A levels for History degree

I appreciate you advice regarding the following.

My son loves History and would like to study History at Uni. He just finished GCSEs, one of them being History. For A levels he had chosen History, Politics and Computer Science but found out this week that Politics clashes with Computer Science which is also a subject he really likes. He has decided he will do History, Computer Science and Business because Business is in the block that doesn’t clash with the two subjects he definitely wants.

Looking at the Uni website, it says that History A level is normally required which is good news and that the useful subjects for History are Economics, Sociology, Politics, English literature, Religious studies and Philosophy.

I just wanted to get your advice in terms of my son doing business studies as we are not sure if it a strong enough subject for his Uni application. Is it better to choose Economics? Is it much harder? My son is good at Maths but has heard economics is hard and business is easier. Will he still be able to do History if he does business?

Thank you

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

exex!

Hello.
I'm not sure if you have seen this website, but it may be of some help to you. https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/advice/a-level-choices/what-a-levels-do-you-need-to-study-history
As mentioned on the website, there are not usually many subject requirements for a history degree, however, essay subjects are recommended, and three a levels will likely be needed by the university. I would recommend checking with the college/sixth form that the business course is definitely an A Level course, as apposed to a BTEC course to ensure that he will be taking three A Levels.

I would recommend that he picks the courses that he will enjoy as A Levels require a lot of hard work, and can be especially challenging if someone is taking a subject they don't particularly enjoy, just to allow them to get onto a university course.

In order to pick A Level courses, I would recommend looking at the specifications on the exam board websites. First you need to know what exam board the college uses for each subject, then you can look at the specification to see what is included in the course. For example, I have linked the AQA business specification here and the AQA economics specification here. Look through these (and any other subjects your son is considering taking) and see which subjects best align with his interests.

Asking the college/sixth form about the best A Levels for your son if he wants to do a history degree might also be a good place to start :smile: