Will I find A levels difficult?

hi! I've just done my GCSEs and get 2A*s, 8As and 1B. Tomorrow, I start my A levels. I'm doing; english, history, spanish and politics. I have a few questions:
1) how much of a step up are A levels compared to GCSE? Is it really a lot harder? How much is the work load? manageable?
2) is this a good combination?
3) with this combo, will there not be too much reading and writing?
thanks, I hope you'll help :smile:

Reply 1

xoxAngel_Kxox

It isn't much harder with regards to the actual material- but the work load is a lot higher. You would have a couple of essays per subject per week (in our case anyway), plus extra research, and coursework.

I spent 3 hours per subject per week (ish) on work, just to give you an idea.

& I did nothing at GCSE haha so I can't really comment on that work load.

Reply 2

thelolmaster

Gemma :)!

Im doing that much a day and College hasnt even started :eek3:

Reply 3

JosieMcfeene

From my experience doing english and history together led to a coursework meltdown in A2. Plus an A grade at GCSE is seen as a grade C at a level. Work hard & you'll be fine :smile:

Reply 4

SatanIsAwesome

You can't just say your GCSE results without telling us the actual subjects....
How are we supposed to know whether you will be good at english at A level, for all we know you could of got a B in english.

Reply 5

KimberleyJane

As long as you work hard, you'll be fine! Get tips on how to answer questions in exams, I found that helped me!
Good luck! :yep:

Reply 6

MadameBonheur

sarasiddiqui

Just my opinion:

1. I found it to be quite a big step up (especially with languages), but your teachers should explain everything to you. My work load was significantly bigger than GCSE, but I tend to go above what we're set as homework (nerd!). If you manage your time effectively then your work load will be fine.

2. Do you enjoy those subjects? If so, then yes, it's a good combination. :smile:

3. Are you English Lit or English Lang? I did Lang and there wasn't really much reading at all. Obviously with Lit there'll be quite a lot, that's the nature of the course.
I'd say you'll have quite a lot of reading to do (History and French are quite reading-heavy subjects. Can't comment on Politics, I'm afraid.) and essays too; but as I've said, time management is key.

Good luck! Enjoy studying subjects you want to study, and make sure you take time to relax too! :biggrin:

Reply 7

Its A Catch 22

Quite frankly, as far as I can tell it all depends on how you learn.
GCSE's and the environment that they were taught in didn't suit me at all. I got 2 A's and the rest were B's, C's and D's.
I have just received AAAB in my AS levels. I also did a History AS and A2 in 1 year and got an A* in that. The fact that the lessons were predominately lectures really benefited me and I found it far easier to retain the information.
With regards to the work load I did about 2-3 hours side reading per week (not including homework). It really isn't as difficult as people make out.
If you learn by doing lots of extra work to remember things then you'll find it difficult to keep up. If you're like me and can remember things that people tell you then you'll be able to just stop attending college around April because you'll already know everything.

Reply 8

NickB91

sarasiddiqui

It's a learning curve, but you will get used to it after a while. It's not a smooth transition by any means, but putting in the work will make it easier.

This video might help:

Reply 9

Iepnauy

I've had 3 history lessons since I just started. Our school splits up the course between two teachers. And I've already been set to read a lot! It's very much a heavy-reading course, so unless you like reading I wouldn't take the subject. It's not just the course textbooks you need to read but also reading around the subject. There's a lot of background reading that you need to know (apparently).

That's my opinion after 3 days in 6th form :/.

Reply 10

sarasiddiqui

thanks so much guys, lots of help! i'll see how it goes...

Reply 11

bambii

sarasiddiqui

Well done on your GCSEs! There is a step up from A levels, how big it feels will vary depending on you. The workload is, obviously, greater than at GCSE, but be organised with when you work and it's very manageable.
Your combination of subjects is strong, and they go well together, so you may find that one subject helps with another. There will be a fair amount of reading and writing involved, but I think this is to be expected with those subjects.
I do English (lit) and a language (French), so if you have any specific questions about them, feel free to PM me and I'll try and help.
Good luck for next year and enjoy being at college!

Reply 12

lattywatty

1) Quite a big step up. First term I found was pretty awful since it hit quite hard, but after you get used to it and manage to deal with it.
2) Seems like a very good combination for a lot of arts degrees :smile:

3) Nah it'll be fine. English Lit has most reading but it'll be alright.

Reply 13

Ramses II

Not a massive jump really. Though it does make your GCSEs seem easy in hindsight. You can't really wing A Levels like you can wing GCSEs [by wing I mean get good grades without revision.] If you read ahead a bit it makes the lessons less stressful.

Reply 14

TimmonaPortella

i didn't do much work at AS until close to the exams.
anyone who says the step up is anything more than proportional to the change in amount of subjects is talking crap.

the combination appears strong, and will leave you open a lot of options, though i can say nothing subject specific as i didnt take any of them