No clue on what to study in a-levels

[Thesunisshining888]

My son will be in y11 in September.
He is so laid back. He was always top of his class in primary but then covid, strikes (national and only school) have had a detrimental effect on his love for school. He takes school as something forced on him, no passion at all and he still doesn’t have a clue on what to do when he is grown up, he doesn’t know what a-levels to choose, he only knows he doesn’t want to stay in the sixth form of his current (only boys) school.
maths used to be his strength , now maths is just a subject where he achieves well enough just because the rest of the subject have low marks. So he will probably choose maths as a-level, but no idea about the rest. Should I be worried? Since he is my first son (and I am actually from a European country with a different school system) , I am not sure whether I should help him with the choice. Should I sit with him and check the a-level curriculum for each subject and help him? Any suggestion will be more than welcome.
by the way, he loves sport, but would a PE a level be seen ok at uni ? Thanks

I’d check with school about Maths A level in terms of curriculum and difficulty. There can be a big leap from Y11 to A level.
If he can do something he is more passionate about for A level that would be good.
I’d visit other sixth forms and colleges open evenings in Autumn term. See what subjects or courses are offered.
If he doesn’t have a set career path in mind yet or know if he would like to go to University some subjects are more likely to be accepted than others for some courses.
You can get advice at the open evenings and awareness of what grades are required for courses. This might give him something to work towards in Y 11.

I would advice against taking maths "just because" unless he's really strong it in. Even good mathematicians can struggle at A Level.

You may find that he starts to form some idea during Year 11 - there will likely be some assemblies/information evenings talking about future careers. And you should go to local sixth form open days (typically in the autumn) to see what opportunities are out there.

What does he enjoy out of school? You mention PE, so is he sporty? Would that be something he would be interested in specialising in?

Also, consider options other than A Levels - would he better with BTECs or an apprenticeship if he's not enjoying formal learning?

I would absolutely look at BTecs. This laid back approach seems a boy thing. Then indecision and nothing much happens. So be proactive and start looking at options.

Does he even want to do A levels?

It also useful to work backwards and look for UCAS entry requirements to degree courses he might be interested in.

Does he want to do A levels?
Does he even want to go to college or does he need a break from education?
Maths Alevel at our local college requires at least a 7 at GCSE is he on track for those sort of grades?

There are many different ways to gain qualifications now, some people prefer to go out, start working and continue their education through apprenticeships or company sponsored degrees etc. They may then go back to a more traditional approach later in life with some life experience under their belt.

If he likes maths an entry level accountancy course / apprenticeship might be useful.

Or does he like physics / engineering type activities and go in that direction?

I agree with everyone else - look at local school and college offers post 16. BTEC is certainly an idea and can focus on one theme. Something more practical may suit.

Yy maths A level is challenging and imho needs at least a 7, and a 7 achieved with ease. PE A level is not done everywhere, but is a perfectly acceptable A level. Ds2 took it and is studying a stem subject at a high-rated uni.

I think you need to have a really good chat to him and allow a good amount of time for it. Firstly, I know they say a 7 in maths for A level but that usually leads to a C/D at A level, noble a maths teacher did a really good thread on it which I can link to if needed. That is too low a grade for a university.

I think single has a good point and looking ahead. This means looking at university courses and see what they are looking for grades wise, there are tables of the best universities and also the best for X course, google can help with that. An entry grade of maybe AAA is realistically looking for applicants above that level. He may get half way through sixth form or all the way to the end and suddenly decide he wants to go to uni. Knowing the sheer number of courses available is good especially when combined with another subject and may motivate him with his GCSEs.

Good grades at GCSE lead to good grades at A level which leads to more choices at the end. The usual progression is around one grade lower at A level than GCSE unless they put some serious effort in. So a 6 at GCSE (is equivalent to a B in lettered grades) that becomes a C at A level and more likely to lead to a foundation year at uni. We used to use letters for grades for GCSE now we use numbers, a pass is grade 4 or an old grade C a 5 is a high grade C, a 6 is a B a 7 is an A and both an 8 and a 9 are A star equivalents with 9 being the top of the A star.

Look at BTECs at colleges, what subjects are there? Do any of them spark any interest? Any PE related sports courses? He doesn't have to decide now but plant the seeds in his brain. Get him to see the bigger picture.

And yes, chat through the course content for A levels, let him know he has choices and that you are happy to help.

What does he want to do as a career or if he cant narrow it down does he have a broad area of interest i.e sciences/engineering/construction/
animals/languages/emergency services etc.
Look what is available at college the courses generally sound more appealing to kids that don't love school than A levels

most universities just want the ucas points
what about apprenticeships, accounting

@Thesunisshining888 I'm going to disagree with some of the previous posters. If your son has strength in maths, then he should absolutely focus on that at post-16. It is a skill that is in strong demand in the economy, and will maximise his future job prospects. Yes, the A level is a step up from GCSE, but so are all A Levels - none are easy. He should use his strengths to the max. Even if he doesn't like the look of the A Level maths syllabus then he should at least consider taking Core Maths, which is very practical and equivalent to an AS Level: https://amsp.org.uk/universities/post-16-specifications/core-maths/

If he finds it difficult to think about what job he wants to do in future, he should focus on which industries might actually be interested in recruiting him, and what skills he will need to be attractive to them. Start here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/young-people. It's a competitive world out there, and a recruiter's market in many professions, but not all - some industries have skills-gaps that need to be filled, and numerical skills are one of the gaps, e.g. for data science.

PE is popular at A level, and Sport Science is a popular degree, but the job market is swamped with young people with those qualifications. You only have to look at the national teacher recruitment figures to see that there is a massive over-supply of trainee PE teachers and a massive under-supply of maths (and other STEM) teachers. So, even if he is considering going into a sport-related career, then maths will give him an edge. For example, many schools will now only recruit PE teachers who can also teach maths or another shortage subject.

Maths, biology and PE are a A level popular combination. But he could also consider physics, chemistry, computer science.

BTecs and TLevels are also worth considering. As are level 3 apprenticeships - see here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Unfortunately, most BTECs will have been defunded by the time OP's son reaches sixth form.

However, I do agree with the advice to look at alternative options. If he doesn't enjoy school, then A-levels may well not be right for him right now.