A Level: What to pick?

Hey guys,

I'm rn in yr 11 and I am thinking of my a level choices. So, I have fixed my mind on doing A Level History but idk what else to choose. Here are the ones I am interested in:
- Spanish
- Law
- Business

I was thinking on having my second a level as law since I want to do law in university and become a solicitor but many ppl have told me that there's no point in picking it as it's not necessary. And I love Spanish so I want to pick it because I'm doing it for gcse and it's an easy subject for me but what about business? I have not done gcse business but i have always found it interesting and I want to commercial law as a solicitor in the future.

What do I pick? (My college only does three a levels)

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Aishwarya_roy

Hey guys,

I'm rn in yr 11 and I am thinking of my a level choices. So, I have fixed my mind on doing A Level History but idk what else to choose. Here are the ones I am interested in:
- Spanish
- Law
- Business

I was thinking on having my second a level as law since I want to do law in university and become a solicitor but many ppl have told me that there's no point in picking it as it's not necessary. And I love Spanish so I want to pick it because I'm doing it for gcse and it's an easy subject for me but what about business? I have not done gcse business but i have always found it interesting and I want to commercial law as a solicitor in the future.

What do I pick? (My college only does three a levels)

Law degrees generally ask for any 3 varied A Level subjects (academic where possible), but with preference for essay based subjects. In other words, the choices you have above should be fine.

Law A Level isn't required as you have said, but one of the reason why people have opposed it (according to numerous opinions) is because of the syllabus vs how it's assessed. I haven't done it myself, so you're better off getting a second opinion.

Note: to become a solicitor, you need a degree (or equivalent) in any subject, then do the SQE. If you have a law degree, I think you can skip 1 year of the SQE, but it's not that big of a deal apparently.
See:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/solicitor
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/solicitor-job-description
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/solicitor (government website)
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/law/job-profile/solicitor

You don't need A Level business studies to become a commercial lawyer as above, but it's one of those essay subjects where you need to use a lot of analysis and critical thinking (specifically strategic thinking). It can take some time to get your head around it, but once you have it's pretty straightforward.

Personal recommendation: history, Spanish, business.

Thing I would be concerned about is the personal statement and LNAT, should you decide to study at a top end uni.
When picking law degrees, I would prefer if you pick LLBs as oppose to BAs, due to the law content. See: https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/legal-practice-course-route/qualifying-law-degree-common-professional-examination/qualifying-law-degree-providers/

The more difficult part is securing a job then a training contract. You would need to do a lot of networking for this.

Reply 2

Aishwarya_roy

OP

6

Original post by MindMax2000

Law degrees generally ask for any 3 varied A Level subjects (academic where possible), but with preference for essay based subjects. In other words, the choices you have above should be fine.

Law A Level isn't required as you have said, but one of the reason why people have opposed it (according to numerous opinions) is because of the syllabus vs how it's assessed. I haven't done it myself, so you're better off getting a second opinion.

Note: to become a solicitor, you need a degree (or equivalent) in any subject, then do the SQE. If you have a law degree, I think you can skip 1 year of the SQE, but it's not that big of a deal apparently.
See:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/solicitor
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/solicitor-job-description
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/solicitor (government website)
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/law/job-profile/solicitor

You don't need A Level business studies to become a commercial lawyer as above, but it's one of those essay subjects where you need to use a lot of analysis and critical thinking (specifically strategic thinking). It can take some time to get your head around it, but once you have it's pretty straightforward.

Personal recommendation: history, Spanish, business.

Thing I would be concerned about is the personal statement and LNAT, should you decide to study at a top end uni.
When picking law degrees, I would prefer if you pick LLBs as oppose to BAs, due to the law content. See: https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/legal-practice-course-route/qualifying-law-degree-common-professional-examination/qualifying-law-degree-providers/

The more difficult part is securing a job then a training contract. You would need to do a lot of networking for this.

Thank you so much! I think I might go with History, Spanish and Business since I can learn law anyway in uni. I am also planning on doing LNAT in uni and I think it would be a great thing to put in my personal statement if I picked Business and Spanish. Thanks again :wink:

Reply 3

m11m

10

Original post by Aishwarya_roy

Hey guys,

I'm rn in yr 11 and I am thinking of my a level choices. So, I have fixed my mind on doing A Level History but idk what else to choose. Here are the ones I am interested in:
- Spanish
- Law
- Business

I was thinking on having my second a level as law since I want to do law in university and become a solicitor but many ppl have told me that there's no point in picking it as it's not necessary. And I love Spanish so I want to pick it because I'm doing it for gcse and it's an easy subject for me but what about business? I have not done gcse business but i have always found it interesting and I want to commercial law as a solicitor in the future.

