Please tell me about Psychology A Level

[Naem]

My DDs school is not running two of the A Levels she had hoped to take (Geography and French) and so she is struggling for a third A level on top of Biology and Maths. She is now considering Psychology (having never shown any interest in anything remotely psychology related previously) because she doesn't want to leave the school and leave her friends and she knows she doesn't want to do anything else on offer, whereas this is something she doesn't know much about. The alternative is to take the third A level online.

Please could those of you with DC who have taken/are taking Psychology A Level tell me as much as you can about it - and what sort of skills are required/involved.

I am worried that she will end up part way through an A Level bitterly regretting her choice and really struggling. Please help us get a feel for what is actually involved. Sorry, I am not sure what board the school takes, although most likely to be AQA given that most, but not all, of their subjects are AQA.

I'm an ex bet nurse and I would say if it's still possible get a apprenticeship over doing this at degree as it's extremely badly paid and Is a young persons job. It's very hard on your body but it is rewarding.

I would not want to get into huge dept to do it.

I got a job and did day release at college and qualified that way. But I dont know if that opening is still a thing now.

I hate that kids are pushed to expensive uni courses when it really isn't necessary.

It’s much more challenging than many pupils expect. It’s often seen as a soft option, but it isn’t & that’s why many drop out. I’d be worried about taking it if she has no real interest in it TBH.

I did psych A level
about 15 years ago as a random choice and I loved it! Wish I’d continued with it to university!

I think it will be a good fit for her strengths and other courses too.

we did ALOT on animal behaviour too which might peak her interest. I loved learning the 4 different approaches to everything. Fascinating subject.

My DS took Psychology. He had planned on doing A level Spanish but there weren't enough interested to run the course.
He also took Biology & Chemistry. To his surprise, he loved Psychology. He said there wasn't one topic that he didn't enjoy & he went on to to do BSc Psychology at University.
It is a subject that compliments many others as well as being useful for many career choices.

I took psychology Alevel (about 13 years ago!) and it turned out to be my favourite subject 👍

If you know which exam board the school uses for psychology can I suggest you go into a bookshop and have a look through the appropriate CGP guide to see what the content involves.

I find looking at the spec on the exam board websites not very helpful.

Would the school let her trial doing both the psychology and online geography with the view to dropping one in the first few weeks?

I would be interested to know which exam board that those who loved psychology did.

At DD's school psychology (Edexel) had the largest number of drop outs out of all the A level subjects. DD could drop it because she started off with 4 subjects, but she felt sorry for those who started with 3 and had no option but to keep with it.

DD said it wasn't a difficult subject, but very, very boring. I suspect they kept the interesting stuff for year 13.

I teach psychology (AQA) I think it's really interesting and lots of the students do too - particularly the ones who have experienced mental health issues or trauma and want to understand it more. However, there are some dry bits like research methods and stats which some teachers do at the start of the course as it is essential for their understanding but puts a lot of students off. So if she finds it boring at first i say stick with it. I also teach biology and can say honestly that psychology is far more interesting and relevant to real life than biology. Biology is very biochemistry and genetics heavy now, a lot different to GCSE. There are more drop outs with psychology because students who shouldn't have taken it in the first place sign up thinking it is an 'easy' subject when it is actually a science. There is lots of biology and maths in it, it's not just discussing Freud all the time!

My dd did biology, maths and psychology. She did GCSE psychology and is doing a degree in Psychology.

A-level Psychology is an essay subject with lots of memorising of case studies etc

The maths isn't too hard (some statistics) and straight forward even if you don't do A-level maths.

My dd found biology hardest (biochemistry topic) and didn't like the ecology topic but enjoyed genetics and inheritance. Some unis gave her a lower offer as she was taking a science

However, there are some dry bits like research methods and stats which some teachers do at the start of the course as it is essential for their understanding but puts a lot of students off.

This is exactly what happened at DD's school.

They might do, I don't know. I think they would be keen for her to do three at the school. We would have to pay for a half term of the online school, but we could do that to keep her options open. A half term might be a reasonable trial, I guess.

Half a term should be enough. They will probably start with research methods, I think this is mainly to whittle away any who won't manage the fairly minimal statistics. It gives her a chance to see whether online study suits her too. Psychology is a somewhat marmite subject. Some find it too sciencey, others find it not scientific enough but others really enjoy it.

Our school posts y11/12 transition homework on the school website. It might be worth your dd having a look and seeing if the subject matter is interesting,

Psychology seems to be very popular as it has uses in everything. As a vet nurse I imagine it isn't an obvious choice, but I can see the benefits. Its a shame there isn't an option to do the Geography as an A level at your local college. I'm finding post GCSE quite narrow. My DC would have ideally done a T level alongside A levels, but in our locality there isn't that option. I think we'll just have to pay for them to do their T level once they have completed A levels.

My daughter is doing it now (originally thought of doing biology, but looking at back up degree to her main interest- animation - the closest she could come up with was Social Anthropology. It would have been biology for forensic anthropology).
She is also doing Art and History and an EPQ.
History by far the most time consuming, partially as she has a dragon of a teacher. Art next then Psychology.
She likes it as it's new to her, is relatable and considered a science. It's her highest predicted grade (A star), even though least time devoted to it.

This will depend on the board. AQA is more varied, depending to teacher's choice of options. Psychology is sometimes seen as a 'soft' option but is quiet challenging. Requires the ability to write essays and interpret data. That said is a really good choice for many careers.

My DD has just finished AQA psych (with biology and business a levels) She really enjoyed it and it fitted really well with biology. Not just for the bio bits, but research methods and stats etc.
I would say that whilst some exam papers require longer answers, they are not essays like you might need for English, history etc. They are quite formulaic in style which makes them easier.
Maths would be useful for both the bio and psych - some of it went further than GCSE level.

DD2 did Psychology as a second science alongside Biology to get into a Marine Biology course - she's found it really useful. There are mathsy bits so that will help your DD, and the research methods section has really stood DD in good stead when writing up fieldwork. It's not an easy option though.

People think it’s a ‘soft’ A Level but I’m not sure any of them are now. Dd has just done it alongside History and RS and is starting a Psychology degree in Sept. She got all 8s and 9s at GCSE, and never said Psychology was hard (complaints were usually about History) but it was always her lowest grade in exams. Last two sets of mocks she got a B, although she thinks maybe her teacher marked harshly. There’s lots to learn. Dd hated the lessons as her teacher was boring but found the subject interesting.

My DD did Psychology, Biology and Geography and is now doing a Psychology degree. She loved Psychology and found it the easiest of the 3. She always wished she’d taken Sociology over Geography though as it seemed easier to get the highest grades in. She is more into sciences than essay writing though so perhaps not necessarily to her.

If she did a Geography A-Level online and wasn’t able to participate in fieldwork, she would likely be an ideal candidate for one of these experiences:

www.rgs.org/in-the-field/fieldwork-in-schools/alexander-awards-summer-school/

www.field-studies-council.org/young-darwin-scholarship-applications/

Both of these programmes are excellent and run every year, just look out for when applications close.

Thank you @user1471592279 these look amazing - and particularly the first one looks just like what she needs/would want and we would never have known about these if you hadn't posted. Hope one doesn't need to be too disadvantaged to do it. While we are talking a State comprehensive failing to offer geography, we don't fall into any of the other categories of disadvantage (university educated parents, not free school meals territory). But if she does pursue the online geography route, it definitely would be ideal and I will keep a watch out if we do go down that route. Thanks again.