Hello all

I am suffering from major confusion over what to do for A level :S A week ago I got my gcse results and I got 7A*'s 2A's and 1B, which I was really pleased with. I then got told that my initial A level options of Japanese, French, Music and Theatre Studies didn't work in the timetable so I would have to drop either French or Music. Obviously at this point I had to reconsider and am now in a big confusion over what to do. The school are thinking again and seeing if there is anyway I can do those options.

I am now in the position
- I am re-thinking drama do I really want to do it? and if I don't what do I want to do as an alternative?
- I really don't want to drop Music
- I am definitely going to do Japanese and French
- I would consider taking Maths or History or both if I can't do Music and decide not to do drama.
- I would also consider taking RE but this clashes with Music and French.

Anyone got any advice? I want to go on to study European Law, which is a Law couse where you study french law as well and you are then qualified to work in the law field in England and France.

Help pleeaassee

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

I'm also about to start AS levels and I remember how confused I was. If you're going to do European Law then French is a good idea. I've also heard that essay based subjects, such as History or English are good for Law and so are logic based subjects (Maths or Science).

Hope you manage to get it all sorted out!

Well, firstly, do the ones YOU LIKE BEST!

For European law, I would say French would be very useful if you become qualified to work in France, Japanese is spoken in fewer countries than French also.

I'd probably not do a subject I wasn't 100% sure about

From the sounds of it, you could do Music (Which you love), French (which would be beneficial) and then another 1 or 2 you like best. Hope this helps

Sounds like French is a must for European Law, such an important language, Music because you like it, and probably History, because a lot of law is based in history and something you just think would be nice to do.


I agree with Nicki too, do the ones you like ! !

Plus History is fantastic (not that I am biased or anything)

The problem is Music and French clash so I couldn't do both but yes French is a definite. As is Japanese xoxoox

Could you do Music out of school/at another college?

I possibly could but the problem would be finding the time with all the other stuff I do.......I looked at taking french as a distance learning subject but I'm not sure if that's the best idea as with languages the most important thing is contact and if I'm teaching myself I wouldn't neccesarily get that so yeah

thanks for your help and ideas and keep them coming xoxoxooxoxox

Could you take fewer with school then take one externally at a centre or by arrangement with a kindly teacher who you could go to for the necessary work? Methinks French would be easier to take externally, but you'd have to research it.

If that wasn't possible and you couldn't find some way of taking both, I'd say drop music and look into doing more extra-curricular musical activities. You can still enjoy music outside school and may even enjoy it more without the pressure of an A-level. If you do this, though, you need to be secure that you won't be required to have music for a job, but as long as you don't think you'll go into music (and you sound certain about doing European Law) that should be fine.

Best of luck - timetabling GCSEs I was lucky to get no clashes apart from not being able to do an extra short course, but I have friends who were really annoyed about timetabling problems and it must be so frustrating! Hope you work something out in the end

So, do I have this right?

You want to do
French
Japanese

But would like to do Music but can't school?

You could always continue learning music theory to a higher level, much is what is done at A Level

Do you have a music lesson outside of school?

If you do then this might be enough as you could continue to progress while doing your A levels.

I wouldn't give up the Japanese. Even if it is not a European language and not directly relevant to a European law degree knowledge of an unusual language could be a bonus for after university when you are looking for a job.

nikki is right french and japanese and then music (but it doesn't work with the timetable) and another

and yes I have singing lessons out of school and play other instruments and could just spend more time doing music and not take it as an a level subject i guess but then that still leaves me with the dilema of what to do!

oh dear how complicated things are xoxoxoxox

You're getting there, singer15.
Japanese, French, History ? something else you really like, and keep off the pressure of A level music... keep it and develop it as 'outside' .... ??

Keep thinking and talking round it!



and of course Nicki's right History is Great, though she isn't biased

singer15, first of all, well done on your great GCSE results!

Secondly, I'd just like to say that I'm interested in the same law course as you! It looks fantastic, with the chance to gain experience in France, becoming fluent in the language and getting a French degree, as well as the standard English one.

If you want to go to a good university, then I would be wary of doing Music and Theatre Studies together. Japanese (unusual) and French (great for what you want to do) are good, and so is one out of Music and Theatre Studies, but I think that both of them together don't give a good enough range of subjects to impress the top universities. Oxford and Cambridge recently issued a statement concerning the need to do several traditional, 'academic' subjects. Theatre Studies was on a 'blacklist' of 'easier' subjects, and while Music wasn't, I would still have a bad feeling about doing both. Why not do something like English, Maths, History or Religious Studies instead of Music/Theatre Studies? English is recommended for law and so are subjects such as History and RS, because they teach important skills you'll need during the course. If you decide to drop music, you could easily continue it outside school and do a diploma or Grade 8 theory; that's what I intend to do. It seems to me that choosing a completely different subject, along with the two languages and a creative subject, would be a stronger combination. Good luck!

