Sixth form - heavy work load and not much time for anything else!

[Notcontent]

My DD is in year 12, at a very academic school. She is doing 4 A levels and really enjoying it so far, but she is working pretty hard. They do some enrichment sessions as well, so in total she only has one afternoon when she finishes a bit earlier and other than that no free periods at school. For one subject she also has an additional after school session. So overall nearly all her time after she finally gets home is spent on homework and revision (they have regular tests). Up to now she was able to do lots of sport during the week but there is just very little time for it now.

Is this normal for some sixth forms? She is also doing some volunteering at the weekends… I feel exhausted just thinking about her schedule - but I am not sure what the alternative is…

Do they have teh option to do an EPQ at your DDs school?

It might be better to drop an A level and do an EPQ based around a topic that interests her - maybe using the more creative interests if that is the A level she drops. Getting an A/A* in an EPQ can sometimes result in a reduced offer from a uni (depending on subject/uni). Might be worth looking into.

No reason to drop the creative subject if DD is enjoying it. Two STEM and something a bit different can be a more interesting subject profile than a very narrow STEM profile, unless there's a very good reason for doing the three. Three high grades is better than something a bit lower just because it's STEM (obviously this may not apply to your DD at all, but I just wanted to offer some balance to the default 'drop the creative' response).

It was a long time ago but I took 4 a levels and didn’t have time for much else in the week (also had a long journey to school). But I had spare time at weekends and in holidays. Isn’t that enough? School holidays are long!

Exercise and friends are important but there is time for these at weekends and holidays.

As for hobbies - I was academically minded and didn’t really want any other hobbies so didn’t feel I was missing out there. I was lucky enough not to need to get a job, I had a small allowance and made it last.

For some kids, schoolwork is also their hobby, iyswim.

It was a long time ago but I took 4 a levels and didn’t have time for much else in the week (also had a long journey to school). But I had spare time at weekends and in holidays. Isn’t that enough? School holidays are long!

A levels were revamped a few years ago and are much more content heavy than they were before. There were only a couple of years of the new system before covid hit. Four A levels is a substantial undertaking.

DD’s grammar sixth form has them all on 4 A levels but they are then highly encouraged to drop one from November and do 3 unless it’s further maths. So currently she doesn’t have much free study time in timetable. They won’t let them drop one until November so they are sure of their choices. She’s also signed up to do EPQ and they do a skills & choices type class weekly too.
Shes yr 12 and does a volunteer role one evening, 3 hours dance at weekend and 1 or 2 fast food shifts (usually 5 hours max) working a week. Plus goes to gym. So far she seems ok but is looking forward to dropping to 3 A levels. She has a v short commute.

Just going through this dilemma with my dd (y12) too. She started with 4 (3 STEM + 1 creative). She was looking forward to a slightly easier year after working hard in year 11 but quickly realised that 4 A levels + EPQ + work experience would be too much. She didn’t want to drop the creative subject because she loves it and isn’t totally sure what uni course she wants to do yet. After phoning/emailing admissions departments, we came to the conclusion that you can do medicine/biological sciences with 2 STEM A levels but not necessarily at the most sought after universities who want ‘strong science candidates.’ She has made the decision to forego dreams of Oxbridge in favour of her creative subject. It’s so annoying that they have to narrow down at such a young age and virtually choose a career at 16. Why? I wish the system could be changed to keep all options open as other countries do.