A level choices - does this combination work?

[Nowfeeltheneedtopost]

My DD is in Y11 and currently thinking through possible A level choices. She is likely to either stay at her current school or move to a 6th form college - both offer the A levels she is considering but I would be grateful for opinions on whether they are a good combination.

She is strong academically - doing 11 GCSEs (including further maths as an "extra" to the usual 10) and predicted 7-9s in them all. In Y9, I would have anticipated her doing something science or geography related for A levels but she has no real passion for them whereas her interest in politics and society has increased. She is also increasingly keen to travel and see the world which I think has contributed to her considering Spanish. She has no specific ideas for degrees she might study but has spoken about economics, politics, business, international relations, even PPE (although Oxford might be a stretch!) and criminology as an outlier!

Her current choices for A levels are: Maths, Further Maths, Spanish and Politics. I've looked at the entry requirements for a few undergraduate courses at places like Bristol Uni and I think the combination keeps a reasonable number of doors open for degree courses but I would appreciate thoughts of others. Thanks!

If she's aiming for the top unis, I would choose 3 rather than spreading herself over 4. It's better to get 3 A stars than 4 As or less. Maths and Further Maths might be an exception to that but I would be tempted to drop Further Maths from that combination. It's a massive step up to A levels (and if you're not getting a 9 in Maths at GCSE, you're unlikely to get A or A star at A level).

Girls typically do a range of subject with further maths and I've seen similar.

The only thing to consider is would economics be stronger than politics as a subject - but her choice is fine and great as a background for the subjects you mention

if she doesn't really love maths then maybe not FM but maybe Sociology or History instead?

That's a great combo and further maths isn't like a full additional subject so works well

I think it looks great. Similar to DD3, and so my caveat is that she ended up with double exams most days as a result. I don't think you can plan for that though.

Many thanks for your responses. I think she loves Maths in the sense that she finds it very straightforward and always used to love the idea of there being a "right answer". I think this is what has changed over the last two years - she is more comfortable with, and interested in, arguing subjective opinions. I agree with concerns about whether Further Maths is too much or whether she'd be better sticking to 3 A levels - I think we would only really consider FM if she got a 9 in GCSE Maths (which she is predicted). But we were also thinking that Maths and FM allows her to potentially study Maths if her interest moves more towards that direction.

Interesting that you mention these; we had exact same discussion. She was really keen on Sociology A level. But we think she would only do 4 A levels if the 4th is further maths. So if she did 3 A levels then those would be Maths, Spanish and one of Politics, Sociology or History. She wants to do Maths A level because she is good at it and because it leaves doors open for Economics degrees

On the whole out of Sociology, Politics or History, History would be the best regarded by universities.

Could she not do Economics AL instead of Politics? I know it's not needed for an Econ degree - but it's a good way to work out if you actually like the subject or not! (Endless demand/supply curves aren't as sexy as many initially think )

What about Maths , economics and Spanish.?
Does she likes physics, because Maths, economics and physics would be great?
If she wants a career in economics a language would be great.
I think that four A levels can be quite demanding and even the most able student struggles with an extra A level.
Most students drop the the fourth A level after a year

That's a good combination & I would also suggest maths Spanish & politics.

Maths & MFL are facilitating subjects for Redbrick unis. Sociology would be considered a soft option for someone academically able.

She may find she loves fm so should keep it with an eye to dropping it if it becomes difficult. My son did maths and fm but they do all of maths A level content in year 12 due to timetabling, so 10 hours of maths a week, double the usual amount for a subject which is how they get through all the content. It becomes very clear early on if you are struggling with just the A level maths side of things. If you do well then you move onto year 13 and fm. If not then you spend year 13 concentrating on solidifying your maths concepts knowledge.

That's a good point but then she would likely drop politics to do economics A level. And then she's in the same boat as to whether she'd like a politics degree if she's never really studied the subject in depth.

Thanks, agree economics definitely another option. She doesn't enjoy physics enough to take it at A level, I don't think, especially when she has other subjects she prefers and is likely to do better in. She had previously talked about Maths, Chemistry and Spanish (and Further Maths) which I thought was a great combination but has very much switched away from Chemistry in recent conversations. I really appreciate everyone's insights. Given she hasn't narrowed down degree courses much, I think it is all about keeping doors open.

That was my thinking too. But she is resistant to the idea of History, even with the varied options of whether to study dictators or power and beliefs...The sixth form college requires applications in by end Sept although her current school and other options have later deadlines. I'm glad no-one has said it is a terrible combination and/or that we are missing something obvious. Maybe she just needs to keep thinking through a bit more until she decides...

Mines just started at a grammar sixth form and I’d reassure that nothing is set in stone. Some of her friends swapped at enrollment post gcse results or some on day 1, the school allows swaps until 30/9. So even if she indicates provisional choices now it’s not the final decision.
Mine is doing politics and enjoying it - with history and RS - she’s definitely one who likes an argument.
Law degree might also suit your DD with those choices.

It's a decent combination, and most importantly it's subjects she's chosen. Much better to choose subjects you enjoy rather than compromise for a conventional combination - but there's nothing wrong with the combination of maths, politics and a modern foreign language.

How is the school teaching the Maths/Further Maths combination? Are they doing them consecutively or concurrently?

I chose FM for A-levels at a school that compressed Maths into L6 and FM into U6, sitting the Maths exam after the first year. I'd done very well at maths and extension maths at GCSE, but hadn't been stretched at that level. I did badly on the transition to A-level Maths and ended up sitting Maths twice (and improving my grade) rather than continuing with FM in U6.

Dd has chosen to do Core Maths AS level alongside 3 A Levels, so she completes that after 1 year and concentrates on the others

She was unfortunately one of only two to choose Politics so the course didn't run
She's now doing Law, Sociology & Criminology

Hi @Nowfeeltheneedtopost ! We had a similar experience with our daughter, looking at Politics-International Relations at LSE very closely at one stage.
I concur with much of the advice to you so far. Maths shows strength in rigorous logical thought and it goes with anything and is good for any degree. (Choose the Statistics option.) And employers like it somewhere on the CV. Spanish shows complementary aptitudes and also some essay-writing competence in the cultural part of it. Much of Politics does, though, revolve around Economics; so this I would consider carefully. It is much better than Politics itself at A Level, which is actually not needed for any Politics degree as far as far I am aware. History is probably the best A Level for Politics later.

My daughter did 4 A Levels in the end and worked really hard. You need to gauge the impact on wellbeing and on grades of doing 4 rather than 3. 3 strong A Level grades really are better for all degrees than 4 less strong grades.

Most of all, remember how much kids evolve and change at this age so build in flexibility. My daughter ended up doing a U-turn into something very different at the end of Year 12 and it has worked very well for her.

So, all in all, I would do Maths and Spanish because she wants to and a language is great to have for jobs and for life. And I would do History or Economics, but probably not both. This would be my pragmatic compromise.

Thanks again for all your comments. Really helpful to see various viewpoints. I agree that she needs to be the one to make the choices she also I agree that we should keep an eye on whether she keeps 4 or drops to 3. As I said, the only way she would do 4 is if the 4th was further maths. I think I’ll encourage her to look into A level spec for economics and history again and consider those vs politics, while recognising her current passion is politics/social policy. I was also reassured by the poster who said that she may even be able to change at start of Y12. I think the sixth form college may certainly allow this because they have decent numbers of pupils doing most courses (but I need to check in case some get “full”.
thanks again to all who contributed.