Making Informed Choices. Moving Forward - Post 16

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1 The King John School A Mathematics & Computing College Making Informed Choices Moving Forward - Post 16 1 Page

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3 Introduction Choosing the right course in Key Stage 5 is essential if you are going to follow the career path you would like in the future. This guide is designed to help you make the choices that will prepare you for the future: time spent now reading this guide, seeking advice and considering your options will ensure you make the right choices. When it comes to choosing your A-levels or other advanced level qualifications, it can be tempting simply to choose subjects that you enjoy and which interest you, but it is important to think a bit further ahead and to consider what you might want to do in the future. If the idea of going to university appeals whether or not you know which subject you want to study having the right information now will give you more options when the time comes to make up your mind. There is no getting away from the fact that the subjects you study in the sixth form or at college will determine which option opens up to you in the future. For some degrees you will be required to have studied a particular subject or subjects beforehand. It is really important that you do not make things harder for yourself by choosing subjects which will not equip you for your chosen university course or show your talent for a particular subject. If you do not yet know what you want to study at university, there are some subjects which will keep your degree options open until you finally decide which course to take. This guide will help you to see which advanced level subjects open doors to more degrees and more professions than others (we call these facilitating subjects ). Your exam results are vitally important, but they are only one of several things universities will take into account when they consider your application. UCAS UCAS stands for Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. UCAS is the organisation responsible for managing applications to higher education courses in the UK and process applications to more than 340 universities and colleges. Hopefully, you can start to see that there is plenty of choice and you will need to invest some time doing the research to support you in making the right decision. Visit to find out more. 3 Page

4 Introduction You may hear about Russell Group universities, the Russell Group represents 24 leading UK universities which are committed to maintaining the very best research and outstanding teaching and learning experience for students of all backgrounds, they also have unrivalled links with business and the public sector. Visit to find out more. Russell Group Admissions If you are considering applying for Oxford, Cambridge or any other Russell Group University, you should start your research now. You will need to carefully consider the A- level subjects you take and research whether you should consider applying, why you should do so and, if you do, what you should be prepared for. Russell Group universities all have specific entry requirements for courses as well as many earlier deadlines, so it is essential to forward plan. Russell Group focus sessions take place weekly and cover applications, personal statements and interviews. Please see Mrs Perella for more details. Please talk to Mr Edwards or Mrs Perella about how The King John School can support you. Please remember you should not blindly accept that only a small number of universities are worth considering; students need to go to the university and the course that will suit them best. There are lots of good universities doing different things and some great subjects that are not offered by the Russell Group. Universities offer Open Days to give you the opportunity to visit them and explore the courses on offer. ATTENTION!! All universities provide detailed information about entry requirements on their websites or in their prospectuses. Although these are common themes, entry requirements (even for very similar courses) can vary from one university to another so you should only use the information provided in this document as a general guide. As your plans become firmer, it is essential that you check with the university to be sure that you are aware of the most up-to-date entry requirements for your chosen course. You can also order the university prospectus. 4 Page

5 A-levels How are A-levels organised? A-levels are offered across a wide range of subjects and offer the student the opportunity to study in depth. The Government has made changes to the course structure of A-levels. From September 2015, the new A-level structure is linear, with all the assessment at the end of two years of study. Although the AS-level will be retained, these will be stand-alone qualifications. The AS-level grade will not contribute to the final A-level grade in the new linear A-levels. All subjects will be structured as linear by September 2017, when all A-levels will be linear. You will still be able to do the subjects you want to and we will be able to give you individual advice. If I want to apply to university, what do I need to think about when making my A- level choices? Your choice of options will be critical in determining the university courses open to you. Generally speaking, universities will expect you to be taking three A-levels; this may however differ so you need to check with UCAS. Some universities will also take a combination of BTEC and A-level courses. Find out about these before finishing your key stage 5 choices. 5 Page

6 Vocational Options Applied General Qualifications: BTEC National and OCR Cambridge Technical Applied General qualifications provide a broad introduction to a single vocational area (for example, BTEC Business and OCR Sport) and are work-related qualifications. These are available in a wide range of subjects at various different levels. Students can study for a certificate, subsidiary diploma or diploma. I am thinking about taking a BTEC National Diploma or OCR Cambridge Technical. What are the issues when it comes to university application? Let us imagine you are in year 1 and instead of considering a three A-level package, you are looking at doing a two-year course in a vocational field such as Business. You could do an Applied General qualification for example, BTEC National, or an OCR Cambridge Technical. If you are going to be studying Business in the Sixth Form, you may be considering studying Business or Management at University. ATTENTION!! It is extremely important that you are aware that for some university courses these vocational qualifications are not considered to be suitable. Equally, for many university courses these are suitable. You need to check requirements with individual institutions. Some important issues to consider: Most universities consider these vocational qualifications but the circumstances do vary. It is therefore particularly important to check requirements with individual universities. If you do an Applied General qualification you will need very high grades indeed plus a high grade in an extra A-level to be considered by most Russell Group universities. You will still need certain GCSEs, taking a vocational course will not exempt you from these requirements. Entrance requirements of individual universities will differ. However, as a general guide, applicants with vocational qualifications wishing to study for a degree in Management at a competitive university may encounter the following entrance requirements. Applied General qualifications: In many cases universities will accept these when combined with other qualifications. You may well be required to achieve Distinction/Distinction, plus an extra A-level. Some universities will accept BTEC on its own. You are likely to be required to achieve high grades, for example, three Distinctions, or two Distinctions and one Merit. 6 Page

