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Secondary education

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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.

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Pneumometer · 03/09/2015 12:54

As you can probably tell, I fear his music grade will go down rather than up with the tougher A2 year.

The usual A2 problem for Music is people who have very good practical performance skills (Grade VIII+) who fail on (a) the essay content, especially OCR syllabus (b) analysis, such as it as at A2 and (c) the rather different assessment criteria for performance at A2. The other problem is people for whom Grade VI/VII is a real stretch who therefore can't deliver in the practical, no matter how well they do in the rest of it.

Music A2 is notoriously hard.

antimatter · 03/09/2015 12:55

composition makes 40% of the total, it looks like content of the actual subject isn't changing year to year

what are average marks for A levels for Music in his 6th form?

Millymollymama · 03/09/2015 12:59

If he wants to do acting - drama school? They won't care about A levels, just ability. Drama degrees usually do not require much in the way of grades. It is easy to check that out. Drama A level may be a way forward - is he doing that? Or look for a foundation acting course. Or he might be dreaming about the unobtainable? Lots of my DDs friends have gone down the drama school route and very few ever get any work. They are not happy people.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 13:00

If heaves his music can he not keep it up out of school. Some Unis count UCAS points from music grades.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 03/09/2015 13:05

By the way I agree with your original point about colleges being far too quick to let kids choose less than optimum options. DS's would have been quite happy for her to toddle off down the BTEC route. She's no genius but has done fine on A levels and kept her options wider.

Original poster
KittiesInsane · 03/09/2015 13:26

He's kind of between those two camps, Pneumo -- got grade 6 in his 1st instrument a couple of years ago (140 out of 150 though he somehow failed the scales Hmm), skipped grade 7 and hasn't yet taken grade 8.

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Pneumometer · 03/09/2015 13:37

Some Unis count UCAS points from music grades.

Very few courses count UCAS points from music grades for anything other than statistical purposes. The vast majority of courses that accept UCAS equivalences for admission (mostly post-92s) nonetheless specify the qualifications from which those points must be obtained. UCAS points are widely misunderstood: the equivalence table doesn't mean "you can claim points for anything in here when a course asks for UCAS points", it means "if as an admissions tutor you opt to accept this particular qualification, here's guidance on how to scale it against other qualifications you might accept".

ImperialBlether · 04/09/2015 14:30

I would advise him to follow his dream but to take a joint honours with another subject eg English Literature.

Whereabouts is he and what overall grades is he likely to get? I'm sure we can find good courses for him!

BertrandRussell · 04/09/2015 14:40

Was the X studies Theatre Studies? Because my dd got into a Russell group with 3 Alevels, one of which was Theatre Studies. And so did several of her friends. I think a lot of places rate it much higher than many other -studies subjects.

Original poster
KittiesInsane · 04/09/2015 14:59

No, but he's taking that as well, Bertrand! He was reluctantly dissuaded from taking three lots of 'studies' plus music Hmm, and bunged in English to keep us happy. He's been surprised how much he enjoys English when taught by an enthusiastic specialist.

Looking at it impartially, his remaining three subjects (Theatre, Music, English) are better regarded than the one he's dropping -- it's just that he could well fail the music, versus getting an A in Other Studies.

He has listened politely to everything I've said, agreed that he needs to crack on with music theory catchup, and gone out busking .

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INeedNewShoes · 04/09/2015 15:04

How about paying for him to have some music theory lessons outside school to boost his chances of getting a good grade?

ImperialBlether · 04/09/2015 16:05

Theatre Studies is considered a good A level.

Kitties, my son was in a similar position. I've PM'd you.

Original poster
KittiesInsane · 04/09/2015 16:19

Thanks Smile

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Original poster
KittiesInsane · 04/09/2015 16:23

Sorry, Antimatter, I'm not ignoring your questions about his marks and the school's marks, but currently failing to find the answers!

