Last minute panic over A level choices

[GiveMeDreamies]

DS has picked Maths, Further Maths, Physics and French A levels but is having a wobble over French. Mainly he's worried that he's going to find the essay and the speaking really stressful.

He's very clever and got 11 9s for GCSEs. He's also autistic, very much a perfectionist and gets very stressed. English is his weakest subject, he worked really hard and had an amazing teacher but was massively stressed over it.

Maths, Physics, French and Spanish were the easiest GCSES for him hence the A level choices but now he's worrying about coping with French essay writing and speaking. Chemistry is a possible alternative (he's dead set on doing 4) but I don't really know what to advise him. I'm sure he can cope with French aacademically but I'm not sure about the stress. A lot of his problem with English was lack of confidence in his ability and worrying about not being able to think of anything to write. Another thing against French is that he is not very good at intonation but I don't know how much that would matter.

I'm not sure anyone can advise but any thoughts are welcome!

Math, FM, physics, Chem is a common combination. There is a deal of overlap, making things smoother, but also very samey. Great if you want to head into STEM later, less useful for branching out.
French is a bit of a wild card, but would offer a bit of variety, would be gratefully recieved in most STEM firms I'm aware off, and would show a broader variety of skills.
In other words, there are benifits to both selections. Does he have any idea about what he wants to do in the future?

If he starts off taking the 4, presumably he always has the option of dropping French later if it's not what he wants? He doesn't "need" 4 A levels for anything. Most schools don't now offer 4.

I'd suggest looking at typical uni offers, then working back. University offers are likely to be made on the basis of 3 subjects relevant to the degree in question. As such, the French would likely be ignored in most offers for STEM subjects, whereas a good chemistry grade might compensate for a dropped grade in physics/FM.

Re dropping French at some point, do universities count FM as a stand-alone a level? I admit my knowledge is very old, but my friends who did FM either did three others, or if FM was one of three, it was because they were doing a degree in maths.

Does the school offer the chance to switch before half term? Most do, and there is a certain amount of shuffling in the first few weeks.

He could try French and swap if it is too much.

With FM, I would stick with four A Levels.

My immediate thought was drop French and add in Chemistry!

Is economics a possibility?

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, there is the option of swapping around for the first few weeks anyway.

We've talked about it today and I think he's going to go with French. I'll make sure he talks to the teachers about his concerns though.
His reasoning is that he prefers French to Chemistry and Chemistry practicals would be stressful (ultra cautious about heating, chemicals etc). Also it maybe leaves more options open.

DS doesn't really know what he wants to do other than go to university so that doesn't really help. He thinks probably Maths or Physics or something finance related.

I don't think he'd be likely to do better in Chemistry than Maths/Physics. He hasn't considered Economics and I think starting a new subject would also be stressful for him.

Thanks everyone.

almost the same as my ds.

school persuaded him maths physics chemistry was the 'best' option as it keeps so many options open.

but actually he loves german (excellent teacher and he's always done well without too much drama) so he's swapped chemistry for german.

nice combo in my opinion. They have 2 years to build up to essay writing and (from what i remember of language A levels) it's not that onerous? If he liked the gcse odds are he'll like the A level. Still leaves lots of options open?

DDs school still does AS levels so she started last year with French as one of her 4 after it being one of her strongest and favourite subjects.

It’s now the subject that she’s chosen to drop for year 13 - she says the jump to A level has been far steeper than her other subjects and she has found it a real struggle. The other issue that she’s found is that out of the 8 people that started it only she and one other don’t already speak french or a similar language outside of school. Both of them have felt at a huge disadvantage compared to the others in the class. She did get a B for the AS though, so doesn’t feel as if she’s wasted a year on it.

Hi op, MFL is my subject. I do think it's a big jump to A level, but it is better now with the revised GCSEs as there is a lot more connection. My dd did old style GCSE and found the A level tough, but it should be better for your DS (I am assuming AQA for both?).

If he is worrying about speaking, get him to think about what he might choose for his research project - has to be something French related but can be anything he is interested in eg a French football team, a French film - dd did Les Mis. He needs to be able to answer questions on this as a big part of the speaking exam. For the essays, maybe find out what film and book they do and watch/read them.

Bear in mind that the IRP and at least one out of film and book will be tackled in year 13, but it might be a way to get him feeling more confident about the course, even at the start of yr 12.

MFL is always a great A level to have

Thanks everyone. @clary that's really helpful. I'll find out what book and film they're doing and get him started on them early as that will definitely make him feel more confident.

It's the IRP he's most worried about. How much time is preparing for it likely to take up? I know that's a bit of a difficult question but a general idea would be good. @clary

@GiveMeDreamies I know you have said that he doesn't know what he wants to do at university but you can start looking together now at possibilities. So look at the maths courses, they are sometimes just maths but other times are maths with finance or maths and philosophy or maths and physics.

Look at their entry requirements, see what they ask. There are some universities that don't count further maths as a stand alone if it is a 3rd subject alongside maths as there is too much of an overlap with maths. I think it was mainly medicine but definitely check with school, they should know. Further maths is usually a 4th subject and is usually the one to drop if they go from 4 to 3. This does depend on what he wants to do at uni which obviously he doesn't know yet and that is okay.

