[AD. This is a contributed post]
A levels are the qualifications that your child will go on to study after completing their GCSEs at school. They can be studied at a sixth form or college either in isolation or alongside a vocational course such as a BTEC. Unlike their studies prior, your child will need to invest more time in studying independently as A levels are far more in depth and aim to prepare students for the next stage in their career (whether that be further education or employment). We have teamed up with a sixth form college in London to share ways in which you can help your child to choose the right A levels for them.
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How you can help your child choose their A Levels.
Think About the Future
While it may seem so far into the future, it’s helpful to talk to your child about what they want to do when they grow up and the kind of aspirations that they have. While they may ultimately know, the routes that they might need to take might not be so apparent which is what you can help them with. Some careers will require a degree for which they will need to meet specific A level requirements. Careers like pharmacy for example that are also highly competitive.
Respect Their Choices
While studying to improve their career prospects is important, your child should also study something because they want to and it brings them joy. If your child wants to study a few random subjects to explore themselves and their passions, it’s important that you’re also supportive of that. It’s when we do the things that we love that we’re able to achieve the most and succeed. Also, careers that weren’t around 5 years ago are some of the biggest now thanks to technology so keep an open mind and trust their decisions.
Speak to Their Teachers
Your child’s teachers will know them the best after you. They see them day to day and observe their performance in class and therefore will be able to determine whether they will be a good fit for certain A levels based on their current ability.
I chose my A-levels just because they were subjects that I liked and I didn't know what career I wanted - it definitely helps to actually like the subjects!
Amy x
callmeamy.co.uk
Oh god A Levels. I am not an example you want to follow when it comes to A Levels. I wanted to do P.E in sixth form because I wanted to go to University to do Sport Science but the year I changed to my sixth form, they didn't run P.E as an A Level option because not enough people wanted to do it so instead of going to another college to follow what I ACTUALLY wanted to do, I stayed at my own sixth form with my friends and did art instead - something I didn't want to do nor enjoyed. So that was that, haha!
I love how you said about respecting their choices Claire, that's so true! Children should be able to choose what they want to do in life! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
This was such an interesting post! When I had to decide back home I went for the safe choice of deciding the same school as my sister, which brought me to hate it and had to change it after! Respecting their decision and taking time to listen to your children is so important x
Leading up to my A-Levels, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, then again I'm in my 30s and still don't know what I want to do with my life really lol.. I guess I would have been better taking a general choice of subjects but in the end, I did mostly music/drama subjects lol. In Year 12, I did AS Music Tech, AS Drama and Theatre Studies and AS Italian. I was due to do AS History but completely lost my marbles during the exam and ended up getting an F - oops!
But actually once I go to university I went back to my local college and did an AS in Sociology - i kind of wish that I'd done it the first time around as I really enjoyed it - more than maybe I enjoyed Music/Drama which I thought I'd love.