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UhtredOfBebbanburg · 04/09/2015 18:44

Kitties - what board is he doing for Music?

Original poster
KittiesInsane · 04/09/2015 19:04

Edexcel - I think!
He's emailed his actual music teacher to ask how realistic it is to aim to re-sit, and also to ask if there are local theory tutors he could recommend.

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UhtredOfBebbanburg · 04/09/2015 19:06

And which paper dragged him down - was it the listening/wrotong paper or the composition? Because there is no composition at A2 (I know someone who retook their composition this year and ended up with an A overall - going up from a C. So it's definitely possible).

TinklyLittleLaugh · 04/09/2015 19:21

Kittie my DD dropped photography, which was her best result at AS in order to have a slightly more academic three A2s.

UhtredOfBebbanburg · 04/09/2015 19:26

My DD1 has dropped geography - a subject in which she got 100 UMS on one paper - because it's her least favourite subject (and she didn't get 100 UMS on the other paper although still a A overall). It wasn't her best result overall but it wasn't her worst one either - but it made sense to drop that rather than anything else. She was having to put twice as much effort into her less good gegraphy paper as into everything else put together and it just wasn't worth it, especially given that it's her least favourite subject. If your DS wants to do music A2 and doesn't want to do the other subject then he will find it easier to put extra effort into music than to be torn between subjects he likes less. He will have more time to devote to improving his music grade.

Original poster
KittiesInsane · 04/09/2015 20:34

Sadly there is composition at A2, worth up to 30% -- he has to choose whether to do two compositions, or one composition plus what sounds like a stinker of a harmony paper!

Breakdown was B for performance (one mark off an A), C composition, D listening/writing paper, hence the overall C.

Tinkly, Uhtred -- glad he's not the only one!

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UhtredOfBebbanburg · 04/09/2015 21:38

Maybe it's optional. Dd1 is certain there's no composition at A2. As are people who have just done A2 this time round...although looking at the specification it looks like there is an element of choice, I guess the people we know were just at schools where they opted to do two technical studies...

If it was the listening that was his problem then that's more problematical to retake...but there's scope to get much better than a D on this year's A2 pieces if he really nails the technique - there are some very good revision resources available, it does seem to be, in part, about just learning the stuff really thoroughly...

antimatter · 04/09/2015 22:15

What were the marks for this years Music in his college?

My DD has amazing teachers for (A levels, she is in different school just for this subject), she said that with solid teaching her understanding of theory went up several levels. Is he going to have the same teacher as in his GCSE's?

I know that my DD spent quite a lot of time actually learning stuff for Music assessments, mocks and exams. Maybe he thought because id good at playing instrument he will wing it? He ought to be honest with you about it. It is academic subject and Performance is not enough to get decent marks.

UhtredOfBebbanburg · 04/09/2015 22:59

Antimatter DD1 also put a lot of effort into basically memory work. Which paid off - she got an excellent mark on the listening/writing paper. In her AS. There is a lot of old fashioned memory work involved - you really can't busk it and get a high mark, you need to know the set works literally inside out. In that sense it's pretty similar to the old style A level music of days of yore.

Original poster
KittiesInsane · 05/09/2015 15:20

Marks for A2 are good, but then half the students seem to be members of the National Youth Orchestra and the like, so I'm not sure how much is down to the school's teaching.

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Original poster
KittiesInsane · 11/09/2015 13:23

A quick update -- he was mixed up about which unit was which. In fact, it was the composition that let him down, not the written paper. In some ways this is good, as he won't have to learn a new set of set pieces on top of the A2 work.

He is still determined to do the music, with the school's reluctant blessing, but has been told to submit a new composition. He has admitted that (mumble, shuffle, mumble) he might not have gone to any all of the booster classes on composition, and possibly forgot to update his composition after the teacher's initial remarks on it.

He seems pretty determined this time. Fingers crossed (except when playing symphonies, of course).

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