Geography or English A Level

[Staryblanket]

Specifically English Lit and Language.

DS is definitely taking music and computer science, probably something music technology based at university, and will probably end up doing something creative in the world of music/computers as a job.

He's equally strong on both geography and English (8/9 at mocks gcse), open day for English was underwhelming, geography was inspiring, but he's still not sure. Definitely not taking four, and it's between these two only.

I just wondered how the workload compares, and I'm also a bit uncertain about the Lit Lang option. School is a hiigh performing state, and they were clear that it is a strong a level.

My dd took geography and Eng lit, enjoyed both, tho Eng lit was always her favourite (did it at uni). Is Eng lit an option? Why does he favour lit/lang?

I've taught lit and lit/lang.
Lit/Lang has more space for creativity than Lit which many students enjoy. It's just as 'respected' for what it's worth (students off to excellent universities and competitive courses).
As a sixth form tutor, students seem happier in English than Geography but they might just be being nice to me!

I did both and would say English without a shadow of a doubt. I loved Geography at GCSE but the jump to A Level is insane and it was hard. There were no A stars when I did mine, Straight A's in all GCSE, D at A Level for Geography, and I was stunned I got that.

Loved Geography A level. But I didn't really enjoy the subject of English very much at GCSE. Lots of being outdoors!

If there's any chance he'll want to write songs - Eng Lit. Otherwise, whichever he'd most enjoy.

DS did geography A level and there was an awful lot to learn. Also 20% assessment which was a lot of work. He really didn’t enjoy it - although I thought a lot of it was interesting. If your DS is good at English then I think that would be a more manageable workload, especially if they are not likely to want to do a geography based degree.

Both English and ge

English and geography have coursework. Geography has 4 days of fieldwork. Geography widens skills a bit more, English more essays. Whichever he enjoys more is best.

As it happens, all my DC took or are taking Geography A-level. They did not find there to be a jump from GCSE to A-level and progression through Y12 and Y13 was/is very manageable. Their syllabus includes an NEA, so check the situation for your DS and whether that is an added draw or puts them off.

You have probably covered this off, but if your DS already has types of uni course in mind, work back from that. Geography is a fantastic 'synthesising' subject (excuse the pun!), helping students make sense of the world; it is also very topical. However, I suspect Eng Lit/Lang may be seen as a more natural fit on the creative side.

Finally @Staryblanket, if Core Maths is available as an option, is that something your DC might consider? Those I know who took it, found it to be a useful and manageable adjunct to their three A-levels. It would support the CS A-level and give your DS's portfolio of qualifications an extra boost on the quantitative side, particularly if they chose Eng Lit/Lang over Geography.

I did both and loved both. English is obv more essays, Geog is more practical - field trips and reports from them. What would he enjoy more?

Thanks all.

Yes, core maths is available, although ds was thinking of doing the online project option instead. He's okay at maths, but isn't brilliant and doesn't enjoy it. He's more of a creative type tbh.

I wish the English options evening had been a bit more inspiring. Only one teacher, who he didn't know, and a couple of handouts. No talk, just "have you got any questions?". So, very good to hear positive stuff about English.

Degree wise, it's hard to tell. I think he's capable of high grades, but he only really works to that level if he's interested in the subject.

I did geography a level. Loved it. The field trip was the best bit, even if it was standing on sand dunes in snow and beaches in driving rain.

I did both at A level, my son did just geography. I don't think A level geography is any harder, in fact, I'd say the level of context was similar to GCSE (although that's a lot).

He really enjoyed the coursework element, he was still trying to persuade people in Shoreditch to answer his questionnaire at 9pm (the rest of his class sensibly went home at 3...).

But he really disliked the topics his teachers had chosen (and as a geography graduate, I'd agree they were strange choices). Particularly the globalisation one which is quite inter-dependent on everything and hard to explain and it was at least the fourth time he'd studied natural hazards.

Geography was his strongest subject up until the actual results when he got the lowest mark needed to get an A star and did better in his other subjects. The questions can be quite hard to answer and get high marks, although nothing like maths or science.

English is a funny one. I know two people whose English grades are surprisingly lower than expected and I think our school mounted some kind of investigation into it this year. The one from a couple of years ago was about humour in Hamlet and I think threw a few people off their stride as they hadn't anticipated it.

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