Advice on A levels please ( law and psychology)

[kilmuir]

DD2 is researching A level subjects.
She fancies English Language, Psychology and Law. Her school offers these. She is a smart girl and loves English.
My concern is she would be going straight into Psychology and Law without a GCSE in them. Would this be a problem?

Not true bojo my DD hasn't done drama and she was the best on the course :)

But she didn't do Law or Psychology A level either, so swings and roundabouts (she did Eng lit, Hist, Philosophy).

DD didn't do it either but the ones who had a drama background were the best on the Public speaking course! Didn't think your DD was on it, goodbye! However the point is, for students doing some courses, especially English, it is not a wasted subject. Would not actually suggest it for law.

I'm a solicitor and studied law at a RG university. I studied English Lit, History and Psychology at A Level and was actively told by universities not to study Law at A level as they would basically re-teach everything I'd learnt and in more detail (so there's a risk you don't listen properly in your first year as you think you know it all already). This was early 2000s so attitudes may have changed. Psychology wasn't considered a great A level at my school but I think it was helpful for law as it's very analytical which is a key skill for studying law. Basically I was told to stick to classically academic subjects - French would probably have been better than psychology but I couldn't be arsed.

I agree with previous posters - law is very competitive and it has become more and more difficult to get a training contract (solicitor)/pupillage (barrister). Your daughter should definitely aim for the best university possible (doesn't have to be Oxbridge though - I visited and it was not for me, ended up in London as I needed a big city). The vast majority of my peers are Oxbridge/RG but I have non-Oxbridge/RG friends who are v successful so it's not impossible, but it will be tougher.

I would not suggest a Drama A level, but I can see the value in GCSE - not just if you want to be a barrister and stand up in court but for any role where you might have to give presentations (some solicitors often do - and if you work in eg marketing or sales you'll be doing it all the time).

If she is right get her to do more academic subjects.
Maths, history and English or a language.

Another lawyer who was told (quite a few years ago admittedly) that Law A level is not favoured by University. I had one non-facilitating subject as I did English Literature, History and Sociology.

Law is very competitive so she needs to pick options that put her on a par with the other applicants. If she has the same predicted grades in non-facilitating / less favoured subjects compared to an applicant with 2 or 3 facilitating subjects then she is at a disadvantage.

You don't need a GCSE prior to studying those and most places I know don't actually have those options for GCSE.

I took Psychology A level and loved it as it was interesting learning theories. I agree that it's wise to choose subjects which lend themselves well to university and/or your daughter's current university choice. On the other hand I think it's important to have one subject which she will enjoy, even if it is non-enabling as others mentioned. A levels are tough so she should choose something she will like to help her succeed. Good luck with it all xX