In a survey of students on college campus, they were asked to rate their subjects out of ten. These scintillating (and in some cases scathing) rankings have given us the definitive list of the best (and worst) subjects at King Ed’s, according to students.
So… what subjects are the best?
Drama and Theatre Studies is the highest ranked A-level at college, with an average score of 8.5/10, closely followed by Dance A-level, with an average score of 8.35/10. In third place was Classical Civilisations which received 8.3/10, despite being an essay subject, which were often ranked lower. One student noted that this was because of the “low pressure environment created [in the classroom].”
Generally, Arts and Humanities received the highest scores, followed by the Social Sciences. One Humanities student was quoted as saying “Personally, I prefer Humanities because there is a feeling that anyone can be right, and I feel powerful through the fact that any of my answers can be argued.”
Criminology was the highest rated BTEC, receiving an average score of 7.9 and ranking fifth overall, with one student stating, “I love [criminology] and the only big downfall is definitely the really long exams.”
And the worst?
Further Maths was the lowest rated A-level overall, but still received a respectable rating of 6.25/10. Students who spoke about it declared its difficulty as the largest reason why they rated it poorly. Further maths A-level is widely considered the most difficult A-level, with the typical A* grade boundary being less than 40%.
The second lowest rated A-level was Psychology, which is also one of the most popular at college, and, again, its difficulty was cited as the main reason for it receiving the relatively low score of 6.3/10. Students generally talk of the issues with beginning the subject with no prior knowledge as a key factor in its low rating, although many do still note how interesting they find it, hence it not receiving a lower score.
Finance was the third lowest rated A-level, receiving 6.35/10 overall, although students did quote its usefulness in future career plans, even if they were not fully sold on the actual content.
Applied science was the lowest rated BTEC, receiving an average score of 6.8/10, and granting it the overall place of 16th.
Generally, STEM subjects were rated the lowest, explainable in the fact that they are typically considered the hardest, with one student saying, “for me, stem subjects are very time consuming and difficult.”
Overall, it is important to remember that most people’s A-level experience is shaped by the teachers they have and how passionate they are about the subject.