Qualifications

[AlternativeNavs]

I cant help but feel that some advice given in this thread is subjective, non productive, and in some cases, not particularly helpful.

Check out the entry requirements for the sponsorship schemes individual companies have. If it says 3 A levels, but does not say which ones, then use a bit of logical thought to work out which ones may help and further promote your application. Most will detail the A levels they are looking for, some ask for science based or ones with a mathematical module or two. I have to say that I didn't have a A level in maths or chemistry when I applied. I did, however, have one in Geology and guess what..... I qualified! So don't be dissuaded by some who spout off with ill informed information. Pick ones that you enjoy, will do well out of and have a future... the maths, english and science ones will always be sought after and will keep your options open.

Don't be so quick to dismiss A levels. If you have the time, capability and drive to do well at them then I would concentrate on getting some good passes under your belt. A levels not only allow you entry to higher level educational courses, thus keeping your options open, but are sought after by employers both at sea and ashore further down the line in the way of UCAS points.

As for the HND vs FD argument. I find it pretty amusing that those who have A levels sell themselves short by doing a HND as it is, to some... 'a easy option'. To say that the ones who do the FD have it harder because they have to study for themselves and spend lots of time in the library is in no ways a negative, in fact, it is very much a positive.

[chris]

@squareleg28: 4 tough A Levels, sounds like a lot of work. Why no throw a Further Maths A Level into the hypothetical mix for even more fun.

[Squareleg28]

Looks a good course, they've cut out the difficult nuclear bit I had to do in the old days (Pre 2000). The mechanics will certainly be useful in the deck department and the thermal stuff is good if you decide to become an engineer or just for general knowledge.

Thought the nuclear was the most interesting part of the A-level physics course! Personally I found the methods taught for the mechanics in physics clashed with the methods taught in the mechanics component of A-level maths to a degree.

If I had my time again I would do four A-levels - Maths and the three sciences - this means you can apply for any scientific or technical degree, from medicine to engineering or a more "pure" science course.

[chris]

Looks a good course, they've cut out the difficult nuclear bit I had to do in the old days (Pre 2000). The mechanics will certainly be useful in the deck department and the thermal stuff is good if you decide to become an engineer or just for general knowledge.

[jteed]

I'm just looking at the Edexcel physics course that my school offers:
AS
Unit 1 - Study of mechanics
Unit 2 - Study of waves
A2
Unit 4 - Study of further mechanics
Unit 5 - Study of thermal energy

Probably best to opt for full A level and go for the A2

[HarmlessWeasel]

FD Maths syllabus for Phase 1 (this is from memory & related to Fleetwood) is some but not all algebra from Higher Tier GCSE, Trigonometry and all things shape related and then Spherical Trig and a few other bits that are straight forward. I never did A level maths but did do the higher tier GCSE so other than spherical trig had done it all before.

OK sounds grand. Only spherical trig I've ever done is the haversine rule, but I've forgotten it since. Looking forward to learning it again

[Fox]

FD Maths syllabus for Phase 1 (this is from memory & related to Fleetwood) is some but not all algebra from Higher Tier GCSE, Trigonometry and all things shape related and then Spherical Trig and a few other bits that are straight forward. I never did A level maths but did do the higher tier GCSE so other than spherical trig had done it all before.

[chris]

It would be handy to know the maths syllabus for the fd deck course - Any former / current fd deck cadets out there?

[HarmlessWeasel]

I only over did one mechanics module, in my second year. For some reason my maths teacher preferred statistics, grrrr.

In M1 we covered friction, pulleys, acceleration and linear collisions, as well as resolving forces at angles (sideways component of gravity pulling an object down a slop etc). Is there anything I'll be lacking for the FD course? I'm confident I can learn it, as I found mechanics very intuitive, just wondering if I should be teaching myself or revising a bit over summer.

[Hatchorder]

Thought that was the case Chris, thank you for confirming it. I knew he did the mechanics side of Physics in the first year but the mechanics side of Maths was in the second year.

[chris]

I better read the 2000 style A Level maths syllabus and get back to the forum. My old style A Level Physics covered mechanics first, I cant remember the order for the Maths but there was a lot of pure maths and proofs to remember.

Update

AS Level with AQA
2 compulsory core maths (Pure core 1, Pure core 2) and a unit from either statistics, mechanics or decision maths.

Full A Level with AQA
4 compulsory core maths (Pure core 1 to 4) and 2 units from either statistics, mechanics or decision maths.

So you would need to do the full A Level to cover both mechanics modules.

So I would recommend the full Maths A Level but maybe just the AS in Physics if you can do the mechanics module in the 1st year.

[Hatchorder]

But I have a feeling that my son only did Mechanics in the second year of his A level?

Ian

[chris]

You might want to consider the maths and physics content of the foundation degree in the deck department and compare it to the A-Level syllabus for each subject. I'm of the opinion that you could study all you the maths and kinematics you need in the 1st year of each A-Level which is now taken as an AS Level and only go on to study your humanities to A2 level. It would depend on how the course is delivered though.

Here's a summary of the syllabus for the 2013 Physics A Level.

I General Physics
II Newtonian mechanics - 3. Kinematics, 4. Dynamics, 5. Forces, 6. Work, energy, power, 7. Motion in a circle, 8. Gravitational field
III Matter
IV Oscillations and waves
V Electricity and magnetism
VI Modern Physics
VII Gathering and communicating
information

I've provided a bit more detail on Newtonian mechanics because that's the only part of the course that I would consider to be relevant to deck studies, statics, stability etc.

and only some of the Maths A Level is really relevant, the dynamics which is already covered by the physics, the rest such as statistics is probably useful to know but not that important.

[Lewis]

And HND and FD/PD are both level 5 on the national qualifications framework, so hardly a lower qualification.

Actually the PD is rated on the Scottish credit qualifications framework as level 9 the equivelent to a degree without honours
The HND and FD are level 8 on th same scale and HNC is level 7. The PD dispite not being a "degree" like the FD is a higher level qualification. Although for all practical purposes it's getting the CoC that matters.

[Hatchorder]

I get maths, it's just that my teacher scared me off by saying "you'll get put in classes with people who got A* in their GCSE!" whereas I'm currently working at a grade B and targeting a B or A at the end of the year.....

My son got a B at GCSE and a B at A level - it just depends on whether you love Maths and "get it". If you do then you will pass it easily if you put the work in.

Ian