DD - difficult A'level choice - please help

[Candog]

She wants to do music, history and French.
Has chosen these because she likes them.

I worry that this doesn't look great from a degree/employment perspective. She is interested in politics. I'd like her to leave open the option of economics (prob with politics), for which I am reliably told that she should take maths A'level, which the school says she is capable of. I gather that an economics degree makes you quite employable.
Maybe drop the French? Music is important to her.
School won't let her do French, history or maths to AS level only. She could do music at AS level I think, but insists on doing the full A level.
Any suggestions helpful - worried she will make herself close to unemployable if she ends up doing a music or history or straight politics degree. I suspect that taking 4 full A'level would lead to poor grades. She's not an "excessive worker".

Actually our 6th form won't allow students to take physics or chemistry without A-level maths as well, Random, and some architecture degrees I've looked at require it, as do many science degrees.

Taking 3 subjects is entirely normal. That's what almost everybody does now with the linear A levels.

University offers are based on 3 A levels. If you want reassurance, look at the websites of likely universities and subjects, they will state the entrance requirements. As an example, joint honours History and Politics at Cambridge ask for A*AA and there are no specific subjects required.

Yes, you can stop worrying

OP there's also a combined arts degree at Durham which may be worth considering.

A Level maths is so abstract that I doubtful it's really useful for any degree other than maths.

You have clearly never heard about people doing engineering degrees.

3 subjects is fine. The subjects themselves are fine, but just not for Economics or degrees that require Maths. There is still a big world of opportunities out there. Neither do you have to study Law to be a lawyer. There are post grad conversion courses so she could study History and French, Music and Politics (or another strong academic combination) and still be a lawyer. It would be important to go to an RG university though and the better ones if possible for a career in law. Where you study is still important in some careers. So aim as high as you can and don’t get fixated on Cambridge for undergrad. Also choral scholarships do not give lower grades. Oxford certainly don’t. (DD got one).

Studying Politics is good to aim for but I would combine it with another subject such as French. Most A level students could not work effectively with French A level alone. Adding it to a Politics degree is a good way to go. A friend’s DS is doing Politics at a RG university and contact time is 6 hours a week. It needs to be joint honours!

My DD has just won an academic scholarship to a highly selective 6th Form and wanted to do 4 A-Levels - she was advised by the school to choose 3, do an EPQ related to what her 4th choice would have been, and give herself some time available for extra-curricular / enjoying some work-life balance!
Universities need 3 grades and 3 grades only. Your DD's choices are excellent (2 facilitating, and ones she enjoys so the motivation and interest should help when the workload/pressure increases).
The idea that she needs Maths or Economics to be successful is ludicrous!
I was young when I left school and earned a place to study Law at a good university, but it wasn't the 'best' University (as I hadn't go the grades to get a place on the Law course at that one). I did get an offer at the 'best' university to begin another course, which could be combined with Law should I get exemplary grades in my first year undergraduate degree. I decided I wanted to take the latter option because I loved the look of the other course and determined I would work my butt off to get accepted into Law in the second year.
My mother told me to 'take the bird in hand' (so to speak) and constantly spoke so negatively about the course I'd chosen. I'd even enrolled in the other university (she refused to go with me on enrolment day) and she gave me so much grief, constantly undermining my decision and saying 'It's not too late to change your mind' etc... that I eventually gave in and started the law course at the university which was good, but not my first choice. I was too young and too unassertive to stick to my guns.

Eventually, I became really ill with stress and had to go part-time by my final year, until I eventually gave it up, applied again for a new course at the original choice of uni, was accepted and ended up doing a degree I LOVED (and I did end up in the top 15% of students in my first year).

My very long winded point being - LET YOUR DD DECIDE and support her decisions. Don't think you 'know' better - it's her life and she will resent you if you force her to change to something because it's 'sensible' (NOT that her choices aren't already sensible)

Sounds fine to me.
I did music french and business studies. BS was a bit of a joke tbh the other two were MUCH harder and wish I'd done history or economics instead.
Went on to do MFL at uni. Good choice for me though I ended up working in an entirely different field.
She should do what she enjoys, unless she wants to do something very specific at uni like law or medicine it won't make that much difference what she does at a-level as long as she enjoys it and is good at it.

French a-level is pretty hardcore, or always was. A massive step up from gcse.
Music was a lot of work but if she's good musically it's not too bad.

I did music, French and Politics A-level.

I read Music at Oxford, and teach music for a living. I don't see the problem with her choices?

Why doesn’t she just do four? Her three choices plus an “extra”. Most people I know did four, it’s perfectly doable, that seemed to be the norm for anyone applying to a decent uni.

that seemed to be the norm for anyone applying to a decent uni

Not any more since AS and A2 were decoupled.

If a school/college won't allow and won't timetable four, you can't very well 'just do four'.

( I do know that you can do A-levels outside school. I did one as an adult. But it's easier if the school timetables it all for you!)

DD is hoping to go to Cambridge, based on the music opportunities there, as loves music performance.

That's something available at plenty of places. To get into Cambridge you need to love your degree subject and go above and beyond the syllabus out of that love. IME.

Let her take the subjects she likes, and is good at.

You are on the verge of being over-invested in this. You mention that your parents didn't take all that much of an interest in you, but please don't over-compensate and end up steering her into choosing options primarily based on your opinion of the subjects involved, and what you think is 'best' for her.

What's best for her is to be happy in her life choices. Don't make her feel that she isn't living up to your expectations if she doesn't do what you want her to do. It is her life, she is her own person, she isn't the person you might have been if your parents had steered you in a different direction.

@GeorgeTheHamster yes other places have good extracurricular music, but having studied at both Cambridge and a conservatoire, i can confirm that the opportunities at Cambridge are unrivalled, even by oxford, and are on a par with what you would get at a specialist music institution. I did English there and loved it, but I loved music more and (rightly or wrongly) based my university decision around going there for the musical experiences, so it's not a totally mad approach from the OP's daughter!

Thanks, green, but my choices were actually ok, and I got into a good uni with them v easily. I could never have coped with maths A'level.
I was fine with dd's choice until our young relative expressed her concern.
I've had an email from the school on this now, and they are recommending 3 A'levels, but possibly swopping music for maths. Dd will make the decision, and will prob go for music.

I take your point Harriet. I just don't think that having set your sights on Cambridge without even knowing what subject you want to study is a good strategy.

I think your relative has skewed your views on the subjects but your relative is young and is fortunate to have done PPE. That is a highly competitive degree and only offered at a few universities. Not many students can get into these courses and you cannot make DD a PPE type student. The only one I know who did this at Oxford had 5 A levels at 17 and like many is now working for a merchant bank earning mega bucks with very very long work hours. This is not for everyone.

My local grammar never did support 4 A2 A levels. It is not true that everyone used to do 4. They were never short of Oxbridge success with 3 A levels, however. Mainly because in depth knowledge and a great interest in the subject count for a lot. Therefore these subjects are fine and so is three subjects. The main issue will be what to study and where when she gets round to it. As I said earlier, you do not need Law to be a lawyer!

If she's doing GCSE Further Maths, depending on which syllabus, that will cover a nice chunk of the A Level and she should be able to get a good grade as the jump won't be as large from GCSE to A Level Maths.

A Level maths is so abstract that I doubtful it's really useful for any degree other than maths.

You have clearly never heard about people doing engineering degrees.

Or physics, chemistry, economics, computer science, etc ....

Further Maths at GCSE level covers a relatively small chunk of the A level, I wouldn't rely on that.

And yes, it seems that atm most schools/colleges are only offering 4 A levels if one is Further Maths.