What is Biology A-Level like?

I have chosen to do Biology A-Level because I really enjoy Biology at GCSE and I don't find it too hard. However, some people have been saying how hard it is and how much work it will be.

Anyone who is doing/has done Biology A-Level who could tell me a bit about it?
Thanks x

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Reply 1

toast.

what board do your school do for biology?

Reply 2

KatieB

twenty first century science

Reply 3

LifeIsGood

With the exception of what board it is, it's a lot of work. The best advice to survive Biology is to start from the beginning and do not lose track as it will mess you up, also if you have a really strong passion for it, it'll help you millions so just make sure you're really committed to the course and you'll do brilliantly.

Tips if you do take it:
*Print off the specification
*Go through each point, make notes and memorise
*past papers

I don't think you can go wrong :smile:

no, OCR

Original post by KatieB

twenty first century science

For A Levels, not GCSE

Reply 6

KatieB

thankyou LifeIsGood :smile:

Reply 7

KatieB

our a-level board is OCR

Reply 8

I'mBadAtMaths

OCR biology is an absolute monster at A2. AS is easy in comparison

Reply 9

LifeIsGood

Original post by KatieB

our a-level board is OCR

No problem :smile:

I do AQA, but I advise you to look through a textbook and see if you're prepared to do it, cuz I'm being honest - a lot of people drop out after a few weeks cuz it takes a lot of dedication, the content isn't necessarily hard at AS but if you have a general interest and are determined to do well, you'll be absolutely fine :smile:

Hope that helps

What other subjects you planning to take?

Reply 10

KatieB

Original post by LifeIsGood

No problem :smile:

Hope that helps

What other subjects you planning to take?

Thanks

i'm also doing chemistry, geography and english lit.

Reply 11

No Future

Original post by KatieB

Some bits are interesting, some are very boring.

Pales in comparison to chemistry A Level

Reply 12

toast.

I can't tell you what OCR is like, but I found biology to be the easiest of all my subjects (I did maths, French and history). I think it's important though to make notes on each section of the textbook as you go along and make sure you understand everything the first time, especially in A2 where some of the concepts are quite hard to understand. I thought the AS course was fairly easy to understand though and not too much of a jump from GCSE, although there was a lot of content to learn.

Reply 13

KayK

Original post by LifeIsGood

No problem :smile:

Hope that helps

What other subjects you planning to take?

Though this is irrelevant lol: What about Chemistry? A lot of people find it hard, what's so hard about it?

Reply 14

G550NDH

Its like being on a mission KatieB :wink:

Reply 15

Hanz_a93

Original post by KatieB

Its just a lot of memorising/understanding. Im doing edexcel atm and half the exam paper is basically on interpreting graphs and stating the obvious you could easily get a D/C with limited knowledge but good interpreting skills.

Reply 16

KatieB

Original post by G550NDH

Its like being on a mission KatieB :wink:

haha thanks! :wink:

Reply 17

LifeIsGood

Original post by KayK

Though this is irrelevant lol: What about Chemistry? A lot of people find it hard, what's so hard about it?

I'm on OCR A board for Chemistry, unit 1 is straightforward, Unit 2 is harder with the organic concepts - the mechanisms and stuff can be a pain to learn. I dunno about A2 yet, but I heard OCR go ridiculously hard with the exams and it's such a jump but I've yet to experience that. All in all, if you put the effort from the beginning - you can't go wrong. Luckily, the OCR specifications are really specific so half the answers are actually in the Spec. and they repeat a lot of the questions which works in our favour. That's all there is to it. At the end of the day, if you're passionate and willing to put the work in, you'll get a good result. Hope that helps :smile:

Reply 18

tarazzle

Erm, I sort of dropped out of it after a few lessons and swapped it for Psychology. I too loved Biology at GCSE but didn't like what we had to do for AS, although saying that if you know you'll be dedicated to it (which I wasn't, it was my fourth option because I couldn't pick Philosophy & Ethics) then I'm sure you'll pick it up just fine. :smile:

Reply 19

KayK