What, Where and How Many A-levels Should I do?!

I am about to reach half way through my GCSE year and am doing well in my subjects so far. Unfortunately, I can't decide on the how many A-levels to do which will largely affect my choice of 6th form for which I am also indecisive; there are six subjects which most appeal to me, these are Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. I have heard that some places allow you to, so long as you are capable and dedicated, take on 5 A-levels (I would likely drop one of after AS based on performance in the subject). So, what I want to know is...
How important is the number of A-levels that I do in applying for competitive universities? (Hopefully Oxford or Cambridge)
How much could I personally and academically benefit from going to year 12 in a specialised school like NUAST (Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology)?
And... Do you have any advice to help me narrow down which options of these to take if I were to take only 4 a-levels?

Thanks, Scuffufle :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

username1884577

Do the normal number, which is now normally 3 but sometimes 4. Universities don't discriminate.

Reply 2

Interstellar3

I did 5 in year 12 and dropped down to 4 in year 13. It was manageable, but I'd say probably not really necessary. I only took 5 as I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do in terms of university subject and so wanted to keep my options open. If you have more of a clear path, sticking to 4 is sufficient (then perhaps stay with 4 in year 13). If you're really uncertain about which field of study you want to go into, you can always start with 5 then drop to 4 halfway through the year if it's too much.