chemistry GCSE for A level biology?

[sosassa]

We are in the Scottish system but DS hopes to move to the English system for sixth form.

So DS was set to take higher biology and physics with no chemistry as he did not take it at national 5 and his school can't offer it at national 5 in fifth year. But we have just been told he needs chemistry GCSE (or nat 5) for A level biology, which we weren't prepared for! Apparently he will really struggle without it for the biochemistry elements?

Does anyone know how much chemistry is really in A level biology?

He would have to crash higher chemistry, and is already semi-crashing physics and biology with only a year of the knowledge so would be keen to avoid this!

Has anyone had experience with a school letting a pupil take a subject possibly at a different school if they don't offer it? Or is this just a timetabling nightmare and not an option?

Thank you so much!!

A level biology is hard without A level chemistry, let alone GCSE. Individual schools will have their own requirements and they should be on their websites. It's very unusual these days to do 2 sciences at GCSE rather than three.

"Apparently he will really struggle without it for the biochemistry elements?"

Yes he will. DD has just sat her A levels and found that doing chemistry definitely helped. One of my friends has children at private school. They don't do double/triple science at GCSE, but individual science subjects, and he took biology and physics only. He applied to 6th form college elsewhere, but was told he couldn't take A level biology as he didn't do it at GCSE. So he stayed at the private school for 6th form.

I'm not familiar with the Scottish education system so forgive my ignorance. Do Scottish students not cover all three sciences for their year 11 (5th year?) exams?

Everything @Furrycushion said is correct. Parts of A-level biology would be very hard without GCSE Chem.

Additionally what is your son taking Biology for? Students taking A-level Biology benefit greatly from A-level Maths and Chemistry but the subjects they might go on to study tend to need that spread of skills as well. Unless it is to fit in with, something like, a career in sports science or psychology, it's unusual not to have the others. Nothing wrong with a lone Science for interest, but the student needs to be really good to make it work.

Has anyone had experience with a school letting a pupil take a subject possibly at a different school if they don't offer it?

That seems very unlikely.

Thank you for all the replies!!

Sounds like he's crashing chemistry for higher then! He can't take all 3 sciences as some classes are full so will drop physics.

DS wants to take psychology at uni, so biology A level felt like the best option. His favourite science is physics but is stopping maths after higher so can't take physics at A level.

In Scotland the GCSE equivalents are taken in fourth year and we have AS equivalents I think (highers) in fifth year. So higher chemistry will hopefully be enough for A level biology.

So do they get to choose individual sciences for their GCSE equivalents? so they can take just one science or two science subjects?

Yes they can take as many or as little as they want, only required subjects are English and maths at my DSs school. His friend dropped all sciences at GCSE!

They have to take at least 1 (could be environmental science) for 3rd year but can drop all for 4th.

Can you not do 1 class at night school? I did this so I could have all 3 science highers

"Yes they can take as many or as little as they want, only required subjects are English and maths at my DSs school. His friend dropped all sciences at GCSE!"

That doesn't make for a very rounded education.
At DD's school compulsory subjects are maths, English language, English literature and all three sciences. DD also had to take Citizenship, which is now no longer compulsory.

don't drop physics, we would expect all sciences at 16 to take any science A level.

I think a science should be compulsory too, but clearly the school feel differently. Judging from mn English schools force a larger breadth of curriculum for much longer! My DS could only take 7 GCSEs, with some taking 6.

Right now his choices stand at higher English maths biology and chemistry, with national 5 history.

DS is currently halfway through a physics IGCSE course, so would it be too much for him to continue on with that as well as crashing chemistry and semi-crashing biology?

He would definitely be up for it as he doesn't want to drop any and physics is his favourite subject, but it sounds like an awful lot to me. It's just a shame to have to drop it.

Before making a decision, really think about what he wants to do:

Most students with Psychology degrees do not go on to work in the field- there are few opportunities pursued by only the excellent candidates. It is one of the least employable degrees.

If he is dead set on Psychology he wants to develop the skills which will make him stand out. This has the advantage of supporting a range of career options if his plans change.

