Visiting Sixth forms

[Warks mum]

But is it worth doing Food Tech, Drama and German

Others can probably help more, but at the sixth form open days we were told that physics and German are currently considered the 'most difficult' A levels. At DD's grammar school they've already had youngsters dropping out of German because of the volume of work that's needed - it's a very big step up from GCSE, apparently.

[Amber]

At DD's grammar school they've already had youngsters dropping out of German because of the volume of work that's needed - it's a very big step up from GCSE, apparently.

What a shame. German was my favourite A level, and I went on to do my first degree in it; it led to my second degree in Russian as the grammar helped so much, and shaped my entire life. I am still using it in my studies now and it has offered me insights I would never have had. If your daughter loves the language ginx, I would say go for it - it is unusual these days to have someone interested in studying it and it has a symmetry and predictability which appeals to some kinds of mind. And at A level the study of a language really does start to offer the opportunity to have meaningful interactions with others, with their media and literature as well as on a personal level, which just is not the case at GCSE.

[ginx]

Thanks for your pm, Thingsbehindthesun. I fully appreciate German is difficult, but dd1 is doing well at it, as Amber says, she seems to understand the symmetry of it. She's on B's now and predicted A or even A*. Very surprising but great for her confidence (but then I worry the teacher's told her that to boost her confidence) but I can see she is good at it. Thanks, Warks mum and everyone for your advice. I suspect she will not do A levels but that's a shame because she will always feel she is "stupid" and as a hard working girl, she could do well ... she's quite good at science, but wasn't allowed to do triple science because she wasn't in the grammar stream - so she's doing dual science, oh sorry, now that is Core and Additional Science - but doing well - and she is quite good at Geography. So maybe she could do something like Biology, Geography, German? Or is that a similarly random choice, leading nowhere except killing time? It's hard. It makes the 11+ seem less important, somehow. She never would have got to a gs and didn't even sit the 11+.

We're going to college this evening to see what's on offer and what it is like there.

I guess nobody else on here has a dc struggling with choice of subjects?

[KB]

Dd1 is in year 10 so she is coming too. She is not academic but working harder now, has decided she wants to do A levels because her grades are ok. But is it worth doing Food Tech, Drama and German - being brutal, she won't get to university - but she has to stay at school and do something - or go to college. Is it worth anyone doing such a combination of A levels? It seems a waste of time to me (but if I tell her that she just says I always say she's "stupid", which incidentally, she isn't!) I don't know what to do; but I suppose we have another year before deciding.

If DD is not planning on Uni and is not naturally academic then I would strongly suggest looking at alternatives to A levels - there are options that are more suited to young people who learn in different ways and are a better preparation for apprenticeships or starting work. The internet is a good place to start looking but your local college has probably got an advice centre who can also help.

[Amber]

Thanks for your pm, Thingsbehindthesun. I fully appreciate German is difficult, but dd1 is doing well at it, as Amber says, she seems to understand the symmetry of it. She's on B's now and predicted A or even A*. Very surprising but great for her confidence (but then I worry the teacher's told her that to boost her confidence) but I can see she is good at it. Thanks, Warks mum and everyone for your advice. I suspect she will not do A levels but that's a shame because she will always feel she is "stupid" and as a hard working girl, she could do well ... she's quite good at science, but wasn't allowed to do triple science because she wasn't in the grammar stream - so she's doing dual science, oh sorry, now that is Core and Additional Science - but doing well - and she is quite good at Geography. So maybe she could do something like Biology, Geography, German? Or is that a similarly random choice, leading nowhere except killing time? It's hard. It makes the 11+ seem less important, somehow. She never would have got to a gs and didn't even sit the 11+.

We're going to college this evening to see what's on offer and what it is like there.

I guess nobody else on here has a dc struggling with choice of subjects?

Ginx, slow down! I think many struggle with these issues and your daughter sounds like a hardworking and sensible girl who unfortunately has got it into her head that she isn't academic. There are many children who have an inferiority complex like that; and many others who have the opposite problem of overestimating their own brilliance, which usually trips them up at around the AS stage. For further study, enjoyment of the subject is key - she should choose what she enjoys and not worry too much about The Future. The 3 subjects you mention do go well enough together - Geog and Bio are good bedfellows and she would need a 4th too at AS - why not Food Tech (which again sits well with Bio)? Relax a bit and see what happens - big her up, try to empower her to take her own decisions based on her talents and interests. This is about her and not you - you just have to love and support and advise, as you are very good at doing.

[KB]

Sorry - posts crossed!

I understand that DD might see alternatives to A levels as being second best but equally if she starts A level courses and struggles then that isn't going to help her confidence either - better to choose something she will enjoy and excel at.
I have seen many young people struggle and sometimes abandon A levels or at least end up with very poor grades because they simply weren't suited to academic study but it was seen as what they should be doing.

I would look at it less as what DD is capable of and rather what is she best suited to - she might well be able to get through the A level courses but would she enjoy them or benefit from them?
Equally she might start to blossom academically over the next year and A levels be just the thing for her.

It is still early days so plenty of time to look at the options and see what excites her! ( mind you Gove will probably change it all at least twice by then

[Warks mum]

There are also some interesting options starting up round here, presumably prompted by the requirement for youngsters to remain in education or training until they are 18. From September 2014, for example, there's an engineering college starting in Coventry for 14-18s:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/wmgacademy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The website says: "Students wishing to join us must have an interest in creating, doing and designing things!"

They are also offering languages alongside the practical subjects.

[Rob Clark]

I wouldn't worry about a random choice of subject, to be honest. As long as the school/college can accommodate her choices, I think doing what interests her the most is more important. Some of DS's (Y13) friends are doing the most bizarre combinations and DD (Y11) has just declared she wants to do history alongside the two she has always wanted to do, biology and chemistry.

A levels don't have to 'lead' anywhere directly - unless you have a child who is determined to do, say, medicine or follow a specific career path which requires certain subjects to be studied, take it one step at a time. Let her take the subjects that interest her and that she enjoys the most and worry about where that takes you when you get there.

[ginx]

Warks mum,

I can't imagine her engineering, but we will have a look. I can see her doing A levels at college. Rob Clark, your dd in y11 sounds like she has it organised!

She's a July baby who should have been in the year below and I think she's only just beginning to catch up.

Whatever she does, I really can't see her going to university. I know A levels are much harder than GCSE's. Maybe her teachers will be able to advise. She's come on leaps and bounds in the last year so who knows how well she will do this year; but she's definitely had a good start - in the subjects she likes and is good at. And she works hard. KB, I don't want her to feel second best (she has a dd2 just started at gs and she has accepted this with very good grace, but it doesn't help her self confidence).

I'm guilty of thinking "she's just like me" (lacks confidence, slow developer) but I didn't cope with A levels until I did them at evening classes and went to college age 24, I was a late developer (and note: college not university, but still a degree). Of course, that doesn't mean she will be the same (although she is very like me in many ways). It sounds trite, but she is very, very kind and I still think she should work with people, a nurse if she wasn't so squeamish, or even with old people or children. I do not know where she gets her kindness from. I suppose to even contemplate nursing she would have to do science A levels (and there's no way she's doing physics!)

Thanks for the advice, everyone. It will be interesting to see what college is like (and dd1 is in year 10, not year 11). I'm a dreadful worrier.

[Snowdrops]

Another one here registering for the move up to sixth form next September

DD has two other schools which she'd like to look at. We've discussed her options, she knows it's entirely her choice and she's already said she knows she's in the best place but is looking purely based on courses offered.

That's a bit of a turn round from two years ago when she was determined to move, no matter what!