[brittanna]

(Original post by britchick)
I wish I knew how maths-y Physics is. Might sound silly but nobody told me just how maths-orientated it is, so I took it without taking A-level Maths. Worst mistake of my life!

Edexcel physics has nowhere near enough maths in it for my liking.

[Futurism]

Nail AS levels. You'll get better predicted grades by your sixth form which will help in getting uni offers, less if any January resits, and a lot less pressure for A2s when you have some UMS marks in the bag.

(Original post by brittanna)
Edexcel physics has nowhere near enough maths in it for my liking.

I agree. They have too many abstract wordy questions in all of them.

[hrbrox]

This is going to sound odd but make an effort to like your teachers and try not to be ill. If you don't like your teachers no matter how hard you try you will zone out in their lessons and you can't afford to do that. Also from personal experience this year, if you miss days it will be hard to catch up. This year I was off twice with food poisoning and a bad stomach bug. I missed almost a week each time and it was so difficult to catch up and actually understand what I'd missed in physics and maths.
On a revision note, past papers may seem like your worst enemy but they are your best friend. Do as many as possible and mark them yourself. Pay attention to what the mark schemes say. They'll tell you the key terms you need to use and what not to say. There are bits where it says NOT ... ie no marks for writing this. Another good idea before you start revising is to print out the specification and go through it ticking off what you think you can do then you know what topics you need to start with and what you might need to check with your teacher.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[moorbre]

(Original post by Damask-)
Just done C1-3, M1, S1 and D1. C4 on thursday, then I'll be able to sleep properly for the first time in weeks.

I also have c4 thursday... I did a pretty normal maths A level, that's enough for me :L C1-C4 m1 and s1

[C_G]

That teachers actually know what they are doing :O

[88888]

(Original post by kittyb99)
Actually doing extra reading around the subjects you study would have been a brilliant idea... Oh, and that journal article reading is a great way to prepare for university. Reading around certainly makes a personal statement stronger though

Thats actually a very good point..Thank you for ur advice, I just wonder as other people may do as well, where can we read those ' jounal article reading' ?

[Didierr]

Whats wrong with OCR? Im getting scared now...
teachers said were doing it next year in biology
Are the questions super hard or something??

[pleasedtobeatyou]

GCSEs count for nothing at A level because it's just a whole new world out there

Make sure you spend at least a few frees doing some work. It's difficult to set yourself into some sort of routine for this at the start because you're just not used to that weekday freedom :P

[Damask-]

(Original post by moorbre)
I also have c4 thursday... I did a pretty normal maths A level, that's enough for me :L C1-C4 m1 and s1

Good luck, heh Not looking forward to next year tbh, FP1-3, S2 and M2..

[moorbre]

(Original post by Damask-)
Good luck, heh Not looking forward to next year tbh, FP1-3, S2 and M2..

I tried further maths for 2 weeks before i changed to chemistry in my first year....good luck next year, I shall be at uni

[Astronomical]

(Original post by britchick)
I wish I knew how maths-y Physics is. Might sound silly but nobody told me just how maths-orientated it is, so I took it without taking A-level Maths. Worst mistake of my life!

You got to be kidding? Physics A-level is virtually maths free... no calculus at all!

I wish I knew how incompetent my teachers would be, and that AQA chemistry is actually just a memory game with some chemistry jargon thrown in for the fun of it.

[cl_steele]

Not to treat A-Levels like GCSE's and not to try and cram at the last minute without doing any prior work

[Astronomical]

(Original post by C_G)
That teachers actually know what they are doing :O

I'm calling BS on that one.

Don't trust teachers; your textbooks shall be your new best friends.

[DjamesH94]

Just use your study time productively, and don't waste free lessons if you have them. Also, do a little bit of work on a subject each night from the start of the year. It may seem like exams are a long time away but trust me, if you do this, it will be worth it

[Larry31]

(Original post by Didierr)
Whats wrong with OCR? Im getting scared now...
teachers said were doing it next year in biology
Are the questions super hard or something??

You have no idea. They lure you in with a relatively interesting specification (exception is everything to do with ecology) and then they screw you over in the exam. Seriously, the June paper will likely be 95% ecology and 5% everything else, and the questions are so vague that you feel like slamming your head repeatedly onto your exam desk. Oh, and you will very quickly learn to hate the question word 'Suggest' :O They are the absolute worst!

[Frankster]

From this thread I have got that with Maths, FM, Chemistry and Physics, I am going to have a helluva time, but I guess I am safer than the ones who took Biology... shall I start some modules self teaching myself during the summer holidays? Is there anything else I should do in these summer holidays with regards to my A levels - I have already got 2 work experiences sorted out.. ?

[Cath-ay]

(Original post by Procrastination)
I am currently coming towards the end of year 11, which seems to have flown by, and thus sixth form is rapidly approaching.

I have no idea what I am about to face, and therefore I would love people to share their mistakes, secrets to success and general tips and information that a year 11 may not know about sixth form.

Thank you

ps. good luck with exams, results , university places or whatever is to come.

Nice thread Wish I had someone to warn me of what A-levels would be like!
Here's a list of what I'd advise in general:

Spoiler:

Show

- Make sure you understand everything you learn during lessons before you leave the classroom. Even if this means pestering your teacher with questions. I found that this helped me a lot when it came to revision because I'd already have a pretty strong foundation of each topic and mainly needed to remember little details.

-Plan your revision a few months before exams starts, ideally write your notes during lessons or later on that day. This gives you more time coming up to the exam period.

-Past papers. They are, what I would say, the most important part of revision. Try to do each of them more than once and see how much you improve. If you run out of papers for the current specification, search for old spec/legacy papers, even try papers from other exam boards which are similar. The more practice you get, the more familiar you'll become with the papers. Don't become too complacent though, you never know what will happen in the exam, always be on your toes.

-Whilst doing past papers, you should also be paying close attention to how marks are given in the mark schemes. As much as it's vital to know the content, it may not help you enough if your answer doesn't match the mark scheme because they require you to be a lot more specific than GCSEs.

-Read some of the spec and examiner reports. They can only test you on what is written in the spec and examiner reports provides info on the common mistakes made for each paper, best to try and avoid them yourself.

-If your subject has a coursework unit, look at the reports for these too. It might be worth looking at examples of your subject's coursework too if you're stuck! Ofc you know not to plagiarise
In some cases, these things are easier said than done. But you must remember that if you do these efficiently and to a high enough standard, it'll be worth it in the end Aim high and always do your best!

[C_G]

(Original post by Astronomical)
I'm calling BS on that one.

Don't trust teachers; your textbooks shall be your new best friends.

If that is the case then your teachers must be terrible. The textbooks we have are shocking for 2/3 lessons that I use them. The other is mediocre at best.

[watermelonwishes]

Do the work in the lesson, then make notes on the notes after, then do homework. It makes revision sooooo much easier! I did it for one subject (we had homework set weekly) and I knew so so so much more for that when revision came round. Also, start revising early. Don't put it off, and don't get into the swing of procrastinating I'm so bad, I have an exam in two days, really need to be revising, yet I've done barely any today!

[Larry31]

(Original post by Frankster)
From this thread I have got that with Maths, FM, Chemistry and Physics, I am going to have a helluva time, but I guess I am safer than the ones who took Biology... shall I start some modules self teaching myself during the summer holidays? Is there anything else I should do in these summer holidays with regards to my A levels - I have already got 2 work experiences sorted out.. ?

You could self teach, but this is a summer holiday you should spend enjoying yourself, not studying. Year 12 summer will be personal statement and application stuff. Just enjoy the summer!