collaborative guest post
GCSEs are officially over! Celebrations are happening for students who have received their results and a huge wave of relief has covered everyone. But now a new adventure starts. A-levels.
This is the most common path students take when taking on further education as the goal for many is university. This is where it gets difficult. Choosing which subjects to take.
With GCSEs, it was more about doing a wide variety to get a good understanding of a vast number of subjects. A-levels always seems to be a huge jump in education and here is why. Your child must choose 3 subjects in line of what they will potentially study later on or use to gain employment. This is a daunting task to complete as you have to be very specific and have a general idea of the direction, you’re going in.
Once again parents, your support is needed. Your 16-year-old may not feel confident enough to choose their subjects alone so here are two great tips from a sixth form college in Cardiff on how to help them.
Communicate with your child
Sit down with them and have an honest conversation about the matter. Ask them what they most enjoyed whilst studying for their GCSE’s and mention some of the opportunities that could lie in taking those studies further.
Stress that they should be completely independent with these decisions and not to choose ones that they know their friends will steer towards as it will make things harder for them in the future. Have these conversations a few times as you may get more narrowed down answers. Contact the potential College for further information as they will be able to answer any queries to help you lead your child in the right direction.
Make plans for the future
A-levels as well as GCSEs, have a big impact on your future as employers will always go back to studies. Consider what your child may want to do as a career and help them make decisions through that. You can then look at the qualifications needed as well as entry requirements for universities post exams.
You can even look at actual job occupations and compare their progression opportunities and salaries. This could be a drawing point for your child depending on what their aspirations are when it comes to studies and work.
Doing this research will help your child stress over one less thing and ensure they have chosen beneficial subjects for their future.