Looking at your subject choices so far, am I right in thinking they're mostly/all essay subjects? If so, if you can think of a more science-y A level that you'd enjoy it would show balance in your abilities (that considering your GCSE results you obviously have). Apparently ability to do well at both arts and sciences is comparatively rare. Admittedly it's probably not worth doing if you wouldn't enjoy it, but if you have a gap to fill and you have a science you like (or even Maths), it'd probably be worth its weight in gold

Given your GCSE results, I assume you'd be looking at going to one of the top unis. Music A-level seems to be notoriously hard to do well in (this is looking at friends' results), so it might not be the best choice. You will presumably also be doing music outside of school, so it's not like you'd be dropping it completely. Theatre studies is on the 'blacklist' but it shouldn't matter much because the other subjects you're doing are much harder. I may well be biased but I'd recommend Maths: it shows you have a good breadth of knowledge, it's not a writing subject like the languages and History would be, and it is low on the amount of coursework. Just my thoughts.

Funny how advice changes - when I did A Levels I was recommended NOT to mix science and humanities subjects because I'd look like I couldn't decide which way I wanted to go.

Definitely start with those you really want to do, ie Japanese and French, and work round that. Although I am sure that will narrow down your options, that might be a good thing: look at what will fit in with that and then pick favourites that make a good combination!

Wow all you people are so helpful thank you so much i looked at the "blacklist" subjects and realised theatre studies is there but as I discussed with my head of 6th form it shouldn't be a problem because of my other options. I am thinking Maths and History wouldn't be that bad and am warming to the idea of not doing drama and or music. I would still like to do music if it is in any way possible but would not be too upset if I had to drop it......i think.

Wow things have changed so much since I initially chose my options as I wasn't even thinking of doing history

anyway thanks again for all your help and if you have any more suggestions keep them coming please xoxoxoxoxox

Also, Music AS level is a LOT different to GCSE, on Edexcel, especially, much more theoretical and in depth.

My friend did French, Maths, History and English Literature (she's dropped the latter now), but she found it fine. I think it is nice to not have 3 essay subjects or 3 science subjects - is it nice to have variety?

A good friend of mine applied to do Law at a good university. His A level choices were Maths, Drama, Biology, and General Studies. He was told he needed two As to get in, in Maths and Biology. They didn't care what he got in Drama!

In your position, it's a shame you can't do music but think of it as a bonus. You can progress up the theory and practical grades (for extra UCAS points) and keep music as something for pleasure rather than getting bogged down in school work. Then, you could do Japanese, French, History and Maths at A level. It'll be useful if you're looking for training contracts in the future too, as quite a few seem to look for maths/numerical reasoning skills!

Have you considered a third year at 6th form. That's what I'm doing because I wanted to do 5 full A levels so this year I'm taking music, history, philosophy and eng lit, and then next year will drop eng lit and do the other 3, and then in my third year i'll pick up english lit again and do the whole 2 years worth of psycology in one year (do double the number of lessons a week).

For you an option might be to do a third year and do music then. If you really enjoy it then you wouldn't mind doing twice as many lessons in a week, and it would still mean you can get your A level in it. You get free education until you're 19 and a lot of people take a gap year before uni so why not fill it with an extra A level (i think if you were entitled to EMA you will still get that in the 3rd year as well).

That might be ok with the parents of those with birthdays in the summer but if your birthday is before Christmas I think a lot of parents would not be too happy about it... unless you could get a job while you are at college.

I know this probably isn't much help, and probably depends on what type of school you go to, but one of my best friends was in a similar situation. She was told that she couldn't take music because it didn't fit with the timetable, but she rang school, her parents rang school wrote letters etc...and now she can do it. Persuasion works sometimes...

As people have said, Music A level is supposed to be very hard...and I've heard/think that a good merit or distinction in a subject (at G8) in an instrument is actually worth the same number of UCAS or more...
If you do music out of school, this might be a better thing to concentrate on..and then do drama in school

Choose what you enjoy best! Good luck!

Well done on your GCSEs by the way! *bakes late cake and sprays celebration mist*

Crazy person! One of my friends is doing 5 A levels, though in the 2 years of normal 6th form (4 at AS, then carrying on with all of them for A2 and picking up general studies this year - we do the whole A2 level in year 13 with 2 hours lesson time a week) I think she's a bit crazy, but she enjoys it and copes well with the pressure. Most uni's only ask for 3 A levels though, so this is just adding an extra year onto your studies without being of any benefit other than doing a subject you want to do - it would be an option to consider carefully because I think they'd probably ask you why you did it during your interview. It also depends on whether your 6th form has this option - pretty sure ours doesn't, the only people who have the option to spend 3 years there are those who get the offer to retake a year due to serious and long-term illness which has meant they have been off school too long to complete their studies properly the first time around.


I'm pretty sure that the points are quite a lot lower for music exams than for full A levels, will go and check in a minute. Also a good merit on UCAS forms is just the same as a bad merit - you get marks on either pass, merit or distinction, not the mark, though a distinction at grade 6 for example is worth the same (or more? I'll check that too!) than a pass at grade 7.


EDIT: Right, at A2 level the points are 120 for A, 100 for B, 80 for C, 60 for D, 40 for E.
Music examinations are:
Grade 6 Practical: pass = 25, merit = 40, distinction = 45
Grade 7 practical: p=60, m=55, p=40
Gr. 8 Pr.: p=55, m=70, d=75.
Theory points are similar, but ranging from a grade 6 pass at 5 points to a grade 8 distinction at 30 points.
However, a grade 8 practical distinction would be the equivalent of either a very good D at A2 level, or way above an A at AS level.
The table can be viewed here (if technology is on my side!)