What do I pick? (My college only does three a levels)

hey i was initially planning on taking law at uni so ive researched into a level choices best for it - ill try and give some insight see if its helpful lol

but basically like mindmax2000 said, essay based subjects are most important , and taking spanish will give you the opportunity to take spanish law and you could have the opportunity to study abroad if that interests you.

i would agree that business would probably be the best choice here, but i would also point out that english lit is usually a good preparation into a law degree paired with history as they are both essay subjects and at uni you will be writing lots of essays doing lots of reading etcetc

however if you dont want to take it business is still good as its essay based too. this is just my opinion lol so take it with a grain of salt and it depends where u want to apply as well.

but agreed history spanish business is better as no law degree requires previous knowledge and taking it wont advantage you only provide some insight but you will have to do this yourself when youre doing supercurriculars for your ps

hope this helps!! remember just take subjects you enjoy and it'll go a lot smoother :smile:

Original post by Aishwarya_roy

Hey guys,

I'm rn in yr 11 and I am thinking of my a level choices. So, I have fixed my mind on doing A Level History but idk what else to choose. Here are the ones I am interested in:
- Spanish
- Law
- Business

I was thinking on having my second a level as law since I want to do law in university and become a solicitor but many ppl have told me that there's no point in picking it as it's not necessary. And I love Spanish so I want to pick it because I'm doing it for gcse and it's an easy subject for me but what about business? I have not done gcse business but i have always found it interesting and I want to commercial law as a solicitor in the future.

What do I pick? (My college only does three a levels)

Hi @Aishwarya_roy,

To study law at university you definitely do not need to study law at A Level (for example, to do your Law LLB at the University of Law you simply need BBB in any three subjects). What is important, is that you give yourself the best chance of attaining high grades. Not only will this help you get into the university you want to study law at but it is important for your future employment. Lots of stages whether that is for obtaining scholarships, training contracts or pupillage etc. will ask for your academic grades from as far back as GCSE in some cases but almost all require A level results. Therefore, it is important to do subjects you enjoy as this will make it easier to study well and apply yourself to get a really strong foundation for your future studies.

I hope this helps!

Sophie :smile:

Reply 5

bjones02520

5

Original post by Aishwarya_roy

Hey guys,

I'm rn in yr 11 and I am thinking of my a level choices. So, I have fixed my mind on doing A Level History but idk what else to choose. Here are the ones I am interested in:
- Spanish
- Law
- Business

I was thinking on having my second a level as law since I want to do law in university and become a solicitor but many ppl have told me that there's no point in picking it as it's not necessary. And I love Spanish so I want to pick it because I'm doing it for gcse and it's an easy subject for me but what about business? I have not done gcse business but i have always found it interesting and I want to commercial law as a solicitor in the future.

What do I pick? (My college only does three a levels)

I am attending the University of Bristol in a months' time to study Law, and took Politics, Business, and Philosophy of Religion. I got a 24 on the LNAT and managed to get an Oxford interview (rejected post-interview their loss), and can say that business studies has only proven to be helpful since delving into some virtual work experience on Forage.

For law specifically you've picked some pretty good subjects, Spanish is a great differentiator, History (as you noted below) is a fantastic choice for any humanities courses at uni (law especially), and business (as said before) allows you to have an understanding of business structures, operations and potential ventures (like mergers and acquisitions which is HUGE in corporate law), however I found it wasn't as challenging as my other subjects.

When considering the LNAT, I wouldn't recommend business as the critical analysis is quite superficial, where the LNAT calls for much deeper thinking that you may get more experience with in other subjects, such as philosophy (or RS), politics, psychology etc. To note, business is not a bad subject in any means (as I said before when doing virtual work experience it allowed me to instantly analyse deals and corporate strategy as I already knew what it was), it just felt much less taxing on the brain (in my experience), which may be important to you if you're looking for subjects that can test your mind, as a law degree will.

If you're going for the corporate route, I suspect many of the additional modules surrounding corporate law in your university degree will cover what A-level business covers, which should be more than ample for the SQE. That being said, many of the concepts in A-level business aren't particularly difficult to wrap your head around, so I wouldn't stress unduly about that.

On the point of Law A-level, I have been in rooms of people that take law at various university events and work experiences, and can say that any activity we were asked to complete or review, in one way or another, challenged what they were taught during the A-level. Instances such as differences in the requirements for a contract to be legally binding, or libel law that was presented in a more complex manner than they were used to. If my sixth form offered law I may have taken it, but as I was dead-set on doing the degree, it seemed like it would have been a waste of two years that I could have spent with other subjects, training my mind to think critically and delve into new areas of interest, such as theology or political theory.

It's VERY important, however, to choose a subject you already enjoy or are likely to enjoy. If business is your thing, definitely take it, as a subject enjoyed is a subject you will likely achieve well in. Similarly with law, if you are very keen on studying it as soon as possible, then do so, as it can open many opportunities for you such as mock-trials and potential networking chances, that can help your application and development towards your degree.

Reply 6

Aishwarya_roy

OP

6

Thank you so much guys I really appreciate your input. What I am currently doing now (based on my research) is trying to pick 2 facilitating subjects (like History and Spanish) and one subject that I think is helpful for uni and that could provide me with work experience.

A Level: What to pick?

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