Advice about A levels fo my son please?

Question

My son has just received his GCSE results. He went to a Grammar School as where we are is wholly selective.

His grades fell down slightly towards the end due to personal problems, and he ended up with an A in maths and R.E, B in english and biology and then Cs. Unfortunately this is not of a high enough standard to gain access to his school's sixth form.

He has been offered a place at two secondary schools, at one you can only study either maths or english, the other you can study both. At the first one he plans to do maths, psychology and film studies. I have tried to explain to him that it would be better to do maths and english at A level as he is unsure what he wants to study at university. He would be willing to do that except this school is near to the Grammar and there is a lot of animosity between the younger members of both schools, however, in the sixth form it is common for movement from one to the other. Does anyone know whether seeing as he didn't do as well in his gces's A level maths and english would be better than film studies & psychology for long term prospects. Sorry for the question being so long, and thank you in advance for any help.

Answer 1

what...? anything past a C grade is considered a average pass anything above is considerd higher than average. If anything with those grades the school dousent want youre child. I wouldent take A level math or english nearly all employer will snatch your hands off at what he has allready.

i passed 4 gcse in health and social care, 1 in bioligy, 2 in ict, 1 in english.

math and english is getting so out of hand these days, such as dicuss the pythagorass theorium discuss if i add 1x plus abcd what do i get.

i suggest giveing the local colledge a ring and seeing whats on offer.  

Answer 2

It wholly depends on where he thinks his interests will lie in the future. Has he thought about what university he would like to go to, what universities do what courses and then deciding upon that... I did English, ICT and ART at A level and having art as the creative interest was excellent. Maybe film studies would be a good choice as a creative outlet/inlet.  

Answer 3

Any employer loves Maths A Level and it seems to be a strong point of his so I would definitely consider that. English is also very respected by universities.

Those are two strong A Levels that leave his options quite open. If he had those two, then it would leave him space to do something that he might enjoy more, like Film Studies, although from what I hear, there is a lot of written coursework in Film so don't let him think it's an easy option. Psychology is probably more recognised and respected.

And if Maths is his strength, then has he considered doing something like Economics? Good for uni, jobs etc. And a bit more interesting than just numbers...

Answer 4

Wow, is it that tough to get into 6th form these days?

I did English, History, Film Studies and Art at college (A levels) and although they were fun to do, they didnt really get me anywhere to be honest.

Film Studies is quite a specific subject and only really useful if you plan to use it at uni.

I'd say English is a good all rounder, but psychology is no bad thing either really.

I hope that helps a little.