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Secondary education

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Original poster

Which A level would you drop?

144 replies

EachandEveryone · 14/06/2021 18:36

If you were 17 and didnt have a clue what you wanted to do. Medicine is out because she knows it would be too stressful. She wants to earn money and has had part time jobs since she was 14 so she likes to spend😃. No interest in computing. She is quite argumentative and much more woke than me. Typical teen really. She is desparate to do a course which means she cannwork abroad for a year.

Todays halfway results Geography A Biology B Sociology A and Chemistry C (which she is gutted about) Apparently they dont have to drop one but it would make sense to.

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 14/06/2021 20:28

There's also the Environmental Science track. With a masters in development or water she could look at UN agency jobs.

TranquilityofSolitude · 14/06/2021 20:42

My DC did A levels 4 and 5 years ago, so apologies if things have changed.

Chemistry A level is really hard, especially if you're not doing maths. Dc2 did it and really struggled to get good grades, despite getting As and A*S in her other subjects. She was the only one in her A2 class who was not also doing Maths. I think competition in Chemistry makes it extra hard in terms of the grade boundaries - so many doing Chemistry are also doing Physics, Biology, Maths, and each subject helps the other. All potential vets and medics are doing Chemistry, and they all need top grades. Sociology has a broader cohort, as students combine it with other less competitive subjects.

I have to confess that I suggested one of my DC drop Sociology because she wanted to teach, and I thought English would be more useful. I've been proved wrong several times already and it's only 2 years since she graduated. As a trainee teacher she's had more opportunity to teach A level classes than her peers because the school she's in is short of Sociology teachers and it's such a popular subject!

Marty13 · 14/06/2021 21:16

I'm not british and have no idea how A-levels work but... Why drop one at all ? Isn't it better to have 4 even if one is a low-ish grade ?

clary · 14/06/2021 21:19

@Marty13

I'm not british and have no idea how A-levels work but... Why drop one at all ? Isn't it better to have 4 even if one is a low-ish grade ?
No it's not - many schools only expect students to take three, universities ask for three grades so there is no benefit in doing a fourth. The detriment is that your other grades may suffer. AAB is a lot better for uni admissions that ABCC, for example.
Lonecatwithkitten · 15/06/2021 06:06

She likes to earn money and would like to work abroad.
Get a good science degree and then get on to a graduate scheme for accountancy or international banking. Accountancy if your with a big firm then you can move to a role that has international travel. ( this is the most successful route to money and travel I have seen with any of my friends).
Now decide what good science degree you are going to get and then drop the A-level which is least suitable for that degree.
Friends who are in the accountancy/ banking world studied pharmacy, electrical engineering and geography.
Good science degree shows ability to learn and analyse with enough maths for banking or accountancy.
Friends who have gone this route have worked in just every country I can think of and honestly the ones who have run with it are seriously wealthy.

CatbearAmo · 15/06/2021 06:25

I would look for a thread that asks "if you travel a lot through work, what did you do what did you study ?" and if there isn't a thread then start one.

Then discuss the different career options with your dd.

By this point I would not be worried about the grades as much but more about the lack of general career direction.

Once you have a career path in mind there will be a greater incentive to get the required results and you are less likely to drop something that might be relevant.

HasaDigaEebowai · 15/06/2021 06:45

She’s lower sixth. I think expecting her to have career direction is a bit much at this stage. Yes some kids will have an idea but the vast majority of kids who think they will become an “insert career choice”, will end up doing something entirely different.

Original poster
EachandEveryone · 15/06/2021 06:56

Its also the mindset that the degree you do is what you will get a job in. I dont know if this is what they are telling them at school but its very hard to explain that a good degree will get you in lots of different careers

OP posts:
LIZS · 15/06/2021 07:21

Logically the weakest subject would be dropped ie. chemistry. Unless she needs it for a subject she might want to do at uni ie Biochem she would be better going for the subjects she will achieve best grades in and have a better chance with fewer subjects. Even if she did need more Chemistry a degree foundation year or catch up modules may be possible . With biology, sociology and geography many degree subjects remain open in social sciences, humanities, even science as well as those which have less specific entry requirements and do not directly follow on to traditional A levels like Law , Psychology and Criminology and some medical related fields.

