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My kids A level choices

Family, children, advice, schooling, finance for children, all things kids.
SteMiS
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Re: My kids A level choices

#391226

Postby SteMiS » March 1st, 2021, 4:32 pm

TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:
SteMiS wrote:As far as I can tell Law, Politics and Psychology are acceptable A levels for university entrance. Criminology I've no idea as I've not seen it offered at A level (either in school my sons went to or the school my partner works at).

Thanks for all the replies,

TBH it's currently just a blessing that she's even choosing to go for A level courses at all. A few months ago she was all for coping out and taking an "easier" option at a local tech college. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I asked someone I know who is a progression manager (Careers, to you and I) in one of the largest schools in the region and their comment about Criminology was:-

"It's popular but not great for Russell Group universities, although mid ranking ones are happy with it. Probably one of the easiest "essay" social sciences you could do".

TheMotorcycleBoy
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Re: My kids A level choices

#391262

Postby TheMotorcycleBoy » March 1st, 2021, 6:34 pm

SteMiS wrote:
TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:
SteMiS wrote:As far as I can tell Law, Politics and Psychology are acceptable A levels for university entrance. Criminology I've no idea as I've not seen it offered at A level (either in school my sons went to or the school my partner works at).

Thanks for all the replies,

TBH it's currently just a blessing that she's even choosing to go for A level courses at all. A few months ago she was all for coping out and taking an "easier" option at a local tech college. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I asked someone I know who is a progression manager (Careers, to you and I) in one of the largest schools in the region and their comment about Criminology was:-

"It's popular but not great for Russell Group universities, although mid ranking ones are happy with it. Probably one of the easiest "essay" social sciences you could do".

Thanks for asking around. TBH she is a quite challenging kid so as long she can get to a half decent uni that will be great. Just getting the kids out of the Fens (no local opportunities) into cities with jobs and facilities while mum and dad can downsize into a nicer county at their leisure is the ultimate goal!

Matt

tjh290633
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Re: My kids A level choices

#391280

Postby tjh290633 » March 1st, 2021, 7:42 pm

I told my daughter that she could take any A-levels she liked, as long as they were Physics, Maths and Chemistry. She took History, Art and English Literature. It hasn't done her any harm.

I think that I would prefer Jurisprudence to Criminology.

TJH

bluedonkey
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Re: My kids A level choices

#391298

Postby bluedonkey » March 1st, 2021, 9:09 pm

Perhaps a law degree would lead to a fast track career in the police.

Agree with others that a less narrow suite of A level subjects may be preferable, steering away from non mainstream subjects.

Chrysalis
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Re: My kids A level choices

#392468

Postby Chrysalis » March 4th, 2021, 8:14 pm

https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/
This link is to Russell group information about ‘facilitating subjects’ and should answer your questions about whether subjects are considered ‘soft’ by universities. I know you said she may not be aiming for the top tier of universities but the information will still be useful, in terms of keeping her options open. That’s really what it’s about at this stage, although it is also of utmost importance to to subjects that hold an interest, as motivation really trumps everything.
So I’d say three subjects which seem quite niche might not be as flexible/helpful for later choices as including one more ‘traditional’ or broadly based subject. But as you say, she may not listen. Just give her the stuff to read and keep your own views as quiet as possible. It’s more character forming for her to feel in control of her choices and take responsibility for them.

TheMotorcycleBoy
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Re: My kids A level choices

#392490

Postby TheMotorcycleBoy » March 4th, 2021, 9:05 pm

I must admit figuring my kids out, makes the Stock Market look rational.

bluedonkey
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Re: My kids A level choices

#392659

Postby bluedonkey » March 5th, 2021, 10:55 am

TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:I must admit figuring my kids out, makes the Stock Market look rational.

Yes. Trying to influence mine is a bit like trying to ride one of those trick bicycles where turning the handlebars to the right actually makes the bike go to the left.

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Re: My kids A level choices

#392676

Postby Charlottesquare » March 5th, 2021, 11:31 am

Dod101 wrote:They are having to make life career choices at 15? Amazing. In Scotland they do not do that until the beginning of their second year at Uni when they need to specialise. Uni degree courses are four years in Scotland but at A level equivalent they have the choice of what i suppose is Arts or Science type courses but that is as far as it goes.

