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Should I study my A Level courses now?

So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


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Reply 1
Avatar for jamestg
jamestg
21
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile


I didn't do anything
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile


I didn't do anything, but probably depends how easy you found gcses, like if you were scraping Cs then you're gonna have to put in a lot of working to get decent A level grades but if you were cruising with A/A*s then you could probably give yourself a break
Reply 3
Avatar for Arima
Arima
16
didnt do nuthin except for the "bridging" assignments set by my sixth form
they were basically brief essays on like the first chapter of the first module of the first unit of AS
but in retrospect i'd advise researching a bit on the topics you expect to be studying, a few short docs/vids like crash course or whatever. just to get into that "study" mode since it's hard to get down and work after 2 months of doing jack
Reply 4
Avatar for B_9710
B_9710
18
It's really up to you. If you got nothing to do then why not? I wouldn't sacrifice anything to do it though.
Reply 5
Avatar for tailred
tailred
11
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile


I did not do anything. I would suggest just picking up an A level book on what you are going to be studying and just read through it. Just a bit of light studying so you know what you are in store for.
I finished my GCSEs this year, and currently revising for next years maths & FM. I've pretty much finished C1, completed all the edexcel past papers, and I am halfway through the IYGB papers!
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 7
Avatar for ruexs1
ruexs1
2
I'm going to do a bit of reading around the subjects i'm studying next year. I find it really helps to have at least a basic understanding of the topics ahead of you, as you can relax in lessons and let it just kinda sink in. It also means you'll be aware of any really tricky stuff before it comes up, so you can make sure you ask the right questions etc. Also, I didn't study Geography at GCSE but have chosen it for a-level. So I plan on doing quite a bit of catch up for that... (plan ahhaha)

Have a lovely summer though and do give yourself a break!
:beer:
Just enjoy your summer you just finished 5 years of school and exams. Why would want to stress yourself out even more, by studying your a levels in the summer?

Relax go on holidays, get a job, have fun you know. I didn't study any of my a levels during the summer. Still did pretty well for my a levels.

Honestly depends on how good of student you are tbf. If you wanna do it you could revise for them in the last week of your holidays. So relax and have fun.
Reply 9
Avatar for JoshC98
JoshC98
15
I didn't do anything. I'm sure it would help to do some work over the summer, but it's hardly a requirement for doing well. I'd advise you to take a break, enjoy your summer!
Reply 10
Avatar for ozmo19
ozmo19
16
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile


No. Don't study hard, it's not necessary. By all means, do some work if its the kind of subject you can self-teach like Maths or something. I learned about 1/3 of C1 over the summer before starting AS. It was a benefit because I knew how to do everything in class for the first month or two. But i didn't cover much of the whole course. There's no definite answer. In the long-run there won't be too much benefit because you'll cover the same stuff in time. And it doesn't really cut your work-load when you start a-levels.

My advice: If you're doing maths, learn some of C1/C2 if you want to do something, but it isn't necessary. For any other subject, don't bother. Just have fun and enjoy your summer
No just enjoy your summer :smile:)


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Reply 12
Avatar for Nurne
Nurne
2
Our teachers gave us work booklets (150 marks) for each of our A-level subjects to bridge the gap over the summer, during our sixth form induction. They said that they would be marked on our return. I'll probably do them a week or so before the start of school. Until then I'll just relax.
Original post by 34908seikj
I finished my GCSEs this year, and currently revising for next years maths & FM. I've pretty much finished C1, completed all the edexcel past papers, and I am halfway through the IYGB papers!


1) why? There's no need. Especially not for C1 is hardly a step up from GCSE? Sit back and enjoy your summer!!

OP don't bother. You really don't have to do anything just yet. In fact I personally didn't revise until March, couple months before exams. Just have a rest and come back in September with a fresh mind ready to start your A levels :smile:
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile


No, no, no, just enjoy your summer off.
You've been working hard for a while, right?
Now relax your brain for a bit!
You'll ease into it fine, when the year starts, and I can say from experience, that almost no one studies in the summer.
Original post by rxns_00
1) why? There's no need. Especially not for C1 is hardly a step up from GCSE? Sit back and enjoy your summer!!

OP don't bother. You really don't have to do anything just yet. In fact I personally didn't revise until March, couple months before exams. Just have a rest and come back in September with a fresh mind ready to start your A levels :smile:


Oh I agree, nobody has to do it.


Truth be told, I like maths :frown:

And I want to cover as much course content as possible, before starting in September.
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile

You don't know if you got the grades yet, so how will you revise?
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile

Just finished yr 13 and I didn't do any work for my A levels in the summer after my GCSEs. In fact, I don't know anyone outside of TSR that did. It didn't hurt me and I think you need the break.

Besides, you may change your mind on what subjects you want to take forward to A-level. I ended up changing 3 of my original 4 choices and many of my friends ended up studying different subjects too.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 18
Avatar for Andy98
Andy98
20
Original post by pascalscasino
So I, like many of you, have just finished my GCSEs. I've seen quite a few posts on here debating whether or not to relax this summer or study hard to bridge the gap between GCSEs and A Levels. I would quite like a definitive answer on this. Current A Level students, what did you do? Year 11s, what are you doing?


Posted from TSR Mobile


I did nothing, then found it really hard.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Take the first few weeks off, definitely.

After that, it's really up to you. I did the bridging assignments set by my school (over 10 hours worth of stuff eugh), which ranged from useful (definitions for economics, timelines for history) to useless (making picture books, again for history). After all of that, I had a basic knowledge of what my course would contain, so for the rest of the summer I just learnt about 5 words/day for the 2 language A levels I'm doing - with languages, taking a summer off would be pretty devastating. I imagine the same might be said, to a lesser extent, for things like maths where everything builds on each other. But for humanities subjects, where you essentially start afresh in Year 12, giving yourself a break has no real negative impact and can be positive for your brain.

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