A level choices

[dairydairy]

Ds is doing his options now, so far the list is

Physics, Biology, Geography and PE (double award, it's a Cambridge or BTEC I think)

He has to choose four and can then stop one at the end of year 12. The school also offer the EPQ which he's not keen on.

He's not sure yet what he wants to do at university. Do these look like a good mix ?

[Piggywaspushed]

She did English Lit and loved it but said it took her a couple of months after the exam to be able to read for pleasure again.

It took me about 5 years after my degree!!

[clary]

@ihearttc the sports journalism course piggy mentions at Derby has no specific entry requirements in terms of subjects so not doing media won't close that to him.

I agree with Piggy btw, while many many journalists don't have a degree in journalism (including me), you probably should do one if that's what you want to be. It's a long way off being a prestigious degree (112 UCAS points for the Derby course) but will give you experience and connections. It's a very tough profession to get into and v competitive so any advantage is worth having.

You mention salary as a downside of teaching - salaries in journalism are way below teaching, especially for those starting out.

Not sure what you mean by him liking sports reporting rather than writing but if he is at all interested, there is nothing stopping him writing a blog about his favourite team and what they do each week. If he wants to do PE A level I assume he plays a sport. It doesn't matter if it's footy or some other sport. Obvs football matches are being played but other sports are happening too. He needs to have something to show, much more important than a certain A level.

[ihearttc]

@clary
Thank you! I will get him to have a look at Derby. I think he us completely overwhelmed (and currently trying to write an email on Fate in Romeo and Juliet!) and just doesn’t know what to do.

What I meant by reporting and not necessarily writing, is that he is aspiring to be some sort of sports pundit I think with a column in the newspaper but who interviews people on TV and radio rather than purely a written journalist.

I think in all honesty he’d be better focusing on becoming a teacher which is a job he’d be very good at, he has patience and empathy in bucketloads which I assume is a good starting point.

He does play sport, football. He is however lacking motivation to do anything extra at the moment which would help himself.

I think he probably needs some guidance in general about what route to do next.

[clary]

Well a blog about his fave footy team can't do any harm and might give him an idea whether he enjoys it. Sports pundits on TV are often former players of course (Gary Lineker, Sue Barker, Ian Wright) tho John Motson must have started somewhere.

Otherwise PE teacher with maths A level is great.

[Piggywaspushed]

Just oicking out a few non connected/ not ex sports stars sports presenters (which is quite hard!):

Sally Nugent : Huddersfield degree then postgrad journalism at Huddersfield
Dan Walker : Sheffield history degree then Sheffield postgrad
Ore Oduba :Loughborough Sports Science
Mike Bushell : drama degree at Winchester and then on the job training (but he is a bit older and that local rag type stuff not so easy these days..)

[Piggywaspushed]

picking not oicking!!

[Piggywaspushed]

Don't want to hijack OP's thread but also Huddersfield and Lincoln do sports journalism (and Sheffield does journalism : high entry requirements). They are pretty well regarded amongst the 'newer' unis.

[dairydairy]

@Piggywaspushed don't worry about thread hijack, it's a generic titled thread and any information about A levels and related stuff fits just fine.
I don't own the thread!

[Ellmau]

@Piggywaspushed

Just oicking out a few non connected/ not ex sports stars sports presenters (which is quite hard!):

Sally Nugent : Huddersfield degree then postgrad journalism at Huddersfield
Dan Walker : Sheffield history degree then Sheffield postgrad
Ore Oduba :Loughborough Sports Science
Mike Bushell : drama degree at Winchester and then on the job training (but he is a bit older and that local rag type stuff not so easy these days..)

Andrew Cotter did French and philosophy at Glasgow.

[ihearttc]

Sports Science at Loughborough is one that he also looked at. I think that’s more him somehow.

Maybe PE, Biology and Media then? I think we will need to look at specific course requirements and go from there.

Thank you so much for all your help anyone, it really helps to just talk it all through.

[EwwSprouts]

Take a long hard look at PE A Level requirements. DS school does not recommend it for many because you need to be a high level player to access top grades. The problem wasn't the ability of students but enough high enough level events/competitions in reasonable travelling distance to video. I haven't explained that well but DS plays county level sport and got a 9 in GCSE PE and still the steer was best not.

[TheLetterZ]

My concern was that a lack of Chemistry would rule out courses allied to medicine which is the area that DS is specifically interested in.

Ok, if it is medicine then chemistry is a must. This website is a good one.

www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/choosing-a-medical-school/what-a-levels-do-you-need-to-be-a-doctor/

Doing all three sciences is a good combination, there are lots of courses that are open from this (not just medicine).

[Pipandmum]

Biology with PE to be a PE teacher (my son considered it so I did some research). No way was he ever going to do math.
My daughter is doing art, history and biology and psychology if they allow her to do a fourth. She wants go for a degree in art and illustration, so the biology is purely out of interest.
Sixth form is an experience in itself, not just a means to an end.