Nellodee · 15/06/2021 08:03

The decision boils down to chemistry related degree course, or top flight university options.

LIZS · 15/06/2021 08:16

I also suspect supplementary modules will be increasingly offered due to post covid learning gaps.

Frlrlrubert · 15/06/2021 08:27

She needs to decide what she wants to study at uni. Look for courses with an integrated year elsewhere.

I did biology at uni and it offered a year in industry or a year abroad, and various paths within the subject (my degree is genetics but I could have specialised in ecology, biochemistry, or immunology) It was a while ago, but careers in science communication rather than the science itself might suit your DD if she goes down the science route? (I now year chemistry after 10 years in industry).

Once she's decided what she'll apply for (she'd need to do that soonish anyway), and the course requirements, then look at what to drop.

Frlrlrubert · 15/06/2021 08:28

*teach, not year. Sorry.

CovidCorvid · 15/06/2021 08:31

I'd drop chemistry. Unless she wants to do a degree which requires chemistry. A lot of degree courses just ask for x ucas points so she'd be better off keeping the higher grade one not the C grade one.

But she needs to talk to her chemistry teacher as it sounds like she wasn't expecting the low grade and find out why - was it just one bad paper?

custardbear · 15/06/2021 08:32

Ditch sociology IMO

EwwSprouts · 15/06/2021 08:33

If she wants a year abroad then geography and biology are the most obvious routes. Chemistry supporting them will make a stronger scientific application than sociology. If she's gutted about the chemistry she presumably feels she should have / can do better in it?

Bryonyshcmyony · 15/06/2021 08:36

Definitely Chemistry! AAB will get her into most uni courses and Biology will get her into Physio if that was an option, you don't need Chemistry for that.

Bryonyshcmyony · 15/06/2021 08:37

Biology Geography and Sociology are a perfectly good and solid set of A levels. Getting ABC instead of AAB isn't the best idea.

Bryonyshcmyony · 15/06/2021 08:38

@Nellodee

The decision boils down to chemistry related degree course, or top flight university options.
This.
CovidCorvid · 15/06/2021 08:42

I'd also get to her to start looking through some university prospectuses (physical copies) cover to cover. She may well stumble across a course she's never heard of which interests her and that may help with decisions.

SingingSands · 15/06/2021 08:55

I'd encourage her to keep sociology as it's her best grade, and critical thinking and essay skills are usually required/useful for any degree.

catndogslife · 16/06/2021 09:13

For degrees I am thinking in more general terms such as marketing, management, public relations. These would require good verbal and persuasive skills.
If medicine and health related ways forward aren't what she would like to do career wise then I would drop Chemistry, although it is possible to improve a grade or 2 in this subject from Y12 to Y13.
I would also try the sort of career questionnaire that looks at skills and interests as well as subjects.

Original poster
EachandEveryone · 16/06/2021 17:55

They just keep telling her to go into Criminology which she actually fancied but then someone told her that forensics is all on computer these days so that put her off. Engineeting comes up alot in those quizzes and i really wish she would open her mind to that route but she thinks it would be boring, god knows why she thinks like that. I dont think the school gives good career choices. Its the same school i went to and they are still telling the young women to be nurses or secretaries.

OP posts:
cheesecrackerz · 16/06/2021 18:01

Pharmacy could be a good option for her. It involves a lot of good communication, empathy, organisation, opportunities to meet lots of different people. Options for working in community, GP, hospital, research settings. It's not sticking labels on boxes- i would say the people skills are the most important part to be honest.

It's a Masters degree, and I had the opportunity to go abroad for my Masters project if that's what she's keen on

You need Chemistry and another science

cheesecrackerz · 16/06/2021 18:01

Should add that i considered criminology or forensics when i was her age before deciding to be a pharmacist

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