe somewhere between English Lit (A2 list) and English Lang (B list), or maybe down in a dark, unmentioned basement of its own around the D-list level?

OP posts:

senua · 03/09/2015 11:46

What's the end point? What does he want to do after A Levels?

Original poster

KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 11:51

He doesn't know. He's always had an unrealistic dream firmly in mind since being tiny (the sort that needs an amazing combination of luck and talent -- not premier football, but that sort of idea) and has just woken up to its improbability, without a Plan B.

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TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 11:52

Depends what he wants to read and where he wants to go doesn't it? And if he is aiming for a top Uni someone should have showed him that list when he made his A level choices.

FWIW my DD1 was never going to do a Russell Group academic type subject so only picked one A list A level and the rest were things she liked and was good at. She got decent A levels and offers to all the places she applied to.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 11:55

Oh actually, what I'm calling DD's A list subject was in fact LangLit. Maybe she does have all Noddys then.

Original poster

KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 11:57

He's currently only just starting to consider university as it wasn't in his original life dream, and yes, he's now realising that he's chosen some rather limiting subjects. I definitely should have shown him The List, but rather foolishly trusted the college, as they are supposed to be good at this sort of guidance.

OP posts:

TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 12:03

What is the dream Kitty? Is there a possibility for a watered down plan B?

DD1 always wanted to be an artist since she was little, premiership football territory I think. The watered down version is a degree in Graphic Design. She has decided a decent chance of a creative job trumps a degree in Fine Art and working in a call centre.

senua · 03/09/2015 12:03

Interesting. DS did the Combined English and it didn't work for him (despite A* at GCSE). Dropped it after the AS.

Difficult to advise if he doesn't know where he's going. I would have thought that employers would prefer a literate person to a musical person. If he loves the subject then keep going. Can he add to it - edit the college newspaper, help in the Library, etc.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 12:07

Plus realistically she is James Milner not Lionel Messi.

MrsHathaway · 03/09/2015 12:11

A slightly different perspective.

In a very similar situation I was not allowed to drop the hated good-grade subject in favour of the loved lower-grade subject. I ended up with great A Levels ... and took some lower-grade modules at university, getting Firsts in those papers but nothing else.

So (1) it doesn't mean he can't be good at Music, just perhaps at GCSE Music which may be very different in content/skills from A Level and (2) even if he does dump Music now that needn't mean he can never pick it up again.

General for all parents of teenagers though. I've no idea how you cope.

Original poster

KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 12:15

Sorry, I think I'm confusing the issue -- the one he's dropping isn't the Eng Lang/Lit but a different subject. He's fine at English and happy to keep it. It's the one straightforward factor in all of this!

The dream is/was acting; he's pretty good, but reckons others of his age are better. He's one of the few amongst his close friends who hasn't got into the national youth theatre, and I think that's knocked his confidence.

OP posts:

TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 12:21

Would a drama degree be an option?

Original poster

KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 12:29

Hmm, a practical-based drama degree might be just the ticket, having had a quick google (could explore directing and production, maybe scriptwriting as he's a decent creative writer?) but he'll still presumably need three goodish A-levels.

As you can probably tell, I fear his music grade will go down rather than up with the tougher A2 year. I wonder how I find a decent music tutor, if he's determined to stick with his current plan.

OP posts:

TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 12:46

It's a fine balance for our young creative types. At least with a drama degree he could maybe teach if his dreams fall through. (DD1 was very unimpressed when I suggested that option to her).

antimatter · 03/09/2015 12:53

My DD is doing Music at A levels and she said that most people find composition part the hardest.

What was his mark for this part of GCSE?

Music is considered an academic subject, he can get reasonable marks if he puts his head down and learn theory. Can you get him tutor for that outside of school?
Which instrument has he got for performance? My dd's are tuned percussion but she could also do singing which she did in the first part of AS but for the submitted performance was her Marimba piece.

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