• Question: what did you take at a level?

    Asked by Alice C to Fran, Peppe, Greg, Petros, Rumman on 4 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Petros Papapanagiotou

      Petros Papapanagiotou answered on 4 Nov 2017:

      I went to school in Greece where the system is very different and you don’t have that many options for courses. Back when I studied we had 8 compulsory courses. You also had to choose one of 3 “paths” depending on what you want to study, each with 4 courses you had to take which I guess are the equivalent of A-Levels in the UK.

      The 4 courses in my path were Adv. Maths, Adv. Physics, Adv. Chemistry, and Greek Language.

    • Photo: Greg Chance

      Greg Chance answered on 5 Nov 2017:

      Physics, Chemistry, Maths and A/S Level Graphics

    • Photo: Fran Zuch

      Fran Zuch answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      Like Petros, I did not do A Levels here but in Germany. The system is also slightly different: we have to choose 4 subjects where we take exams, but also need to attend other subjects which are counted towards the final grade. The 4 subjects I chose for the exams were: English, Politics, Chemistry and Philosophy. I also had to take German, Maths, Art, History and Sports.

    • Photo: Giuseppe Cotugno

      Giuseppe Cotugno answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      I think you should focus on math and sciences, the type of science depends on the specific engineering you want to pursue (Electronic engineering requires electromagnetism, Civil Engineering requires traditional physics), computer science might help too. Math is used in all types of engineering, for some of those it is vital (mechanical, electronic or civil engineering) for some is “just” very useful (software engineering, or management engineering – “ingegneria gestionale” in Italy – which trains project managers and similar, not sure it exists in UK).

      In Italy you don’t have the concept of “A-Level”, once you join a school the curriculum is fixed (you can only join extra optional activities in the afternoon) and, since the 1960s, you are free to subscribe to any faculty you wish as long as you have a high school degree (this right is even acknowledged by the Italian constitution). In practice, Italian universities select students based on their final high school mark or a one day test when you gamble your future career (you will have to wait for a year for a new test but Italian employers push students to graduate young). That said, my studies were absolutely not focused on engineering as my type of school (Liceo Classico) teaches little math. Students from Liceo Classico often gets into medicine, science, law or carry on with humanistic studies (Greek, Latin, Italian and foreign literature, philosophy etc.). It is possible to became an engineer starting with little knowledge of math (me and at least one former fellow student from my same school managed) but you will need to add extra work to compensate.

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