English, politics and biology 'A' levels?

[Shinyredbicycle]

Other than potential time-tabling issues (eg politics could clash with biology) that's a decent combination of 'A' levels isn't it?

Dd has no idea what she wants to do, other than something maybe in politics, so I've been pushing just do what you're interested in and good at.

I think that's fine as long as she's aware that she would (probably?) need another maths/science to do Biology for a degree.
Obviously it rules out a lot of stuff, but that's the nature of A levels.

I have a rule of thumb that doing what you are interested in and are good at will naturally lead towards other things you'll be interested in and good at.

They are fine but if she wants to do any science based degree two a-levels would be better. I did two sciences and a arts based a-level to mix things up when I did them but I feel it doesn’t make sense quite as much the other way around.

That combination would let her do psychology at degree level if it appeals.

Would also let her do human neuroscience at Birmingham so don’t write off the combination.

Biology a level is tough and requires a different thinking style to the other subjects. It can work but only if the student is really strong at science. Don't be tricked into thinking it is a ' lighter' science a level. What science gcse course us your child following? What are the predicted grades for science and maths? Alternatives that might be easier to access and be more of a fit include psychology and sociology.

Quite a lot of our students do similar (we don't offer politics). One of my best students does English, History, Classical Civilisation and Biology.

I teach biology at A-level, and we do have some students who do it in a combination like this. It only really works if they are generally a strong scientist and strong at maths, and happy to work harder at the biology than students taking another science. It does also rule out most options for taking a science at uni.

Biology A-level is a lot tougher than biology at GCSE- it's a big step up. At GCSE, I'd say it's not such a challenging subject, especially compared to physics and chemistry, but at A-level, the amount of content to learn, the chemistry and maths content, is all pretty challenging. Plus you need strong practical skills and an ability to interpret unfamiliar practicals/data.

If she really wants to do it, and she's aiming for a 7 or above in biology, and probably about a 6 in maths, then I'd say go for it. But if she's that keen, is it a good idea to rule out the idea of doing something biology related at uni?

Thanks all. Predicted grades in science and maths are high enough, but she doesn't want to do two or more science 'A' levels.

She was set on doing Spanish as a third 'A' level, but was put off by the amount of content that isn't just learning the language.

Sociology or psychology would be more of a fit with English and politics, but she says that she doesn't want another essay subject.

I guess she's got plenty of time to see how her GCSEs go - she's going geography, RE and history, so she has plenty of humanities options.

A MFL should always be learnt in context with culture as it is at university. It’s an academic course not just speaking a language. It’s a shame as it’s a better fit than Biology.

While other posters comments on whether biology fits are valid, it sometimes seems too many people who go into politics are scientifically illiterate so if that's her aim I wouldn't discourage her.

@ErrolTheDragon They are often semi illiterate about other countries too. Too few these days have done any work outside politics at all. Not high achievers. However few politics students are politicians. Or even work for politicians. They usually want think tanks and similar. They think they will inform policy. Of course few people actually do that so politics students do need to think about jobs outside politics and policy. From
what I see, they just compete with English, History, Psychology, MFL, Law grads etc for similar jobs.

I don't think for a moment that my dd will become a politician.

But she's interested in politics, so that enough reason to do an 'A' level.

I agree that MFL should be taught in a cultural context in an academic context. Which she's not interested in, so enough reason not to do a MFL 'A' level.

Academic studies are just one way of learning a language, there are others.