University of Reading Meteorology and Maths- worth it?

Entry requirements are not a good indication of course quality but do reflect competition. It's natural that specialised courses will attract fewer applicants (than, say, pure Mathematics) so it's not surprising that the entry requirements are lower. You're right that Exeter has an excellent reputation for climate science, whilst I can't comment on the quality of their undergraduate degree, they have a lot of high-impact climate scientists there. Reading also has a long history in climate science which is why they're still one of the few unis in the UK offering meteorology. If you like the look of the course then by all means apply, it's only one of your five options anyway so it's not a big risk. The only issue is that I am aware that there was a big staff exodus out of Reading a while ago because they got rid of their Physics department and whilst meteorology obviously remains, I'm not sure to what extent that has impacted the general environment there. Possibly something to ask about (to be clear, I'm not saying that meteorology is bad there because I genuinely don't know, just that there was some kind of thing at Reading).

If you are interested in climate science (or geophysical fluid dynamics), something else you might want to consider is studying Physics rather than Mathematics. For instance, Oxford's Physics Department has an excellent reputation in this field (because of their Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics department) and at a university like Oxford, you don't need to be concerned about a lack of mathematical rigour in their physics course. Of course it's entirely possible to go into climate science through mathematics (as many do), but physics is a more common route.

A final thing I'd say - atmospheric physics is the better-known aspect of geophysical fluid dynamics, but don't forget oceanic physics! Yes I'm biased but it's a fascinating area as well.

That's very useful, thank you, I've still got some time to go more research, but it's made me a bit less wary (I just had no idea about reading at all really). Unfortunately doing physics isn't an option, my schools physics teaching is very bad so I didn't take it as an Alevel.

I assume you're in this area then? How do you find it?

Oh sorry, didn't realise that you don't study physics! It sounds like you've got a good set of options then and as I say, an undergraduate degree in mathematics is a perfectly good way to enter climate science. And yes, I'm about to start a PhD related to physical oceanography - I've only got good things to say about the field (and climate science in general), it's absolutely fascinating and very important too! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific Qs.

Thanks so much, that's awesome. Honestly pretty exciting, I hadn't even considered the possibility until I stumbled upon to the exeter course and realised that maths was much broader than I thought. Using Maths to help understand the planet seems pretty amazing and important. I'll remember to PM you if I have any questions thank you so much!