Author Topic: A level options  (Read 33278 times)

Woofage

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A level options
« on: 26 November, 2015, 10:23:59 am »
Seems scary that we're now at this stage of life when it didn't seem long ago that Miss W was at primary school. Thankfully her choice of school (the current one) and subjects is clear: Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Biology. I admire her clear vision of what she wants to do in life. At her age I had absolutely no idea.
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Re: A level options
« Reply #1 on: 26 November, 2015, 10:34:57 am »
I still don't. (And mini has just started on his GCSE years.)
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Re: A level options
« Reply #2 on: 26 November, 2015, 10:38:26 am »
Are you *sure* it is clear?

Some unis ask for English, even for STEM subjects.

That said, Math and more maths is a god foundation for further study

(yes I noticed the typoe and decided it seemed appropriate)
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Re: A level options
« Reply #3 on: 26 November, 2015, 10:49:23 am »
But not for A levels, surely.
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Kim

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Re: A level options
« Reply #4 on: 26 November, 2015, 11:18:26 am »
If you're capable, I don't think you can really go wrong with all the maths you can eat.

Woofage

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Re: A level options
« Reply #5 on: 26 November, 2015, 11:23:07 am »
Are you *sure* it is clear?

Some unis ask for English, even for STEM subjects.

Yes, we've checked. She wants to study TEH SCIENCE and her choices are appropriate.

That said, Math and more maths is a god foundation for further study

I agree. I don't think you can study too much maths. We've told her younger brother the same (he'll probably do Comp Sci and we've told him 4 year MEng or don't bother - gosh we're tough parents).

I regret dropping out of Further Maths A Level myself (I was working towards my Grade 8 violin at the same time) as it would have prepared me better for HE.
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clarion

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Re: A level options
« Reply #6 on: 26 November, 2015, 11:23:32 am »
I did Maths, Maths, Maths & Physics.  And look where it got me!
Getting there...

Woofage

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Re: A level options
« Reply #7 on: 26 November, 2015, 11:24:35 am »
If you're capable, I don't think you can really go wrong with all the maths you can eat.

Agreed (you post crossed with mine).
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Woofage

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Re: A level options
« Reply #8 on: 26 November, 2015, 11:25:22 am »
I did Maths, Maths, Maths & Physics.  And look where it got me!

Education isn't just about careers :).
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Mr Larrington

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Re: A level options
« Reply #9 on: 26 November, 2015, 04:44:53 pm »
I did Maths, Maths, Maths & Physics.  And look where it got me!

Physics, Sums and Stinks here, with S-level papers in the first two.  Easy access to BEER as a PSO was probably a more important factor in subsequent career choices.
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Re: A level options
« Reply #10 on: 26 November, 2015, 06:27:33 pm »
Physics, Sums, Harder Sums, Stinks (I'm assuming that's Chemistry!), Art and S-level Physics here.
Self-emplyed, but at least I can wield a budget spreadsheet!

Re: A level options
« Reply #11 on: 26 November, 2015, 09:15:41 pm »
Sums, Harder Sums, Physics and Stinks here, then Chem Eng and now I work designing plants that will go bang or really big bang if I get it wrong depending on which project I  am on. previous projects were refineries and fertilizer plants, just not on the same site.

Clare

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Re: A level options
« Reply #12 on: 26 November, 2015, 09:25:19 pm »
Are you *sure* it is clear?

Some unis ask for English, even for STEM subjects.

That said, Math and more maths is a god foundation for further study

(yes I noticed the typoe and decided it seemed appropriate)

English and maths at GCSE is usually a requirement for any degree in the UK but not at A level IME.


Kim

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Re: A level options
« Reply #13 on: 26 November, 2015, 09:29:03 pm »
Electrickery, Physics (should that be 'Doesn't Work'?), Sums, 50% Harder Sums Free, and Stinks here.

Had a hard time at home (*handwaves*) from about halfway through, and discovered too late that I was a lot less good at sums than everyone (including me) had assumed, and that patchy teaching at a speed consistent with an extra AS's worth of workload was a terrible idea.  Stinks didn't affect my university offers, so I stopped making an effort partway through; I never got the hang of Hexagons.

Losing the plot with Hard Sums does not prepare you for an Engineering degree.  So I ended up doing Random Hacking And Sums That Only Go Up To 2 instead.


In real life, it's the Sums, lab skills and Things I Learned While Slacking Off that have been most useful.  'twas ever thus.

