A level choices for all-round talented kid

[PrincessOfPreschool]

DS2 (Y11) is academically gifted, I would say. However, he doesn't particularly enjoy any subject. He's predicted all 8s and 9s (except Spanish - no one is predicted above 6 but we're working on it!). Anyway, I asked what A levels he's interested in:

Maths. He is top 3 in school. I asked why not Further Maths and he said he thinks it'll be too hard.
Geography. "Because it's easy."
Spanish? Very much a maybe but he's very good at languages and seems to enjoy it, loves doing accents/ impressions and is v strong on grammar.

He often talks about sciences with his twin sister who loves Bio/ chem.

Basically he could do anything but of course it depends what he'd enjoy the most and then excel in. He seems to not massively enjoy anything currently. If you ask what class he really likes he will pick the teachers he gets on best with.

Anyone have any advice on how to start thinking about A level choices and what questions he can ask him himself.

In terms of career, of course he has no idea. He worked at a media agency for his work experience and I can see him in that environment. He's very loud, energetic, fun, people person - and not serious!

It's better he looks at the course outlines at the school he's going to. I loved psychology a level but my friend who went to another school hated it as that teacher chose a different spec and topics. It makes a big difference what they're actually studying not just the subject as a whole.
The school should have this information and if your child is this bright he should find it easy to access.
Alternatively look for any schools that offer IB that you may be able to get to/ fund. It's often a much better option for high achieving all arounders.

You could be writing about my DS! For languages A level I think you need a 7 or it could be a struggle. DS and I have talked and his starting point is Maths, English Lit and Chem. He may sub physics for chem or a humanity for Eng lit, but this is almost providing a default position now. For all rounders 2 maths / science and one other keeps max options open. To do science related subjects many require maths. Maybe coming up with a default would help?? Then they need a reason to change it

Thanks. That's really helpful. I'll take a look at IB, hadn't thought of it, but I think will only be private schools.

@Elizo so Maths, one science and one other? He should get at least a 7 in Spanish. He has tutoring in it as I was already aware it's a weak subject for the school! His tutor said she is aiming for at least an 8 for him.

I'm wondering if it's harder to get a top A level grade in Physics or Maths than say Geography/ Spanish/ Politics/ Philosophy. DS1 just finished A levels and Physics/ Maths was just ridiculously hard compared to his other A level. DS2 has never tried Politics or Phil as they don't offer GCSE at his school in these (neither A levels).

DS2 might consider a theology degree so I'm thinking humanities/ lang may be a better route. It's really hard. I knew exactly what A levels I wanted to do!

How about getting him to look at various university courses and work backwards?

Great idea! I've just done that for Theology. I'll get him to start looking at some courses. He loves an argument, which is why I wonder about politics and philosophy!

My dd who is studying Theology and Philosophy did RS, Psychology and Maths and enjoyed the combo.

If he does Maths and a science (Chemistry poss the most useful?) then it opens up a lot of STEM degrees, but wouldn’t rule out non-stem like law, politics, business, psychology…For the third then an Arts subject or language would be a good balance. Does he enjoy history?

It’s hard to chose, but I’m not sure going for the perceived easier subject is the best optiion for someone who is strong in many subjects. Obviously no point in doing something which would be awful for the child. Having maths, science plus one (my DS thinking Eng lit or history/ philosophy/ economics - a lot to consider) will keep science and arts subjects open…it’s so hard for them! Work of warning on IB. Unis seem to make offers largely on 3 higher subjects, so it doesn’t appear to open up future study options. Seems a fantastic programme though!

DD1 is Y12, we spent a lot of time looking at the requirements for various degree courses so she was aware what she might be closing off with different combinations. She's doing Chemistry, Biology, History because for a STEM degree you need a minimum of 2 sciences but for a humanities degree things are much more flexible. She also considered physics and philosophy as A level options but didn't enjoy them so much during transition. She still has no idea if she's going to go science or humanities at University.

Maths goes with most things.

Don’t do Spanish if only expecting a 6 at GCSE without the extra tutoring. If the teaching is poor at GCSE it’s not going to improve at A level.

Philosophy is good prep for theology, it I see that’s not an option at his school.

History and or Eng Lit would be good choices.

If he's inclined to like 'easy' I'm not sure his character will be best suited to a STEM degree or career. Chemistry degrees for instance are usually a lot of lectures and labs, you really can't 'wing it'. Would he be likely to thrive on that?

Does the school have a sixth form, or will he need to look around sixth form colleges? Going round a few and talking to them about courses can be helpful, especially for looking at a levels where there isn’t a matching gcse. We had similar with mine re uncertainty, though it was more because he couldn’t choose what to give up. Looking through uni courses and watching videos about them was helpful eventually, but took him a while to get in the right headspace for it.

Oh and I’d say the ones perceived as “easy” are different for everyone. For GCSEs we found all the maths and sciences to be much easier to do well in than the humanities - but could just have been what my kids are skilled in. Will wait and see for a level!

Sometimes people don't know what they want to do, but do get a stronger reaction on what they don't want to do so that might narrow it down.

Looking at jobs and working back might help. Like he might find science interesting to study but do any of the stem jobs appeal or do business function jobs like accounting, hr or marketing or law really not appeal if he thinks on them.

