The obvious question is what A-levels are you studying and if programming is your passion, why does it sound like none of your A-levels are geared towards it? Surely in this day and age there must be some decent computer/programming A-levels? Clearly some courses such as Maths and Physics will be beneficial, so I would expect you'd be doing at least Maths A level too?

However even if none of your A levels are geared towards programming I still don't see why you have to drop it. Plenty of spare time to keep development of your programming skills up.

As to what is more relevant it depends as to what field of programming employment you want to get into. For the more creative side (games etc) I still believe that you can get much further pushing yourself, creating demo's , showing off your abilities, than any current education can do. However for more commercial side (say banking) then I would guess grades and qualifications are more important.

One thing though, whilst this is an important time in your life and getting good grades can open opportunists further down the line, don't feel that your life is dependant upon what you do now. You can always go back to education, or gain certifications later in life. Indeed myself and many people I know didn't really have a clue at 18 yrs what they wanted to do or indeed where they'd end up. So self-education, further education and putting yourself through certifications is common place later in life. As long as you have drive you'll be fine.

I will state though I have personally be massively disappointed in terms of the education I was provided. Granted at the time programming and computing wasn't see as valid or important as it is nowadays, but even so, O-levels and A-levels seemed geared to learning to pass the exams, whilst University was better, I still feel much if not all of the benefits I got from it was due to putting in the extra work to learn stuff on my own. I'd say in terms of my skills, knowledge and experience in programming, that has all be self- taught and hugely benefited from the internet. It has done me well, though that is partly also due to the 'work ethic' and drive I have, which I think also goes to show that its not simply about grades.

My personal experience and impression is that academic record will trump spare time hobby programming knowledge. Part of the idea is that someone with a good record can be taught to program, plus the grades are a better guarantee and objective test.

That's before we consider that good A Levels give you a better chance if you want to ever work in other areas.

Spare time programming knowledge is always helpful to put you above the others, all other things being equal, but I wouldn't let it sacrifice academic results.

What do you plan to study at university? If you're dead set on programming, I assume something computer related, in which case, you'd be learning that there anyway. Unless you're talking about what looks good to a university, in which case, you need A Levels.

I'm planning to do a computer science degree at university. Yes, I definitely need A levels in any case and I'm not going to sacrifice my results, however many people say I should have plenty of spare time for programming, but I don't get the point where learning or practising for my A levels finish and my spare time for programming starts, since the more I work on A levels, the better my grade will be and I can't be sure that working 2 hours a day at A levels will guarantee me the best grade

The obvious question is what A-levels are you studying and if programming is your passion, why does it sound like none of your A-levels are geared towards it? Surely in this day and age there must be some decent computer/programming A-levels? Clearly some courses such as Maths and Physics will be beneficial, so I would expect you'd be doing at least Maths A level too?

However even if none of your A levels are geared towards programming I still don't see why you have to drop it. Plenty of spare time to keep development of your programming skills up.

As to what is more relevant it depends as to what field of programming employment you want to get into. For the more creative side (games etc) I still believe that you can get much further pushing yourself, creating demo's , showing off your abilities, than any current education can do. However for more commercial side (say banking) then I would guess grades and qualifications are more important.

One thing though, whilst this is an important time in your life and getting good grades can open opportunists further down the line, don't feel that your life is dependant upon what you do now. You can always go back to education, or gain certifications later in life. Indeed myself and many people I know didn't really have a clue at 18 yrs what they wanted to do or indeed where they'd end up. So self-education, further education and putting yourself through certifications is common place later in life. As long as you have drive you'll be fine.

I will state though I have personally be massively disappointed in terms of the education I was provided. Granted at the time programming and computing wasn't see as valid or important as it is nowadays, but even so, O-levels and A-levels seemed geared to learning to pass the exams, whilst University was better, I still feel much if not all of the benefits I got from it was due to putting in the extra work to learn stuff on my own. I'd say in terms of my skills, knowledge and experience in programming, that has all be self- taught and hugely benefited from the internet. It has done me well, though that is partly also due to the 'work ethic' and drive I have, which I think also goes to show that its not simply about grades.

I'm doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computing. Computing is the only subject that should be targeted towards programming, however I already know all the programming taught on the course and it's just the theory that I need to memorise... And again, when does the work towards a better grade at A levels finish and my spare time starts? (I've mentioned it in the above reply) Yes, programming on my own is the only way to learn programming or show my skills/work/passion that is why I'm thinking whether I should keep programming. And I agree that I can get certifications later in the life, but I want to create the best situation for me to get into programming at this stage, since I already certain what I want to do.