7 Pre-16 Qualifications and University Entry When applying to a university and especially for a very competitive course at a competitive university, it is important that you consider all the aspects of the entrance requirements, including the GCSE or other standard level requirements. General entrance requirements Universities may ask for a specific number of GCSEs (or their equivalent). For example, a number of medical courses ask for five (sometimes more) A* grades. GCSE English (or equivalent) is very often required at Grade C or 4 at least. At many universities, this is a universal entry requirement for any course. Mathematics is only slightly less commonly asked for. Individual universities may require a foreign language for entry to any course, for example, University College London has introduced such a requirement from 2012 entry. For many courses a B or 5 grade at least in GCSE English is needed, with Science and Engineering courses in particular often specifying this. Equally, courses such as Business and Psychology commonly ask for a B or 5 grade in Mathematics and, in some cases, B in Science. A number of institutions ask that grades and number of subjects are achieved at one sitting. Some do not accept re-sits at GCSE. If you think this might affect you and a university s policy is not clear from its published admissions policies, it is sensible to check with admissions staff before applying. The English Baccalaureate The English Baccalaureate was introduced as a performance measure for schools in England in the 2010 performance tables. It is not a qualification. The measure recognises where pupils have achieved a C or 4 grade or better at GCSE in English, Mathematics, History or Geography, two Sciences and a Modern or Ancient Language. As this document demonstrates, the English Baccalaureate includes academic subjects highly valued by the universities but it is not currently required for entry to any university. With the exception of English and Maths, and in a few cases a Modern Foreign Language, most universities have no universal entry requirements in terms of GCSE subjects. However, successful applicants are normally expected to have achieved good grades in a range of subjects at GCSE or equivalent, and to meet any specific requirements for their chosen course. 7 Page

8 Making your Post-16 Subject Choices Three reasons you may want to continue to study a subject at a higher level are: You have been good at and have enjoyed the subject in the past You need this subject to enter a particular career or course You have not studied the subject before but you have looked into it and think it will suit your strengths. Three further considerations should be taken into account: Some subjects are distinctly more difficult at an advanced level than at GCSE level. Make sure you get your facts straight. There are many misconceptions about subjects required for courses and careers. Don t take an uninformed risk. What is the new subject actually about? The most important thing that your teachers will be looking for as you make your choices is evidence: either evidence that you are good enough to take the subject at advanced level, or evidence that you are interested enough in a subject to take it at advanced level if you have not studied it before. Another factor to consider if you are aiming for incredibly competitive courses at university, such as Medicine and Veterinary Science, is that you may require a very high performance in GCSEs (or equivalent). Does your performance to date match your ambition? It is important that your decisions are taken on the basis of accurate information and clear thinking. Whatever you choose now will commit you to certain directions at university and perhaps rule out certain careers. As much as you may wish to remain cool about this decision, it does matter. If I know what I would like to study at university, what subjects do I need to take at advanced level? If you know what you wish to study at university and want to know what subjects you will need to have studied in preparation, you will find detailed information on each university s entry requirements on the UCAS website. This section will give you some idea of general patterns. Just try to make sure that you stick to the five point plan (on page 12), also some courses will be happy with a subject at a lower level (for example, at AS-level instead of A-level). This will be something to check before you apply. Some popular degrees will normally be open to you without any specific subject background. These include: Accountancy, Anthropology, Archaeology, Business Studies, History of Art, Law, Management Studies, Media Studies, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Surveying. 8 Page

