Anyone know about psychology A level

[Restlessinthenorth]

Looking for opinions. My daughter is only likely to achieve a 3 in science GCSE (much stronger in other subjects). She is hell bent on doing psychology A level. Her school sixth form will not allow her to do this without a 5 in science. As a result she is going to leave and go to the local sixth form college as they have no mimimum science grade (but do require a 5 in English). I'm suspicious of this and it makes me question wether they are taking the right students who are likely to have success in order to fill the course.

id love to hear the experience of any teachers or parents of A level psychology students in terms of how important success at GCSE science is to succeeding in A level psychology

At DCs school they were only allowed to do Psychology A level if they had a 7 in Maths and Biology GCSE. High achieving Private school so most got this anyway.

I think there are two different pathways in Psychology at uni level. One is heavily science based (DS did it) Lots of lab work, maths and stats. But there is a more Humanities-based course too. Is that true of A levels? Could be that different boards offer different versions?

My understanding is that the A level is very much about methods of research etc. A 3 is a really rather low grade. I am surprised the college will let her do this without a 5.

Accredited Psychology degrees are all fairly similar for the first couple of years as have to cover specific things. There can be a bit of variation in modules but suspect the maths and science involved is pretty similar.

The A Level is science and theory heavy. It’s not for her with a 3 in Science.

IMHO kids often go into it thinking it’s something it’s not.

What’s her Maths (and other) grades likely to be? A 3 in science would be unusual for an otherwise competent student expecting 5+ in Maths.

What is her overall grade profile? Is she sitting higher tier maths? Lots of students find A levels difficult even with good GCSEs. Would she consider a vocational applied course?

Are you sure the local sixth form college one isn’t a Btec in Applied Psychology? DD school do both A level psychology, which needs a minimum science grade and is more exam based, and applied psychology, which doesn’t need a science and is more coursework based with exams sat throughout. DD is doing the Btec and so far has passed all the exams with top grades. She didn’t do the A level as her GCSE science grades weren’t high enough.

A few things you (and she) might like to think about:

• Why does she want to take psych? What is the big draw? It is a science subject and it doesn't sound as tho science is her strength so it's an interesting choice.
• Psych is a very popular A level but it is also often dropped – probably bc students don't realise what it involves. It's pretty dry and can be quite mathsy. Have a look at the A level spec and past papers.
• YY how is her maths? Maths A level is often taken alongside and if not, a decent maths grade at GCSE is a good backup. If her science is 3 I would be surprised if her maths were (say) a 7.
• What are her other GCSE grades like? is there something there she is stronger at that might be a better A level choice?

I agree with you btw @Restlessinthenorth that a college that takes students for A level psych with a grade 3 at science GCSE is not doing them any favours.

To answer @Tonissister yes you can do a BSc or BA in psych (not sure tbh how much difference there is) but the A level is the A level. Different boards ofc but pretty similar from what I know.

Thanks all. Her overall grade profile put her very much in the category of doing A levels with science most definitely her weakest. She is interested in it, I fear as I am a mental health nurse and very psychologically minded. I actually did A leave psychology myself with a very average grade in science (c) but it was many moons ago, hence I'm asking for more current opinions on here. It is definitely A level at college that she has been offered. It is an outstanding college so I too am really surprised they will take her with absolutely no science baseline grade. She is on track for Distinction * star in her NVQ health and social care which she has really enjoyed the theory around attachment, trauma etc. obviously it's a massive jump but I think l this is what is driving her interest.

What year is she in @Restlessinthenorth? If year 10 there is time to pull up the science grade.

What is her maths PG?

What subjects does she want to do alongside?
I don't have direct experience but I checked our local schools and they all want 5/6 in maths and English and only a couple required a 5 in science.
However, the schools want a good score from 6 GCSEs so with Double Science on 3,3 would mean excellent grades in all the other subjects.

She's year 11 so we are where we are! She intends to take it with sociology A level and an AAQ in health and social care.

OK well based on what you have said I would get her to have a look at the psych A level spec and see what she thinks. You don't have to say what she is likely to achieve in maths, but if it is a 5 or less I would suggest something else other than psych. Friend of DD's did psych A level and found maths A level a huge help.

She might find the spec (which I don't know super well but which has always looked quite theory driven and mathsy when I have looked at past papers) is not focused so much on the elements of her H&S NVQ that she has enjoyed.

What other GCSEs does she do? Would something like English language (nothing like the GCSE but interesting IMHO) or history or business be another option if the rest of her grades are 6+?

This is so true. I have an A level in Psychology and one of the first things our tutor said was 'Don't confuse this with Sociology, we're not going to be talking about criminals and why fathers can walk away from their families. Psychology isn't as interesting; we'll focus on hypotheses and the statistics of behaviour, not the reasons for it.' The exams were essay based and you need to be numerate for the coursework.

I teach psychology. I wouldn’t recommend it with a 3. 25% of our spec is research methods.
Other parts are very interesting IMO but there’s a huge amount of content to learn.
I’d say if she struggles to understand science she might find it difficult to get her hand around the experiments discussed.

Thank you all. It's such a tricky situation. Of course college have sold the dream that there will be loads of support and that it will all be amazing. Because of course they want to fill the course. She thinks o am trying to dissuade her because I would rather her stay at school sixth form than college which isn't the case. She has lots of other options on the table; English lit, philosophy. I would personally like her to do dance A level. She is an incredible dancer and working well in the 9 category. I think it would be a lovely balance to the other subjects and would play to her strengths. I just want her to do something that won't be a chore which I predict psychology very much will be

Ah I was going to suggest sociology instead.
A level psychology doesn’t sound like the best fit for her. What else is she doing for GCSE? Picking one of her stronger subjects would be better. English is always a good option

Not psychology A level, but j gave PhD in psychology.
Which part of science is she struggling with?
Chemistry ir physics? no issue.
Biology- that is an issue.
Maths and biology are really important, chemistry and physics not so much.

I’m about 100 but I did Psychology A Level. I didn’t need a specific science GCSE, although I did get a B in “combined science” back in the day. I also did a degree in Psychology. Loved every minute of it, learned so much and use it, every day. For what it’s worth, I’m in the top 0.5% of earners and I honestly believe my degree has a lot to do with that (even though some people sneer at it!)
Agree with PP that biology and maths matter, chemistry and physics do not (I was and am shit at both!)

@Whyarelightssohard almost the same experience here (including salary). Only difference is that i loved physics, but hopeless at chemistry :)

Which sector do you work in @Whyarelightssohard ? I have a dd struggling to choose between psych/maths and literature/philosophy degrees. She thinks the latter will mean she won't be a high earner.

The skills required to do well in psychology A level are being able to write a good essay, so good at English, an ability to understand and apply statistics, and a basic knowledge of scientific experiment methodology.

I’m actually pretty rubbish at maths but you can learn about statistics without being good at maths. I have GCSE grade A in biology and GCSE grade A in English. I achieved an A in psychology A level, studied over just one school year.

I did a level psychology (long time ago, 20 odd years😬). I had to repeat my gcse science after leaving school as I achieved a d grade (think that would be a 3 now) ??
I ended up with a b grade psychology a level loved it and although struggled with science gcse I didn’t with a level psychology. Sorry if not much help just thought I would give you my experience x

We require 6in English and maths, because of the long form
answers int he exams and the high amount of maths content. If she’s not getting that then I think she’ll struggle