Dod


Not so, the courses at school dictate the university courses you may or may not apply to do, the course you enter into at university steers your first year course choices (with generally one or two outside courses) and these are often the prerequisites for second year which then are the prerequisites to enter honours.

My son did Computer Science at St Andrews, he needed three maths/science type highers to get in, in his case Maths, Computer Science & Physics, and to have taken three of these was partially determined by his standard grade choices (no idea what they call these now) at the end of s2 at school.

My daughter did Sustainable Development at St Andrews, in her case she only had one compulsory in first year (SD) but her other two courses would be steered to be related, so she took Geography and Economics. It is conceivable she could have then done Economics 2 and switched subject into honours, but the pathway is narrower than you imply as most second year courses have as a prerequisite a first year course.

What Scotland does have is greater breadth with likely five subjects at higher.( I note that Edinburgh still offers the General Humanities degree, the degree I took a long time ago, the one that avoids making any career choices until you graduate and go back to university to take another qualification e.g. my mom with her MA, LLB, my sister with her MA then teaching qualification, or my MA then C.A.S)

Dod101
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Re: My kids A level choices

#392683

Postby Dod101 » March 5th, 2021, 11:41 am

Well OK . I stand corrected but certainly Scotland seems to me to provide a much broader general education in later years than England does. I am no expert and have not been near the education system for many years, (Except doing a Maths degree at the OU a few years back)

Dod

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Re: My kids A level choices

#392690

Postby Charlottesquare » March 5th, 2021, 12:07 pm

Dod101 wrote:Well OK . I stand corrected but certainly Scotland seems to me to provide a much broader general education in later years than England does. I am no expert and have not been near the education system for many years, (Except doing a Maths degree at the OU a few years back)

Dod


The five highers (the odd school manages six in fifth year) certainly permits options to be kept open, though timetabling can always be an issue as subject choices are partially dictated by the school timetable, especially for aspiring medics say taking Maths, English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

The secret up here (though hardly a secret) seems to be to take as a minimum Maths and one science to hold open flexibility, remembering that sixth year is there to add other highers/take advanced highers if career decisions change (and that is the Scottish system's big plus point)

With a possible five subjects to take a parent can be a little more relaxed they are not closing options (unless they want to be a doctor), so each of ours got one non parent influenced course, my son's was Computer Science rather than Chemistry my daughter's was Graphic Communications (As she got the class prize for it in fourth year it would have been churlish to curtail her ability and she rewarded us with getting the class prize again in her fifth year)

I am lucky though, my wife works in a local secondary school so was a great source of information when the choices started needing to be made, however notwithstanding trends, fashions etc as far as I was concerned both of mine had to get Highers in both English and Maths, this was not negotiable

And career wise both kids have pursued, to a degree, their initial degree choices, my son is a software engineer/developer my daughter now, alongside her Sustainable Development MA, has an MSc in Urban Planning and is now training as a Chartered Town Planner with a firm of planners.

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Re: My kids A level choices

#393933

Postby scotia » March 9th, 2021, 4:28 pm

Charlottesquare wrote:The five highers (the odd school manages six in fifth year) certainly permits options to be kept open.

And back in the really old days , for me it was Maths, Science, English, French and Latin in 5th year. Two years later they split up science, so my wife got six for the price of five - Chemistry and Physics instead of Science. :) So it left us with a fairly wide choice!

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Re: My kids A level choices

#395562

Postby BobbyD » March 14th, 2021, 9:22 pm

GrahamPlatt wrote:
TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:“I was just curious as to whether Psychology was seen as a "soft subject", a bit like Sociology”.

Oh, dear. Behind the times there. Nothing “soft” about Psychology. Bloody hard subject. Can I recommend you have a go at reading Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (Nobel prize winner).


The year before Kahneman got his Nobel memorial prize, and 20 years after the work he was awarded it for, I was doing a postgrad methodology class in which we were told to go to the library and find a published paper which used a flawed methodology or an inappropriate statistical analysis before the next class. I'll save you a lot of time, said the lecturer, start in the psychology journals...


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