9 Making your Post-16 Subject Choices ATTENTION!! Although they may not be specified as required subjects, many successful applicants to the above courses do have advanced level qualifications in at least two of the facilitating subjects (see below). Some of these courses may still have a preference for some of the facilitating subjects and one or two universities may be more prescriptive in their subject requirements check the Entry Profiles on UCAS Course Search. What subjects can give me the most options? Many courses at university level build on knowledge which you will gain while still at school. Where this is the case, universities need to make sure that all the students they admit have prepared themselves in the best way to cope with their course. For this reason, some university courses may require you to have studied a specific subject prior to entry, others may not. However, there are some subjects that are required more often than others. These subjects are sometimes referred to as facilitating subjects. Subjects that can be viewed as facilitating subjects are: Mathematics and Further Mathematics English (Literature) Physics Biology Chemistry Geography History Language (Classical and Modern) There are some advanced level subjects which provide suitable preparation for entry to university generally, but which we do not include within the facilitating subjects, because there are relatively few degree programmes where an advanced level qualification in these subjects would be a requirement for entry. Examples of such subjects include Economics, Religious Studies and Welsh. WARNING! If you wish to study Music or Art at university, advanced level qualifications in Music or Art are usually required. Some Mathematics courses may require both Mathematics and Further Mathematics. 9 Page

10 Making your Post-16 Subject Choices You will probably have many other subjects open to you at advanced level but, unlike the facilitating subjects listed on the previous page, they are unlikely to be required for any particular degree course and so choosing them does not increase your options at university. By choosing facilitating subjects at advanced level, you will have a much wider range of options open to you at university. An advanced level qualification in any facilitating subject will keep open to you a number of degree courses. At some universities, a qualification in the subject is a requirement for entry to the course. At other universities, it may not be a requirement for the course, but will still be useful to gain entry. Of course, by choosing the facilitating subjects you are not restricted to applying for degree courses which require those subjects. For example, even if you study three facilitating subjects at advanced level, you would still be able to apply to study Law at university (for which most universities do not require any specific advanced level subjects). So, by choosing facilitating subjects you are keeping open as many options as possible. For information about the different degree courses open to applicants with each of the facilitating subjects, you can refer to the UCAS website and university websites. ATTENTION!! If you decide not to choose some of the facilitating subjects at advanced level, some degrees offered by the Russell Group Universities may not be open to you. You must do your research on this. 10 Page

11 How do certain subject combinations relate to university courses? The Scientist A student who is good at science often chooses Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Physics. This will keep open all the science/mathematics options at university. For the sake of maintaining a wider outlook on life, however, many students in this category will replace one of the sciences with an arts/humanities subject or a social science (indeed, some universities encourage this). Students who are very good at Maths may well do Further Mathematics. So, often the choice will look more like this: Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics with an arts/social science/humanity/creative subject as an AS subject. The person who made this choice, however, would have to look at the implications of not taking Biology. When considering such implications, it is worth noting that, in the science field at university, many degrees fall into one of two camps: Biological/Life Sciences and Physical Sciences. Biological /Life Sciences are degrees based on Chemistry and Biology. As long as you choose these two subjects at advanced level, a huge range of degrees will be open to you. These include degrees leading to a definite career path (for example, Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Pharmacy, Dietetics) and degrees based on research (for example, Biochemistry, Biomedical Materials Science, Pharmacology). Physical Sciences involve the practical application of Mathematics and Physics. As long as you take these two subjects at advanced level a huge range of degrees will be open to you, such as: Engineering (mechanical, electronic/electric and civil), Physics and Material Science. If you are a very talented scientist/mathematician, it is important that of the four available - Biology, Chemistry, Maths (which includes both Mathematics and Further Mathematics) and Physics you choose three. Medicine / Dentistry A*/A grades GCSE Sciences and Mathematics AS in Biology and Chemistry A-level in at least one of Biology and Chemistry, preferably both. UKCAT Test: separately timed sub-tests lasting 120 minutes: - Verbal reasoning - Numerical reasoning - Abstract reasoning - Decision analysis - Situational Judgement test Veterinary Medicine A*/A grade in Science and Mathematics AS in Biology and Chemistry A-level in Biology and Chemistry It is best to have three A-level subjects in Science and Mathematics. The fourth can be another Science or a subject which can show a difficult skill or method of learning. Note: For prospective medics and vets there are also pre-entry tests (BMAT & UKCAT) which some institutions require to be taken. 11 Page

12 How do certain subject combinations relate to university courses? Essays, essays, essays The majority of students fall into the essay category, where all their subject choices will be in the arts/humanities and social sciences (with perhaps one creative/talent-based subject). A large range of university degrees in the arts/humanities, social sciences and business fields will be open to these students, but not normally degrees in the mathematics/sciences field. Let us imagine that you do History, English Literature and Sociology at advanced level. Your degree at university might well follow on from one of these subjects you could do a degree in History, Politics, English Literature or Sociology. You could also do a degree in another art/humanities subject (for example, Philosophy) or you could do a degree in another social science (for example, Psychology) or a degree in something more vocational (for example, Law or Management Sciences). As you can see, you will have many options open to you. Engineering Physics and Mathematics are essential. Psychology A Science is normally required, Biology is preferable. Institutions will normally accept Psychology A-level as a Science. Note: For vocational degrees (degrees that lead to a specific career), you should undertake work experience in a relevant area. The Linguist Some students will emphasise their linguistic abilities by doing not one but two foreign languages. Students that study language are highly sought after by universities for language degrees or courses with a language component. The Artist If you have talent in music you may well want to study it at university. If so, it is important that you take Music to advanced level (along with performance grade). If you have a talent in art you may well be thinking about an art foundation course as a precursor to a degree programme. You might want to consider an advanced level qualification in either Art or Art and Design. Either of these will provide you with the basis for your portfolio, which you will need to gain entry to an art foundation course. 12 Page