You can always ring/contact a university admissions person to ask about if he has maths, further maths and physics would that be acceptable. However, it is all still in chaos from results day so maybe hold off until mid-September.

From how you describe him there are definite advantages for his long term development in continuing with a subject like French. Different and wider perspectives from another language and culture plus discursive skills in writing and expressing himself. Even a few months of French as a fourth A level that is later dropped would benefit him. However if he is only prepared to take a subject for the end result of an Astar A level grade he and you are risking periods of the stress he is already manifesting. I would try to persuade him of the benefits of study for study’s sake to take some of the performance pressure off him.

Hi OP sorry for delay. The IRP is worth a possible 35 marks out of a total 60 for the speaking exam. This exam is double weighted so that's 70 marks out of 400 - so a bit less than 20%. For context, the entire essay paper, film plus book, is worth 80 marks (single weighted), which includes 40 marks for analysis and 40 for language; so the IRP is worth almost as much and thus worth spending time on.

The usual programme runs from dec-march of Yr 13 with choosing topic, researching it, drafting presentation and thinking about the discussion (most important part, worth 30 marks). The teacher may be able to suggest some possible questions.

So how long? It really depends on how easy it is to research. If you pick a film you are not studying, would need to watch the film then read some criticism and history, facts about how it was received, that kind of thing. He needs to present for 2 mins (5 marks) then discuss it for 9-10 mins so he needs to have a good knowledge.

I would expect a student to spend at least a couple of hours a week on it during the prep period - as i say, usually winter-spring of Yr 13. If he wanted to start now he could get ahead, but it would be worth checking with his teacher that the topic is suitable.

Sorry for the essay! What is he particularly worried about with the essay paper by the way? I always think the standard of analysis expected is below, for example, that of a grade 9 Eng lit GCSE. In French tho of course!

Sorry, 70 marks for IRP out of 400 total for the A level, sorry if that's not clear. By far the most important exam is paper 1, worth 100 marks and double weighted so worth 50% towards your final grade.

@sendsummer I'm not sure I can convince him of the benefits of study for study's sake. He says he's aiming for an A in French and A stars in the other three. To be honest, I think that's only because I've shown him that no universities ask for 4 A*.

@clary Thank you so much for all that. I think with the essay paper it's just the stress of essays : a blank piece of paper and the worry of not knowing what to put at first. He said at first with GCSE writing he was a bit stuck but then it clicked, he knew what they were looking for and he was getting full marks or there about so hopefully the same will happen with A level writing.

He's worried about how much of a step up A level French is from GCSE. He's got so worked up about it now he's struggling with the transition work school have set (he's done the work for the other subjects already) - I'm pretty sure that's stress not inability.

Anyway, he's looked at Economics and has that as a possible back up option. I think he'll feel better once he actually starts Sixth From as I think some of it is back to school anxiety.

He sounds very similar indeed to my eldest - including the straight grade 9s, ASC and fear of science practicals! They did Maths, FM, Physics and German and are now entering second year university doing Maths.

They continued with German basically for a bit of variety and to keep up their writing skills. I think the essay-writing practice has been useful, on the grounds that there has been some group project work at university that requires report-writing and they have probably found that easier than those who dropped essay-based subjects two years ago. I also think it did them no harm to be a little out of their comfort zone (the novel was all about feelings and relationships and they hated it, but coped!)

In terms of university offers, none included any requirements for the fourth A level, which took the pressure off somewhat. Offers were from Cambridge, St Andrews, Nottingham, Bath and Birmingham.

[quote GiveMeDreamies]**@sendsummer* I'm not sure I can convince him of the benefits of study for study's sake. He says he's aiming for an A in French and A stars in the other three. To be honest, I think that's only because I've shown him that no universities ask for 4 A.

@clary Thank you so much for all that. I think with the essay paper it's just the stress of essays : a blank piece of paper and the worry of not knowing what to put at first. He said at first with GCSE writing he was a bit stuck but then it clicked, he knew what they were looking for and he was getting full marks or there about so hopefully the same will happen with A level writing.

He's worried about how much of a step up A level French is from GCSE. He's got so worked up about it now he's struggling with the transition work school have set (he's done the work for the other subjects already) - I'm pretty sure that's stress not inability.

Anyway, he's looked at Economics and has that as a possible back up option. I think he'll feel better once he actually starts Sixth From as I think some of it is back to school anxiety.[/quote]
Since he gained 9 at GCSE Eng Lit he can clearly write an essay - he just needs to channel that. The questions are IMHO at a similar level. He will have been asked, for example, to talk about the character of Mrs Birling in An Inspector Calls - so he may be asked to talk about a character in the film and how they develop. He needs to have strategies around planning his essay (well, everyone should), so jotting diwn bullet points in target language, then he can use this as a structure to expand on.

Maths, FM and Physics definitely count as 3 separate A levels particularly for Engineering or Maths degrees.

Secondary school teacher and king time 6th firm tutor here. Four A levels are unnecessary unless a student is really keen. My school is very academic and we now only allow three. If he’s not sure he could start off with French or just drop it now. It will have no impact on University applications- A levels are hard work so there’s no need to overburden himself.