Economics A level with a 6 at GCSE

[Aleveldilemma]

My DS took economics for GCSE and was predicted an 8 but got a 6. He’s set on taking it for A level. Not sure what went wrong on his paper but he wasn’t close to a 7 so not worth getting the paper reviewed.

I think this is one of those subjects that’s ok to take with a 6 at GCSE as it quite unusual to take for GCSE and my understanding is that the content is taught again, but interested to hear from anyone who knows this area.

He got an 8 in English language and a 7 in Maths, if that makes a difference. Overall grades were 887777666.

Do they have the same Economics teacher as GCSE?

my DD also only got a 6 (2marks off so are getting a review) but also speaking to her teacher he said he was confident she will do well in A-level and she will be more than capable.

Even if he's a lot of marks of a 7, I'd still get the scripts and if the teacher is willing, review it with them. If not, your DC can review it themselves and see where they went wrong so they can learn from it. It may have been a poor case of exam technique rather than major knowledge gaps.

GCSE Economics isn't really offered in a lot of schools yet plenty get along just fine for the A-Level. So I don't think it should hold them back from doing it.

@Aleveldilemma as you say, most A level economics students don't have the gcse, so it shouldn't hold him back, and may be helpful.

However, if he's considering a degree in economics, bear in mind that the best courses are very maths-heavy and benefit from maths A level and (ideally) further maths A level. There are some courses that don't need maths, but they aren't the ones that lead to the high paying jobs in the finance industry that many young people serm to want.

I'm only mentioning this because I'm aware that a lot of young people are choosing economics because they've read about it leading to high paying jobs.

As others have said, might be best to swerve Economics A level if the same teacher, but if not, the result isn't necessarily a predictor of future success. Not quite the same, but my DD did Graphics GCSE, and got her only C in it. For lack of other A levels she was interested in, she did it for A level and got a B. Did it for a degree and got a 1st. Now several years into a happy graphic design career.

Thanks for the replies. It will be a different teacher. And we do have the scripts so wil be going through them over the weekend as we’ve been away this week.

He will be applying for business / management with Spanish at university so not intending to apply for economics.

It should be fine as normally students won't have taken economics GCSE and it will be taught as such. There's a bit of maths in it but he should be OK with that with a 7. If he does start the A level and finds the theory side of it hard/dull then business A level might be a good alternative if they offer that. Think he should be fine though.

As an Econ tutor, I’d say go for it!

An 8 in English and a 7 in Maths is arguably a better indicator for success at A-Level Economics than a GCSE in Economics itself. The A-Level course assumes zero prior knowledge and reteaching the fundamentals.

Drops from predicted 8s to 6s at GCSE Econ usually happen because of exam structure/technique rather than subject understanding. With his strong literacy and numerical foundation, he has all the raw ingredients to excel—he just needs to get used to how A-Level examiners want essays structured.