What do you think about these A levels?

[PerspicaciaTick]

DD is in y10 and starting to think about A level choices.
She is toying with the idea of doing Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Art with a possibility of doing Further Maths as a fifth A level.
I come from a Humanities background and am struggling to give her a perspective on this combination. Is it a weird mixture? Is she doing herself a disservice by not doing an essay/humanities subject? Is the workload going to be horrific? What pitfalls or positives should she be aware of?
No real clear idea of what degree she is aiming for at the moment, although she would love to work in a way that combines Art and science (not sure what that would like in terms of a career).
I'd love your thoughts or experiences please.

Do 3 a levels unless the 4th is further maths, there is no advantage and much to lose doing more. I would surprised if any universities give offers on more than 3 a levels. I'm surprised as many schools suggest 12 GCSEs or 5 a levels to their brightest students. Most of the very academically selective private schools suggest max 10 GCSEs and 3 a levels for good reason.

I worked with a relevant organisation on some PR bits and they were very clued up and passionate. Loads to check out on the website so have a rummage on there, this could be a good place to start:

www.wisecampaign.org.uk/what-we-do/expertise/welcome-to-my-skills-my-life/

Your daughter is exactly the kind of youth they want to engage and inspire :)

Ooh and insider tip - she should always offer to write a guest blog post about any work experience / shadowing she gets, to then go onto a relevant company / industry body / campaign website eg WISE Campaign I just mentioned.

She can reference this in uni applications to show a clear passion for STEM in association with an organisation dedicated to recruiting youths into the relevant industries. Can bring it to interview for placement work during uni etc.

Charities and causes LOVE case studies because they are relatable and written in the language of the people who they're trying to reach.

Good luck :)

DD did just 3; 2 facilitating humanities and an art based A level. Now at an RG uni doing History. 5 A levels is insane and I’d not have been keen on her doing 4, seeing how hard she worked for just 3! If DD is passionate/motivated, I’d go 3 plus EPQ. Good luck!

Universities want 3 good grades. Best to do 3 A levels well than 4 or 5 not so well. Maths and Physics go well together because there's a lot of maths in physics.

They offer a language at A Level as an extra to 4 other A Levels?!

Excellent combination and the maths and science bias will keep the workload down. Perfect for engineering, architecture or science. Good luck to her!

I think the extra language is AS equivalent.

I had actually heard of WISE (but forgotten ), thanks.

Have you anywhere near you that offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma? She could do 3 of maths physics, chemistry & art as Higher subjects, with the remaining one, a language & English as Standard level. IB can really suit those whose choices don't fit the model of 3 matching A levels.

Thinking one step ahead,
this degree might interest your DD if she wants to combine arts and sciences.

I knew someone who did exactly this when I was in sixth form more than twenty years ago. This was someone who was super-bright across the spectrum but sensible in work/life balance and and who didn't struggle with the workload. Here's her trajectory after that...

She went on to get a first in a straight science subject at a top uni, travelled the world teaching English for a few years, learning two very hard local languages from scratch along the way and doing semi-professional photography as a side-line. After that she did some very well-paid management consultancy with one of the big names for several years before branching out alone into independent consultancy for charitable and educational sector organisations. She has also built her own house and had several children along the way. I'm feeling very small and boring in comparison now that I think about all this!

Not all careers are linear and degree-specific. This is even more true in 2019 than it was a couple of decades ago, I suspect.

Lots of opportunities for science and art!

Dundee for example -their anatomy and arts college do a combined programme- facial reconstruction is one www.dundee.ac.uk/study/pg/forensic-art-facial-identification/

Computer studies is also increasingly valuable. 3D computer models of crime scenes and the like are in demand.

I am a scientist but if I’d have bad any art inclination there are loads of jobs I would love. I just can’t draw!!

Maths/physics/chem have a big overlap so won’t be quite as much work as 3 completely separate a levels. Plus art seems reasonable to me. Maybe leave the further maths? Or see what the timetable is and decide from there.

Further Maths is hard and really only for people wanting to study Maths, Engineering, Physics or Nat Sciences.

Art is very coursework heavy.

My ds is doing Maths, FM, Physics and Geography. He's very bright and motivated, doesn't struggle with the Maths but still finds juggling 4 hard.

I would have thought that maths and art are a good combination for architecture.

I agree that 5 A levels is insane, and don't see how it would fit in the curriculum. DD had 10 hours per subject per fortnight. Doing 5 A levels would leave no free study periods, and so much homework that your DD would have very little downtime if any.

Also, art is very time heavy, especially for a perfectionist. DD considered art as a fourth subject but was discouraged by her cousin who did A level art and then an art degree.

4 A levels is heavy going and most students who take 4 subjects are usually doing further maths as their fourth subject.

Oxbridge and medical schools are only interested in 3 A levels BTW.

Art and science is a great combination.

Medical illustration is one of the fastest growing fields in science. Also good science comes from creativity and observation - skills that are developed in art.

That's good to know Professor
DD will be doing a science degree and is a talented artist.

One of mine did all science plus an art subject. DC dropped the art subject after A1 in order to ensure good grades at A2, plus added in the EPQ sort of by accident in mid year. That seemed to work out ok.

I used to teach a girl who did Biology, Maths and Art A levels, plus Chemistry AS. She went in to do Marine Biology. She did Art because she loved it, and combined Biology and Art really beautifully in some of her Art pieces.

I would say do the maths, physics, chem and do an epq on an art project/topic/style. EPQ can be on anything at all & presented in any way ie does not have to be an essay. This would show rounded student without the full workload of art A level.

Writing skills are extremely important and a lot of employers ask for English at a level so I wouldn’t not do an e flush subject of some kind.

I knew someone who did exactly this when I was in sixth form more than twenty years ago.
A levels are different now. They’ve recently upped the difficulty so it much more unusual to do four, let alone five.

Could art be something she’d do as a hobby?

^Writing skills are extremely important and a lot of employers ask for English at a level*

Really? I’ve never seen that before. GCSE yes, but not a level.

I would say that an essay subject rather than English specifically is a better bet.

She won't be able to do 5 because there won't be enough capacity in the school timetable. My DD is doing 4 and has virtually no free lessons. (And she also wanted to do art and science but it was impossible due to the fact that art clashed in the timetable with her fave science subject).

5 A levels is definitely too many.Daughter was doing 4 including Art. She dropped 1 due to her work load with Art. She wanted to study Art so she wouldn't have dropped it.