It's not only about grades, that is for sure, but there are two ways to go: either with the system, or against it. Where with the system, means going to the best university and getting the best grades that would put me at the top of the list at a job interview, wouldn't it?

And against the system would be putting my programming work to a personal statement that I will have to send to the universities I will apply to, however that will mean nothing if I will get a bad grade in my A levels...

So the safe and the best way would be getting the best grades from my A levels as possible as many people have said before, but it's really disappointing being stuck for 2 years perfecting some letters on a sheet of paper, when I could be improving at programming, but if the grades are really important, then I can definitely put that effort and wait that time, but I have no idea which way is right

I'm doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computing. Computing is the only subject that should be targeted towards programming, however I already know all the programming taught on the course and it's just the theory that I need to memorise... And again, when does the work towards a better grade at A levels finish and my spare time starts? (I've mentioned it in the above reply) Yes, programming on my own is the only way to learn programming or show my skills/work/passion that is why I'm thinking whether I should keep programming. And I agree that I can get certifications later in the life, but I want to create the best situation for me to get into programming at this stage, since I already certain what I want to do.

Why don't you tell the teacher for your computer course that you know a bunch of stuff and ask if there's anything above and beyond what's required you could do. It shouldn't be as complicated as you are making it.

So the safe and the best way would be getting the best grades from my A levels as possible as many people have said before, but it's really disappointing being stuck for 2 years perfecting some letters on a sheet of paper, when I could be improving at programming, but if the grades are really important, then I can definitely put that effort and wait that time, but I have no idea which way is right

Well to be honest its difficult to say, only because the route I went was pretty much the complete opposite of this, though it was 15 years ago and even then I had been employed in other fields for many years. It is from my experience that ones own ambition and drive is what will get you the 'good' jobs in life, not your grades and that further more it doesn't matter too much when you do it, 16 yrs, 18 yrs, 25 yrs etc, opportunities are never closed down assuming you can find the time to invest and learn.

However my experience is in the creative side of programming, multi-media, games etc. So apart from the fact that my own experience may not tie into todays requirements, it would definitely not tie into someone who wanted to get a more 'programming science' type of job (e.g something in banking where I would expect grades are the first thing looked at). I still suspect though in the 'creative' side of the industry an impressive portfolio and these days a strong internet presence showig off your skills will get you noticed far more than grades ever would.

It's not only about grades, that is for sure, but there are two ways to go: either with the system, or against it. Where with the system, means going to the best university and getting the best grades that would put me at the top of the list at a job interview, wouldn't it?

These days I suspect not as so many other people have the same grades. Which is where 'way2lazy2care' advice about asking your computer course teacher for going beyond the course is very good advice.

From my own experience I'd have to disagree too. I did Maths, Physics and Art A -levels, pretty much failed all three. Eventually went to Uni to do graphics and business, got 2:1 (I think was damn close to a first) but I felt it was quite an easy course, spent most of the last year skipping the courses and teaching myself programming & multi-media. Did some basic promotion, sending in a cgi video short I did for the course to 'Creative Review' magazine, to be featured on their first CD-Rom issue. Went to London got first job I walked into on the basis of that video and my own programming demo's and never looked back.

Again this is not to say its the best way to go about it, maybe i've just been very lucky and I know i've been very fortunate. I just wanted to illustrate that there are alternatives.

Ultimately you have to make the choice and yes it is difficult, but as I've pointed out its not the end of the world if you get it wrong now, you have still have decades to sort out what you want to do in life. My own issue with what you are saying is that if programming is as important to you as you say, if you have a burning desire that this is what you want to do, then I wouldn't necessarily think that getting all round good grades and dropping the fun, spare-time programming that you do now is the best thing.

I guess more succinctly my advise is follow your heart not your head ;)

That is not to say don't do A-levels, they are important, just you might be able to balance out formal education with personal education better than you think. Also use these two years as an opportunity to make contacts within the field you want to work, as well as networking with fellow students. Start self-promoting your skills, set up a youTube channel, create a business with other like minded students etc. You may think you don't have time for all this, but believe me, time is something that you'll find you have less and less of as the years go by. However ultimately it all depends on what your overall aim is. If its just to enter the corporate side of programming the, these things aren't as important as getting those tick box grades and University degrees. If you want to get into the creative side, perhaps set up your own business, discover new algorithms and present them at conferences etc, then these things are probably more important. - At least that's my 'opinion'.

Regardless of what you decide, just remember to try and have fun ;)