If he just wants something social sciencey then biology, psychology and another essay type A-level will be fine and transfer well into things like sociology or McDonalds :-)

The typical spread for more ambitious and academic students would be AS Maths, A-level Psych, Chem and Biol; which typically leads to degrees with much higher rates of employability and higher average salaries. Thing is, that is a very challenging set of A-levels.

Despite the teasing I really don't think he should take subjects just because they lead to better paid careers. I think he should look at the detail of what he might like to do long term, and what supports that- so I'm just suggesting examples.

He wants to go into educational or clinical psychology, obviously this could change because it's a while until then, but right now he wants to go into something directly related.

For A levels he was thinking biology and classics, just because he enjoys it, but is stuck on the third. Chemistry obviously he hasn't done before so we don't know yet! But is it inadvisable to try to get into psychology with only 1 science?

He will have higher maths and chemistry, but how much they count for I'm not sure.

No comment on your DC, but would you say it was the school that has let your DC down or is the Scottish system. I dont understand why he has been ignoring sciences given the career he wants to go into?

Isn't maths A level fairly important for a psychology degree? I suggest your son looks at the requirements of the university courses he is interested in. I think psychology is the most popular degree subject?

I think neither have let him down, it's just unfortunate that they can't offer the courses they promised to offer. Being national 5 sciences in 5th year! So more the school, but lack of uptake is unfortunate and I understand why they can't run the course.

And at least here the requirements would be around 4 As at higher including 2 sciencey subjects, so he qualifies that with maths, chemistry, and biology. Then the requirements would be AAB at A level including 1 science subject, so he would have biology. It is probably more common to have more than one though, but I think his highers would be enough to cover that? And yes i think it is the most popular degree now!

DD1 is doing A level Biology and doing very well, but it is hard. And she reckons it really helped her to have done triple science for GCSE and have a solid foundation in chemistry.

Have you actually looked at the entry requirements of different universities?

Here is the link for Leeds university (picked randomly, no idea how good it is for Psychology). courses.leeds.ac.uk/3670/psychology-bsc

At A level they want one or more of: psychology, geography, mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, geology, economics, statistics, environmental science or computing, but remember these are minimum entry requirements.

With Scottish qualifications they want AAA for advanced highers including maths and science. I’m unfamiliar with the Scottish system, but could your son do advanced highers?

You both need to look at entry requirements and go from there, HTH

I think it's only the English university's that require advanced highers for psychology, the Scottish unis only need highers. I was only looking at Scottish ones as we get free tuition and so it makes sense to go there!

DS could do advanced highers next year but is planning to do A levels, which afaik are about the same level. So he would have the minimum requirements for psychology at a Scottish uni already, would he need 2 sciences at A level?

I hadn't considered English university's though, thank you!!

Would definitely make sense to go to a Scottish uni with free tuition!

At Glasgow for example your son should meet A-level requirements (needs to be 2 from psychology, maths or other sciences)

If he continues with the Scottish system, they do say however they’re starting to place more importance on taking advanced highers because apparently you perform better in exams etc. If your son enters during S6 (sorry if I’m getting this all wrong!), he needs 2 advanced highers.

A link to Glasgow entry requirements. www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/psychology/
Just make sure, whatever route your son takes, that he’s informed and good luck!

I didn't know Scottish schools offered the option to do the English system. I thought with the SNP in charge it would have been outlawed?

Re: chemistry for Biology A-level- there is a fair amount of biochemistry on the syllabus- it's not always obvious at first glance. Understanding protein structure is quite important and this will include understanding things like how amino acids are made up on a molecular level, and the different types of bonds that can join them together. This also comes into DNA structure and the structure of other macro-molecules.

You son will also need to understand how energy (ATP) is produced at a chemical level and the chemical reactions involved in photosynthesis.

Transport across cell membranes is another topic where an understanding of chemistry is helpful e.g. for understanding Osmosis.

In general, having a familiarity with chemical formulas will also help a lot.

I think he would struggle with psychology at uni if he hasn't taken psychology or biology at A-level.

For educational psychology, it's essential to have work experience with children/young people- becoming a teacher first is a common route. If this is something he's very interested in, he could do a different subject at uni, train as a teacher and then look into qualifying as an EdPsych a few years down the line.