Which 3 A Level Combinations Work Best Together?

Choosing your A level courses is something that students should take time over, as the range of A level courses means there are many different possible A level Combinations. Oxford College course advisors will provide you with help and guidance regarding which of our online courses best suit your aims and objectives, ability, resources and study time.

You will probably have a good idea of what courses you wish to undertake, and might have already completed a lot of research into this. However before you confirm your choices you need to make sure of the following:

1. You have established the entry requirements of the university, college or institution you are applying to.

2. That you have the basic requirements for entry onto the course that you have selected. Although there is no formal minimal educational requirements for entry onto Oxford College A level programmes, it would be unwise to assume that you could enter an A level programme for many subjects without prior knowledge or the willingness to do considerable revision alongside your A level studies. For example, science A levels assume a level of prior knowledge at GCSE; therefore if you have never studied science to this level you must expect to have to do extra work in order to ‘get up to speed’ as you study, as some topics will be presented with this assumption. Remember that within the A level programme the tutor will not be able to provide revision for this purpose but will give you guidance as to how to go about it and which web sites etc. are recommended.

3. You have enough time to complete the courses.

Good A level combinations tend to fall into the categories below, but there will be many crossovers:

Arts and Humanities (for example: English Literature, History, Philosophy)

Business and Management (for example: Business Studies, Accounting, Politics etc.)

Environmental Studies (for example: Environmental Science, Geography)

Health and Social Care (for example: Childcare, Health and Social Care studies, Biology etc.)

Languages,

Law,

Maths and Statistics (for example: Maths, Statistics, Economics)

Science (for example: Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Psychology)

Social Science (for example: Philosophy, Sociology, Environmental science)

Just from these basic examples you can see that many subjects span more than one category. Therefore if you want to study for a specific course entry – for example medicine – then you need to visit UCAS site or the website of the university of your choice to see what the combinations of A levels are that you need. For example it might not be the three core science subjects such as Biology, Physics and Chemistry but it may be Biology, Chemistry and an optional subject from a range of choices such as Psychology or Maths. You can then make your course selection with Oxford College in the certain knowledge that you have the correct subjects.

If you are not choosing A levels in order to gain entry to a higher education course but for a career choice or work based skills programme you will again need to check with the organisation or work provider as to which combination is most suitable. Another route is to check with the Skills Sector Council which has the industry standards for most job roles and associated roles
http://www.sscalliance.org/.

Have a look at our list of A Levels and Fast Track A Levels and speak to an advisor if you have any questions at all.