13 Do universities prefer certain advanced level subjects over others? For Drama and Dance, entry to higher education in these fields can be dependent on performance at an audition. Preparation for such auditions can be gained from drama and dance groups within school of course, from your school leaving qualifications themselves and many different out-of-school activities. Education Primary A-level in at least one National Curriculum subject which is taught in primary school. You must have C or 4" grades at GCSE in English, Mathematics and Science. Economics Some institutions require Mathematics A-level. Law No specific subjects, however it is recommended to have at least one extended writing subject at A-level, such as, Philosophy & Ethics, History, Geography or English Literature. You may be asked to sit the National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT). 13 Page

14 Five Point Plan for making your Post-16 choice 1. Know what you want to study? Check out the entry requirements If you have a university course which you are keen on, have you checked the relevant university website or UCAS course search to find out whether this course requires certain subjects at advanced level? 2. Not sure yet? Keep your options open! If you are not sure about what you want to study at university, have you tried to choose at least two facilitating subjects (Maths, English, Literature, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Geography, History, Languages)? ATTENTION!! The facilitating subjects (Maths, English, Literature, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Geography, History, Languages) are the subjects most likely to be required or preferred for entry to degree courses and choosing them will keep more options open to you at university. To get a rough idea of the options the different facilitating subjects will give you in applying to university, you can look at the UCAS website or university websites. 3. GCSEs Make sure you understand the GCSE requirements for entry to a competitive university. Are you on track to achieve the level 2 grades to progress onto the course/courses that you want to do at advanced level and the university course that you may choose to do? 4. Think balance Do you have a balance of subject choices that reflect your abilities, strengths and interests? Have you considered how certain subject combinations relate to university courses? 5. Make sure you know WHY If you want to take a subject that you have not studied before, can you talk for a minute on what this subject is about? Try and unpick why you wish to study this subject. It s not enough to say It s interesting I think I ll like it or It will be fun. 14 Page

15 Useful Links and Websites National Apprenticeship Schemes The Complete University Guide University and higher education Starting your wider reading useful for personal statements It s your choice: options after : your life, your options Learn Direct National Apprenticeship Service Prospects Skills Funding Agency Total Professions UCAS Young People s Learning Agency 15 Page

16 What is an Apprenticeship? Getting paid while you learn might sound too good to be true, but as an apprentice you really do get the best of both worlds. If you are keen to enter the world of work but do not want to stop studying then an apprenticeship could be the answer. Apprenticeships offer a practical balance between learning a trade and earning a living. They enable you to start working and earn a decent wage whilst learning the skills and gaining the qualifications employers want. Earn a salary Get paid holidays Learn job-specific skills Receive training Develop your career Gain nationally recognised qualifications Get the support you need to succeed What types of Apprenticeships are offered? Agriculture, Horticultural and Animal Care Bursaries, Administration and Law Education and Training Health, Public Services and Care Leisure, Travel and Tourism Arts, Media and Publishing Construction, Planning and the Built Environment Engineering and Manufacturing Technology Information and Communication Technology Retail and Commercial Enterprises Attention! Is there an alternative to the two year level 3 programme at sixth form or college? Please investigate for detailed information for students and parents. Work and Study Apprenticeships combine practical training in a job with study. An Apprentice: Works alongside experienced staff Gains job-specific skills Earns a wage ( Studies towards a related qualification (usually 1 day a week) 16 Page

17 Is there an alternative to the two year level 3 programme at sixth form or college? Levels of Apprenticeships There are 3 levels in England Intermediate (level 2) equivalent to 5 GCSE passes Advanced (level 3) equivalent to 2 A level passes Higher roughly equivalent to a foundation degree Read more information on Entry requirements Entry requirements vary. At The King John School we expect a minimum of two GCSEs at grade D. Please see individual entry requirements. Acceptance onto the apprenticeship will be subject to an interview and an in-house test. Attention! At The King John School we currently offer Hair. You will need to complete the level 2 apprenticeships before progressing onto level 3. Contact Mrs Launder at The King John School for details of the King John Apprenticeships or visit for other providers and vacancies. Attention! You will need to be employed in a job that relates to the apprenticeship you want to undertake. As a small provider, The King John School has a limited number of employer contacts. We share these with all our candidates, so competition is fierce. We ask students to find their own employment opportunities prior to starting in September. 17 Page