A levels choices for engineering

[wohmum]

My DS is in yr 12 taking maths physics, chemistry and mandarin . He will drop one of these next year.
He is aiming to go to uni to study engineering and will definitely keep physics and maths ( on target for As in both) but veers between dropping either chemistry or mandarin. In reality he is unlikely to use mandarin in a future career, but enjoys it and we feel that it does make him stand out of the crowd a bit. Of course chemistry would be a solid choice, but what do you all reckon would be the best for him to stick with - he's likely to get a B in chemistry and poss an A in mandarin

No, not native mandarin speakers.

Responses are fairly split - and pretty much match our thought processes. It's a good idea to maybe keep chemistry and do mandarin a level later/ outside as he would be able to pick it up again, whereas he'd not be able to pick up chemistry if he dropped it now.

In practice though most dcs keep studying their best subjects in Y13 and drop the one with the lowest grade.
Possibly not much in it if he obtains the predicted grades but if he slipped a grade in Chemistry so it became a C and still obtained an A in mandarin then the far forward is obvious!

I don't really know which is best but there is the option of study abroad for lots of MEng courses. If he can continue with Mandarin for 1 year into the 6th form then this could be a springboard for studying Mandarin at university. I doubt many universities have study abroad agreements with Chinese universities on the "mainland" but they may do with Hong Kong. Teaching would probably be in English but Mandarin speaking would be enhanced. Something to think about.

Chemistry would never be the wrong option, but for engineering disciplines where Chemistry is not vital (eg Chem Eng) or very useful (Environmental Eng, Civils), Mandarin could lead down some interesting paths, as others have said.

Not sure there's a wrong answer although I would favour chemistry, it pops up in a lot of materials science etc. Would he have an AS in mandarin to benchmark what he's done so far? Chinese markets very influential in automotive, and language proficiency is valued by employers.

Quite often the fourth A level for engineers is further maths, which is not such a stretch as 4 completely different subjects. Good luck either way!

My DS graduated in the summer having studied aeronautical engineering. Those students who didn't have A2 chemistry had to take an additional course in the first year to bring them up to speed (though it wasn't a necessary A level)
The other point to bear in mind is the grades your DS is likely to achieve. Many (all?) of the best courses require 3xAs, or higher. That might be the deciding factor.

DS does Mech Eng at leeds.he did maths physics and chem.He has found chem has helped a bit with some modules -thermofluids and materials.