New Linear Exams - 3 A'Levels or 4??

[Minesatea]

Agreed, the other problem with schools where the norm is to take at least five A levels is the peer pressure to do so. DS is taking 6 1/3 AS levels this summer, a ridiculous amount, with a horrendous work load but attempts to get him to drop some fall on deaf ears because this is what all his friends are doing.
Having seen the sixth form application for his school for next year I dont think they are planning to change the number taken so minimum of 4 plus GS, but as the number of taught lessons per week is going to drop, it will be interesting to see the effect on the results, but not so good for the students.
With the current confusion I am encouraging DD to look at the IB!

[Amber]

I'm genuinely shocked by the schools on here where four or more A2 levels are the norm. One of my offspring has just left the school whose name was blasted all over the very top of last week's latest round of league tables, and the norm there was and is very much three. One or two students we knew about started off aiming for four and dropped one, and a much tinier number carried on with four but in all the cases I know of the fourth was FM. Said DC has unconditional offers from RG universities with three A levels, no questions asked. I can't see why there is any pressure coming from schools to do more - the risk surely has to be lower grades overall and massive stress for children and their poor families.

[scary mum]

I don't understand it, either. I don't think any of the Bucks GSs do 4 as standard at A2. A friend of DD's who is as bright as they come with a string of A* at GCSE started off with 5 ASs, but the school advised her to drop down to 3 at A2. That didn't affect the offers from what are widely considered to be the top 2 universities in her subject.

[KB]

Just to be clear, I wasn't making a value judgement just stating what the situation is.

The point I was actually making more broadly was to choose a 6th form by its quality not the number of subjects or whether ASs will still be taken.

[Amber]

I, on the other hand, was making a value judgement but still agree with your point KB.

My younger son, who is currently choosing his GCSE options, said last night that he won't be ready at 15 to decide what he wants to do at university (he's young in the year so A level options will be taken then) and he thinks everyone should have to continue with a broad range of subjects for at least year 12, with exams in just the ones you choose to specialise in in year 13. What a silly idea eh, he will never make a politician.

[Guest55]

The schools that get students to study more A levels are doing it for League table points not for the benefit of their students.

If you take 4 to A2 your uni offers will, very likely, be based on all 4.

Amber, your son sounds FAR too sensible to be a politician.

[KB]

I'm not sure what the statistics actually are. All my DCs took more than 3 A2s but all their offers were based on 3 ( some subject specific) - that's all offers, not just the ones they took up.
However I do know of others from the school.who did get offers based on 4 subjects.

[Drama 797]

I am sure it depends on which universities you apply to. My DS did 5 A2's including General Studies, and Cambridge offered on all 4 excluding General Studies. His other offers were all based on just 3.

[Guest55]

New A levels will be like going back 15 years - you cannot compare with anything in recent years.

[tiffinboys]

In what sense, the new A2 exams are going back?
Syllabus wise or exam timing wise or what else?