Mr Larrington

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Re: A level options
« Reply #14 on: 26 November, 2015, 09:33:06 pm »
I made myself a little cardboard hexagon template which improved the appearance of my Stinks notes no end.
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IanN

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Re: A level options
« Reply #15 on: 26 November, 2015, 09:39:28 pm »
I think most people get to a stage beyond which Sums make no sense at all.
I did Sums and Harder Sums, but rapidly ran out of brain.
I got through my physics degree by being able to measure Stuff, concentrating on scary deth rays. Which I still do, to an extent.

(I also did economics at A level. Not sure how much use that was, but it was my best grade)

rr

Re: A level options
« Reply #16 on: 26 November, 2015, 09:46:58 pm »
Sums, Harder Sums, Physics and Stinks here, then Chem Eng and now I work designing plants that will go bang or really big bang if I get it wrong depending on which project I  am on. previous projects were refineries and fertilizer plants, just not on the same site.

I did Maths, Maths, Maths & Physics.  And look where it got me!

Physics, Sums and Stinks here, with S-level papers in the first two.  Easy access to BEER as a PSO was probably a more important factor in subsequent career choices.
Sums, physics and stinks (including the special paper) chem eng (and beer with Mr L and friends) now try to make sure that people like Matthew have done their sums right and it really won't go bang.

Re: A level options
« Reply #17 on: 26 November, 2015, 09:57:31 pm »
If you're capable, I don't think you can really go wrong with all the maths you can eat.

That's what my school drummed into us - if in doubt, take Maths. (I did, along with English Lit, Music and Latin - to this day I've never met anyone else who took exactly the same combination of subjects!) I was terrible at Maths, though, and probably shouldn't have bothered.

Kim

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Re: A level options
« Reply #18 on: 26 November, 2015, 10:03:26 pm »
I was terrible at Maths, though, and probably shouldn't have bothered.

I've wondered about that, but everything I've ever been substantially interested in or any good at has had a non-trivial maths component.  :-\

If I'd eschewed maths, I'd probably have ended up studying botany or something.  And even that has maths in.

Re: A level options
« Reply #19 on: 26 November, 2015, 11:50:58 pm »
I did physics, sums and stinks too, then went on to physics at university. Mind you, this was all in another era.

Sadly, even at a very good school, I discovered that I had been taking an O-level chemistry syllabus that emphasised understanding far more than learning, and A-level required more learning of formulae and so on. Thus, I stank at stinks (others did fine, it was my weakness). This was made worse by the teacher being a friend of Dad's.

Mr Larrington

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Re: A level options
« Reply #20 on: 27 November, 2015, 12:11:12 am »
A contemporary of mine did lat., gr. and div. at A-level and was thus assured of two years of one-to-one tuition.  He is now a CoE vicar.
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hellymedic

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Re: A level options
« Reply #21 on: 27 November, 2015, 12:13:32 am »
I did physics, chemistry and biology but studied pure maths in the lower sixth and statistics to A Level (didn't attend exam having done full two years but lost interest as it didn't feature in my university offer).
Couldn't really understand why most medical schools insisted on physics but seemed to appreciate some understanding of the subject later on.

Woofage

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Re: A level options
« Reply #22 on: 27 November, 2015, 08:50:36 am »
I don't know how many of you will be familiar with the current structure of the A Level Maths courses but it's a lot more flexible and sensible than when I took mine (early 80s). For A you take 6 modules : 4 core (pure) and 2 applied. Further Maths students do Further Pure modules (2 I think) plus 2 more applied modules. Applied modules can be selected from mechanics, stats and decision maths. Students taking both just sit a whole bunch of exams and the exam board sorts it all out for them.

In my day we did either pure & mechanics or pure 'n' stats. No mixing of applied subjects like today. Our Further Maths course was taught in the upper 6th but I dropped out after a term as I was horribly ill (plus I was trying to fit in my grade 8 violin before I left school).

So I did stuffs (physics), sums & stinks. Further Maths would certainly have helped me later as my Engineering degree was very theoretical. I managed to get by though.
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Woofage

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Re: A level options
« Reply #23 on: 27 November, 2015, 08:53:37 am »
A contemporary of mine did lat., gr. and div. at A-level and was thus assured of two years of one-to-one tuition.  He is now a CoE vicar.

Miss W has done some Latin and on occasion her tuition has been one-to-one.
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menthel

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Re: A level options
« Reply #24 on: 27 November, 2015, 11:59:29 am »
I did (relatively) funny A-Levels that got me into Medical School (back in 1995!); chemistry, biology and geography. They made me suffer for the geography as I had a higher offer than my friends, but that was not a problem as I was very good at it!