I do get the logic that stem type jobs tend to have much more specific requirements so if you really don't know those subjects they keep more doors open for longer though.

My daughter was very similar at GCSE. We tried to keep her options open as much as possible so she ended up doing Maths, Geography and English Lit at A Level. She probably would have started off with 4 A Levels but the 6th form wouldn't allow it (is that a possibility for your son, with a view of dropping 1?).

If your son wants to do a Theology degree, I guess subjects that involve essay writing would be good for A Level... History, English Lit, Philosophy etc.

In terms of maths, we've found A Level is a big step up from GCSE but if it's something you excel at at GCSE, you're going to do fine at A Level. Some kids are naturally gifted at Maths but find essay based subjects much harder so it's all subjective.

At one point my daughter was going to opt for Psychology over Maths and I'm so pleased she did Maths. It turns out she wants to do a Geography degree and we've since realised that for a couple of the unis she wants to apply to, successful candidates will very often have a science or Maths A Level. So definitely try to keep his options open if you can. As others have said, if possible, work backwards.

I did a theology degree!

my A-levels were
Religious studies
Geography
Biology

I was an "all rounder" who didn't know what to do. Things I wish I'd thought about in terms of narrowing down possible future careers are:

• where might I want to live? Career options are rather more limited in very rural areas.
• is international travel/living abroad very appealing?
• what kind of lifestyle do I want? Do I want a job that is my life (a vocation which takes up a lot of time) or do I want a lot of spare time/no weekend work?
• do I want to earn a lot of money, perhaps at the expense of either loving my job or having a good work/life balance?
• do I want to work in an office/in the rain/being very physical/standing up all day?

Lots of good advice here @PrincessOfPreschool

I second thinking about degrees or jobs and working back.

I would love to say, as an MFL specialist, great do A level Spanish - but if he is working at a 6 and only achieving 7/8 with tutoring then that's not ideal - especially for such a bright student. MFL is linear so it's very important that the basic vocab and grammar is secure - and if that were the case then I would expect a student to be at a 7/8 on their own if that makes sense.

Or is he going somewhere else for sixth form with better teaching?

In any case I also suggest looking at A level specs for possible subjects. Does he like the Eng lit books offered? Does he like the look of the Spanish topics (which are different from GCSE, much more adult and political/culturally based)?

I think the advice of two sciences plus a humanity is pretty good; even medicine likes a humanity as a general rule. Bio, chem and history would make med possible or lots of science options, as well as history. Sub in Eng lit or geography or Spanish if preferred.

Or would he be interested in engineering? If so then maths and physics is advisable - and A N other as above.

For sure if I were him I would stick with core subjects that are required for more degrees - things like history and geog, MFL, maths and sciences - rather than heading towards subjects like politics as that can still be picked up at uni on the back of (say) history A level, but the converse is not true. Does that make sense?

I agree with @Frowningprovidence - a good idea is to think what he doesn’t want to do as that might narrow it down as well

Thanks all.

The issue with low predicted grade in Spanish is that:
A. The school isn't focussed on MFL. The whole school (8 form entry) has just 2 MFL teachers and an assistant! MFL is an option at GCSE so it's not set (1 class) but some kids are still there to mess about so huge range of ability. Most will sit lower paper.
B. They do Spanish and French combined to end of Y9 therefore miss a lot until focusing at Y10.
C. They only take the lower paper for end of Y10 exams so it's hard to predict higher than a 6.

He is honestly very good at it as he loves speaking and grammar - and his tutor thinks he can get 8 or 9.

I think if he really wanted Spanish A level he would move schools. The school has a sixth form and they sometimes offer it depending on demand. It's a small sixth form and kids get a lot of love/attention (teachers are good I think), but also most of the brightest leave to go elsewhere so you don't have much competition or pulling each other up. It's very hard to decide and is another whole issue to consider. We will be looking around and are lucky to have lots of schools locally.

These are all helpful thoughts. Thank you so much. It's given me loads to consider.

If he liked the media agency he could consider Psychology as that leads well into things like market research and consumer behaviour which can be a good background for marketing/market research. If he's loud and extroverted a career in media and/or marketing could be a good area to look at.

Maths A-level is good for pyschology.

Product development is also an area where being good with people whilst also being a leader and having some innovation and creativity within you too, is an interesting and diverse role.

Business studies with a language would be a good degree for that.

In fact business studies with a language would be good for marketing/media etc too.

I'm an A Level Geography teacher and it certainly isn't easy. It is very content-heavy (far more than other options) so requires a lot of time), the precision required in written work makes getting high grades hard, very few A*s are given out, and then there is coursework that takes up so much time (although the coursework is far more straightforward than preparing for the exams). Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing, relevant, inspiring subject that develops so many transferable skills that it's a great pick if unsure of future career options, but if he is going into it because it's "easy" he will not enjoy it at all.

Thanks @Sunnyweatherfriend. Yeah I'm sure any A level will be a shock! He's finding Geog GCSE his easiest at the moment so I guess he's judging by that. The transferable skills is a good point. I would like him to have some essay writing skills as it's important to keep that up. He won't do English for sure. He has an almost photographic memory so content should be OK, I think.

Oh no. I was at work all day and now the nosey in me is wondering what that deleted message was! Just an ad or someone being rude?!