The Parents' Guide to supporting your child to choose their A levels

Jan 16, 2023
6 min read

Updated: Jul 22

Many young people find it very difficult choosing their A levels, as they move from around nine to ten GCSEs to just three or four subjects. The choices made at the age of 16 can have a very significant impact on future educational and employment options, so making informed decisions is paramount. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that each child is unique, and a one-size-fits-all approach should certainly be avoided.

Nevertheless, there are some guiding principles which, if followed, should enable every young person to make the decisions that are right for them, even if they don’t have any idea of the career path they may wish to pursue.

1. Students should study the subjects they enjoy

The number of teaching hours per subject increases significantly in sixth form, and so does the volume of work. It’s unlikely a student will achieve their potential in a subject that doesn’t excite or inspire them. They’ll find it hard to stay sufficiently motivated to go the extra mile in their studies, and to revise as thoroughly as they ought, if they don’t find the material of genuine interest.

Your teen should look at the course content for each A level to see if the material is something they think they’ll relish studying. Many subjects are very different in sixth form, and just because someone enjoyed studying the two World Wars in GCSE history, for example, it doesn’t automatically mean they’ll find a study of Charlemagne or Alfred the Great equally engaging. Similarly, there are often many new subjects on offer in sixth form, and your teen should make sure they know what these courses are really like and whether they’d enjoy them. Economics A level, for example, is about economic theories, not about how to get rich on the stock market as some young people think, while politics A level is more about legislative processes than debating the latest policies coming out of Westminster. Students need to know what they enjoy, and that the course they’re signing up to is what they actually think it is.

2. Students should study the subjects at which they excel

It’s typically the case that we enjoy the things we excel at, and excel at the things we enjoy, so this should help young people with their choices. Using data from school reports and getting honest feedback from teachers should help your teen know whether they’d make a strong candidate in a subject at A level. Most students are well placed to evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses, but sometimes they aren’t. There are occasions when a young person feels they’re better at a subject than they actually are, and conversely that they’re less able than is really the case. GCSE outcomes provide objective data and should be used to confirm or challenge the final subject choices made. While it’s important not to be too reactionary, it may be prudent to adjust A level choices in light of GCSE outcomes where appropriate.

The leap from GCSE to A level maths, for example, is a significant one, and without at least a grade 7 at GCSE, it’s unlikely a student will achieve much higher than a B or C at A level. It’s far better for a student to apply to the next stage of their education or employment with three or four top grades at A level because they selected subjects they excelled in, than to apply with weaker outcomes because they made poorly informed decisions that didn’t play to their strengths. An A level subject needs to be accessible to the student studying it.

2. Students should study the subjects at which they excel

3. Students should study subjects which keep their options open

Quite understandably, most teenagers don’t know what they want to do as a career. In any case, this generation will likely have many different jobs, including in sectors that don’t currently exist or that will look very different from today. Even those who do have their eyes set on a specific path, such as law, finance, medicine or the creative arts, may find their thoughts and views change over time. The UK education system does require specialisation at a very young age, and by definition, choosing one path means the alternative routes aren’t travelled.

It’s especially important, therefore, that students try to keep their options open, as far as is possible and practicable, through the subjects they choose. It also means students need to know what doors they’ll be closing as a result of their choices. For example, the absence of an A level in maths will likely close the door on a degree in computer science, economics or engineering, while the absence of chemistry and biology is likely to be prohibitively detrimental to a degree in medicine, dentistry or pharmacology.

There are also lots of misconceptions around subject choice, and it’s often the case that degrees don’t need, or even want, that exact subject at A level. For example, most universities would much prefer that those applying for law had A levels in subjects such as history or English, rather than in law itself or criminology. Similarly, there’s absolutely no requirement to have studied subjects such as sociology, psychology, history of art or politics at A level in order to read the subject at university.

4. Students should make decisions based on information, not influence

It’s not uncommon for students to choose their A levels for the wrong reasons. Selecting a subject because your best friend is opting for it isn’t good enough. Neither is it satisfactory to choose a subject simply because you like the teacher, although there may be merit in selecting a subject because you find the teaching approach of a specific practitioner particularly helpful. At the same time, it’s important to remember that individual teachers come and go, and there’s no guarantee you’ll even be allocated that individual in the timetable. Young people must also bear in mind that all teachers want hard-working, polite and intellectually curious pupils to choose their subject at A level, and therefore have something of a vested interest in encouraging uptake of their discipline.

Somewhat contentiously, and most schools will probably advise against this, there can be merit in looking at the historical outcomes of each subject within your institution. Does the chemistry department, for example, consistently get a higher percentage of A* grades than the biology department with a comparable cohort, or vice versa? This data can be especially helpful in making informed choices when deciding between two or more subjects you enjoy and have aptitude for equally. Looking at recent trends can be informative, and fine margins might make the difference between meeting the terms of a university offer or not.

4. Students should make decisions based on information, not influence

At the same time, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and context is usually everything. In small-cohort subjects, the modest sample size can be misleading and prevent accurate conclusions. Moreover, a subject may appear to underperform relative to the school average in terms of headline percentages, but it may also have had a cohort that was below the school average, and have actually delivered better value-added than a department with a more able group of pupils. It can help to encourage young people to ask the pupils already studying those subjects in sixth form about their experiences, and to get their insights on the course in question.

And finally

While A level subject choices really do matter, it’s rare that a decision will close a door irrevocably. There are, for example, eighteen medical schools that offer graduate-entry medicine, with ten of these accepting non-science degrees, although entry is even more competitive than for undergraduate medicine.

Equally illustrative is the fact that many people who enter the legal profession do so via a law conversion course rather than a traditional law degree, while, exceptionally, it’s now even possible to do an engineering degree without A levels in either maths or physics. I’m often struck, when talking to friends and contacts across such a wide range of sectors, by how their journeys have all been different, and while some have trodden a traditional career path, many others have arrived at their destination through an unconventional or circuitous route. Ultimately, the aim is for every young person to make decisions that will enable them to live purposeful, fulfilling and meaningful lives, both now and in the future.

About the author

This is a guest post by Michael Gray, Headmaster of Hereford Cathedral School (@HerefordCS, @HCSHead).

Planning for next steps

What your teen does after GCSE and sixth form is both exciting and daunting. Feel confident chatting to them about their future options with our overview of everything available to them in The Parents' Guide to Post-16 Options and The Parents' Guide to Post-18 Options.