Can I split up my A-Levels?

I’m 15 and I’ve had mental health issues for a couple of years now. I also struggle a lot with fatigue and don’t have the energy or ability to cope with large amounts of work.

I’m worried that I won’t cope with three A-Levels, but doing them has been my dream for so long, and I don’t want to give up on that. Would it be possible for me to split it up so that in total I finish four A-Levels over four years?

My current school has so far done what they can to support me and I’d like to stay on for sixth form. I think what I want to do is take maths and further maths only at sixth form, then go to college after year 13 to take politics and psychology A-Levels for another two years (I’m aware that this won’t be free but my parents would support me).

Can I do this? Would it put me at a disadvantage at all if I did it this way instead of the standard way? I want to do them well and to the best of my ability, and I think I’d fail if I did three in two years.

You would need to talk to your potential school/college about your problem with fatigue. In general it isn't normally possible to follow your plan due to funding issues if you are not studying a full sixth form workload (3 A levels or equivalent) and in funding education once you are 19.

Ah okay, thank you

The problem with just doing two A levels is that you'll then be a part-time student. This has implications for school and your family.

Why not try Maths, FMaths + 1?

I have considered Maths, FM, and Psych, but I don’t know how I’d manage the workload. I’d be happy to do three subjects if I knew I could handle doing it all in two years, I’m just worried that I’ll get overwhelmed and fail. I’m barely getting through my GCSEs as it is and I imagine A-Levels would be a lot harder.

How many GCSEs are you doing? Ther will be cross over between Maths/FMaths and there's some Maths in Psych too. Personally I've found quite a few students find juggling GCSEs harder than A level ... you'll have study periods remember.

I’m doing 9 GCSEs. That might go up to 10 though because my maths teacher kinda pushed me into doing GCSE FM… I’m hoping it won’t be too bad, or I’ll just ask to drop out if it’s not too late.
Ah that’s true, I hadn’t thought about the overlap, or the study periods! I’ll consider that then, thank you

Please don't do level 2 FM it's a complete waste of time [I teach Maths] - it's not helpful in your case either.

Okay, I’ll drop it if it’s not too late.
May I ask why though? My teacher’s been pushing most of my class into doing it, saying that we’ll find the jump to A-Level much easier and it’s highly recommended and everything. He seems to think it’s incredibly beneficial, and he’s been one of the best teachers I’ve had so I kinda just went with it without questioning it

There's stuff in it which isn't even in A level.

I've found that making sure people get grade 9s and then do summer prep work is better and impacts other GCSEs less. No point in getting level 2 FM but other GCSEs at lower grades because you have less time to study - especially if you have fatigue this seems a foolish addition.

The step up to A level is lessened if you really cover all the GCSE spec well and spend time on the tricky stuff that is extended at A level. It's what I call 'looking over the wall' so when we do drawing tangents to a curve we'll discuss where this goes at A level. We spend time developing fluency in algebra as well.

That makes sense. I’ll talk to my parents and my teacher then, it does sound like I might as well just revise normal maths a little more. Thank you!

Edit - ahhh PRSOM

It won't hurt to look at calculus but I wouldn't bother with the additional homework, tests etc.