A Level Options Help

My biggest advice is to pick something you’ll like. Don’t pick something just because you think it’ll be favourable to unis. A levels are a big step up from gcse and u will need to do a lot of extra work outside of your classes. If you like the subject you’ll be more likely to put in the extra effort and get a good grade.
As you’re already doing geography and history which are both facilitating subjects, it doesn’t really matter what kind of subject your third option is. I’m taking maths and it’s a lot of work (I did well at gcse too), don’t take it if you’re not willing to spend a lot of time doing it.

RS is a pretty useless A level but if you think you’ll enjoy it more than G&H then it might be worth it. Maths A level is a HUGE step up after the easy first term; and A level is also a big step up from AS unlike most other subjects. I found GCSE easy and got a 9 but at A level I was working at a B/C. I got an A in the end but that was very lucky. I think I scraped that A, but one of my teachers was awful so it could be easier than I experienced it.

English would be useful with your two subjects but that would be VERY essay intensive and a lot of content to cover.

French honestly sounds like your best bet as it would compliment G&H so well, however it is generally recommended needing more than a 5. If you think you could do better than that at GCSE if you worked harder than maybe French would be good. From what I’ve heard it’s a lot like English but in French, and a bit easier. There’s even like book and movie analysis in it done similarly to English.

At the end of the day it’s your decision but you do have a window to change subject if what you choose isn’t what you like. I would suggest not maths though based on what you’ve said. It requires a lot of dedication and you really have to be passionate about it. I was not, I just had to do it to get into uni and everyone in my class apart from the two that now do maths at uni found it a nightmare.

Thank you for your help, how much of a step up is maths. Would you mind if I ask what your other options are?

At first it’s okay but the topics have got harder as we’ve progressed. It’s really important to understand the stuff at gcse to build on at the start e.g. indicies. Me (and a lot of my friends) find stats hard as it’s completely new.

My other subjects are geography and economics so if u have any questions about geography I’m happy to help

✔ Your good at humanities subjects

✔ You enjoy humanities subjects

I hope this helps

Thank you, are you implying rs would be my best bet?

Yes, you're one of those lucky people who has found something their really good at and really enjoy

The choice is pretty obvious in my opinion but it's your call

RS is not a useless A level. It is mostly philosophy and ethics and will give you good skills. The concept of facilitating subjects is a bit antiquated, and there is no evidence to suggest rs isn't anything but respected. Plus two is more than enough. If you are veering towards the humanities route at uni then it really doesn't matter what subjects you do if they're not directly related to the degree. So do what you like most. That being said maths is arguably the most useful A level and is a natural continuation from GCSE. A2 gets quite challenging so if you don't like the subject then maybe not the best option. However it will open many doors and without maths you will cut off quite a few options, but seeing as you're more arts oriented it shouldn't be a problem. French is alleged to be extremely hard if you're not a native speaker and will require a great deal of effort, you got a five which isn't really good enough but seeing as you didn't revise for that if you feel you have the ability to get a good 9 in GCSE then why not. I'd say seeing as you were working at a 5 if you intend to pursue it further spend a lot of time in the summer catching up and advancing your french skills so you have a good base to work upwards from. English lit is also supposed to be a lot of effort similar to history, but it can be very rewarding. You could start off with four and then drop to three if your college allows it? What are you considering doing at uni?

Thank you so much for your help! Yes I’ve heard that maths is really hard! I’m definitely prepared to work hard in french. Do most people you know say maths is a lot harder than french?- most people at my school say they are not that hard but most who do languages are fluent/have family in that language or are really great at it

Maths is way harder than French. At my school there’s an agreement that chemistry is the hardest a level, closely followed by maths. French is definitely doable and easier than maths.

Thank you, would you say the same even if I found maths easier. I’m predicted a 9 in maths and a 7/8 in french

Thank you for your help. I’m considering doing something like history/geography as I would possibly like to do into environmental law in the future. I find maths easier than french I’ve just heard maths a level is very hard. French I really love and i am willing to work very hard for, but I don’t want it to detract from my other subjects as I find it more difficult. I would say I am working at a 9 in french writing/speaking but I’m still on a 7/6ish for listening/reading. Would you say maths or french a level is harder? Thank you so much!

I agree that maths is harder than French. Tbh it doesn’t really matter what gcse grade you were getting in maths, lots of people in my class got a 9 and are now working at C grade. It’s more about the effort you’re willing to put in.