[ihearttc]

@EwwSprouts

I did wonder about that but school have a large number of students doing A Level PE and I would say 95% don’t play sport at a very ugh level. DS is a good all rounder. He can do virtually any sport to a good standard that he tries (apart from trampolining, he wants to block that trauma from his memory all together!! ). He plays football and is good but definitely not Elite level. I assumed that it was better to have a good all round level of fitness and sports awareness than focus on 1 particular sport. I know a lot of the course is theory/science based so he should do well in that part.

[ihearttc]

@Pipandmum

Thank you, that was my thought as well. He wanted to do subjects he enjoys and will do well in (hence the random choice he made of physics, PE and Media Studies) but physics seems unlikely without maths. They have had an awful couple of years and I think he just needs to enjoy 6th form.

[dairydairy]

@TheLetterZ

My concern was that a lack of Chemistry would rule out courses allied to medicine which is the area that DS is specifically interested in.

Ok, if it is medicine then chemistry is a must. This website is a good one.

www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/choosing-a-medical-school/what-a-levels-do-you-need-to-be-a-doctor/

Doing all three sciences is a good combination, there are lots of courses that are open from this (not just medicine).

Thank you, that looks so useful.

[GrasswillbeGreener]

DS is looking at Maths / FM / Physics + 1. He is wondering about Philosophy. I don't think they've had their school discussions yet but soon. I had a chat about subject choices / uni / career aspirations with him the other day, and I think it will help him to look at uni courses a bit.

However, it's sounding increasingly as if he's headed for music. He doesn't need to do music A level with other stuff he's done already, and one of his instrumental teachers has suggested stuff for next year that will keep him pretty busy with that alone. I think the dilemma will be whether maths / physics / computer science stuff might be a useful adjunct to maximise his options for earning money until (and if...) such time as music pays off.

[NotDonna]

@GrasswillbeGreener doing philosophy with those 3 will give him a very interesting profile. 4 subjects is heavy, especially if he’s doing a lot of high level extra curricular music. Having said that some, and I emphasise some, courses count FM and maths as 1 subject, which then forces DCs to do 4 subjects. You also mention computer studies, which goes very well those 3 options and is a popular combination.

[PresentingPercy]

I talk sometimes to a former sports journalist for the BBC. Look around at new reporters. They are often former sports people. Often well known names who move into journalism. Or people with very strong sporting connections like Clare Balding, Gaby Logan, Kelly Cates to name just a few. The opportunities for the ordinary person have become severely limited and the BBC is getting rid of its sports journalists who are non players.

So whatever qualifications John Motson had, it’s almost certainly irrelevant now.

[Piggywaspushed]

Ahem. Clare balding and Gabby Logan are also former sportspeople.

Both do have degrees, that said.

[clary]

@ihearttc re the level of sport, Ds2 is predicted an A in PE and he is offering football; he plays for a couple of local teams but is definitely not elite level.

He looked at offering athletics where he has competed for his county and his level there would have been more than adequate. Glad now he didn't do it as there hasn't been any for a year but still.

[PresentingPercy]

Ahem! Clare Balding’s Dad trained horses for the Queen. She only competed as an amateur jockey. She was never a professional. Gabby Logan’s Dad played football for Wales. (Terry Yorath). Clare went to Cambridge and Gabby went to Durham. Don’t under estimate the competition in sports journalism. You only have to look at many papers and tv shows to see former sports people get the gigs. That simply means less opportunities for others because recruitment policies have changed.

[Piggywaspushed]

I am not disagreeing with you but it feels you are overlooking their sporting backgrounds (because they are female)? Logan was an accomplished gymnast not just the DD of a footballer.

I am not disagreeing with you just pointing out they have sporting background ; it is not just nepotism with them. Kelly Cates was a better example (although she deliberately uses her married name), and also Kirstie Gallacher if you want to go down the nepotism route. As I said previously the only person I now who was successful had a DF who played for Luton and England (and an uncle) but he did do a journalism degree. Unless very famous they don't usually get a route straight in to the top like Lineker.

And Dan Walker and Sally Nugent still stand as examples of completely unconnected successes.

[PresentingPercy]

No I’m not overlooking anything because they are female. If you look at my posts I have clearly said the jobs are going to ex sports people. Gabby Logan ticks both boxes but she doesn’t comment just on gymnastics. Clare doesn’t stick to horse racing. Just as well as the BBC ditched it. Kelly Cates has a well known dad and it’s true to say this is a massive help. It’s a big deal. Never under estimate the who you know in sport. It is certainly not confined to broadcast journalism either. The offspring of well known journalists get the jobs too. It just makes it so difficult for others. The examples I have just happened to be women but there are many male examples too .

[MadKittenWoman]

It is an odd combination. Google 'Russell Group, Informed Choices'. They have changed their view a little now regarding facilitating subjects (subjects which allow entry onto a wide range of degree courses), but it's still very useful advice for keeping their options open. Ideally, he should go backwards, i.e, 'What do I want to do for a career? What is the best university for this subject? What are their entry requirements?' If he doesn't know what he wants to do yet, then he can do the opposite: 'What could I do with these subjects? Good luck. The A Level years are the most stressful, unfortunately!