[Worms]

(Original post by jamboogy)
how can you not like the routine of doing absolutely nothing?

I don't live near any of my friends, or civilisation actually, so my days usually consist of going on TSR and respiring. Not exactly my idea of fun.

[Worms]

(Original post by CosmicVengeance)
Being able to resit my Chemistry coursework Isa AS for ocr in the second year, got As inthe exam and E in cw -./) thats the only thing i daunt thinking Bout


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:/, I've heard that OCR science is a b***h

[CosmicVengeance]

(Original post by Worms)
:/, I've heard that OCR science is a b***h

No way ocr chem is EASY biology is a bit trickier idk about ohysics but it depends on how your college deals with the cw so our biology departmant give us the answers in a vague way thus everyone gets a/b in cw, while in chen they tell us the day before and saw ine sentence in whats it about.... Plus we could only do 2 attempts


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

[Dobrzynski]

I am slightly worried about Biology AQA A-Level, I've heard that it is a bugger to revise for.

[Worms]

(Original post by CosmicVengeance)
No way ocr chem is EASY biology is a bit trickier idk about ohysics but it depends on how your college deals with the cw so our biology departmant give us the answers in a vague way thus everyone gets a/b in cw, while in chen they tell us the day before and saw ine sentence in whats it about.... Plus we could only do 2 attempts


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

Oh. Well I think all my sciences are edexcel. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

[Worms]

(Original post by Dobrzynski)
I am slightly worried about Biology AQA A-Level, I've heard that it is a bugger to revise for.

I hated AQA in general at GCSE. I hope that they pull their act together at A-level for your sake.

[iSoftie]

1. Going around getting girls in my head (my college is filled with fitties lol).

2. Sacking off at the beginning.

3. Not doing homework.

4. Insomnia getting the best of my schoolwork.

I really do like my new college but judging from the people I met in the induction day they all talk and love partying which possibly shows how many people are in for the social reasons and not to do any work :/

[Fool In The Rain]

(Original post by chernid)
This may sound stupid, but why are you doing French for A-Level if you didn't do it for GCSE?

I did the GCSE in year 9. It was part of a 'fast-track' programme. I got a B in it (yes, I know it's not the best).

[dean01234]

(Original post by Worms)
I recently read somewhere that if you write down things you are worried out, you are more likely to overcome them.

Not particularly sure this is true but it's worth a bash.

For example, these are my worries.

1) I am scared that I will procrastinate as much as I did at GCSE

2) I am worried that Physics and Chemistry will be disastrous.

3) Finally I'm scared about weakening friendships, my options are very different to my friends.

Thanks x

*College ..?

I started off procrastinating as much as I did at GCSE but you soon work out that you need to put in lots of work and just focus.

Sciences are hard. just work at them

I had the same options as lots of my friends but were in none of their classes or tutors, I made new friends as well as probably strengthening existing friendships. Don't worry about the options as there will be lots of free time where you will see each other.

[hopetohelp]

I am an A level maths teacher in a college in Wales. All I can say is that GCSE in no way prepares you for AS levels. AS maths is almost all algebra and GCSE contains very little of this. If you can factorise and solve a quadratic equation then you shouldn't have a problem. However as you can get a grade A (about 62%) at GCSE level without any algebra skills it is a big shock to many students when they start AS level. Unfortunately GCSEs are no longer fit for purpose and many students struggle to cope with the level of the work and the pace at which the work is covered. Having said all of that, if you start you course with a positive attidude and are prepared to work hard (at least 5 hours a week outside of lessons and more during revision times) and you have a supportive tutor then you should do well. However please bare in mind that an A*/A (80% and 62% approx) at GCSE is no way indicative of what grade you will get at AS and A level. It's all about having the right mind set at the start of your course. Make sure that you understand every facet of it and in your free periods go to the library and WORK from the first day. I sound quite negative here but if you are prepared at the start then you know what to expect!

[matty123]

1) Whether I will get good enough GCSE grades

2) That I wont be able to manage A level Chemistry and Maths

[FrescoDiMorte]

Worried that I'll be at a disadvantage because my school only offers double science not triple.

That I wont have friends, because Im going somewhere quite far from where I live and that none of my current friends are going.

And the difficulty of A-level Chem,Phy and Maths.

[Worms]

(Original post by FrescoDiMorte)
Worried that I'll be at a disadvantage because my school only offers double science not triple.

I'm sure you'll be fine, hundreds of students will only have the double science going into A-levels. You can buy AS-head start books that will fill you in on things that you should already know. I think there are CGP ones on Amazon, but I'm not sure how good they are.

(Original post by FrescoDiMorte)
That I wont have friends, because Im going somewhere quite far from where I live and that none of my current friends are going.

I'm sure you'll make friends with people in your classes, I'm going to the same school, and the prospect of new people simply excites me. Now I'm realising how odd that sounds. Just seem approachable and friendly.

(Original post by FrescoDiMorte)
And the difficulty of A-level Chem,Phy and Maths.

Loads of people do these subjects, you just have to make sure you work hard and get the top grades.

Good luck

[meeow]

I'm worried about:
'Crasting
OCR salters chemistry, apparently it's horrific. Also, science coursework.
Making new friends, i don't know many people there at all and i want to fit in well
English lit, because essay writing can be very hit or miss
C3 maths, and further maths next year
Whether i should work in frees or try to socialise

Oh dear, i do have quite a few worries!

[minthumbugs]

don't worry! I will admit to procrastinating an awful lot at GCSE and still do, but I can't be sure if it's worked until I get my results

for maths you really just need a calculator and that's only for statistics because C1 is non calculator.

The borrowing pen thing really used to annoy me but I found in 6th form the people that were there wanted to be there so were usually prepared. It was mainly 'can I borrow your coloured pens' and then not returning them all! Oooh I would say make sure you have a few highlighters/felt tips because a. it makes everything more interesting b. you know what to focus on when you come back to read notes c. I found colouring bits and annotating made listening in lessons more active instead of passively listening and not taking anything in. It also helps to put a sticky note on pages in the textbook for reference. My friend used to use pencil to underline in the textbook and rubbed it out at the end.

I stayed at the same school from year 9 till 6th form so our year already had the popular group and I didn't really talk to them, even if they were in my lessons. I did make some good friends that I otherwise wouldn't have spoken to. Don't worry if your friends aren't taking the same subjects as you, most of mine did but there were 3 sets for sciences and maths so we were split up anyway. It didn't really make a difference if I'm honest.

If you're worried about not having done triple sciences, read a revision guide. I did biology and chem (OCR) and I don't think there was that much to do with GCSE as long as you have the basics. I'm sure teachers will go through anything that you're not sure about even to a really basic level. Another thing is, if teachers offer a lunchtime help desk GO TO IT! or ask to see a teacher any lunch they have free. If you didn't understand something in the lesson, go and ask at the end. I found when I did this it usually put things into context and I was more likely to remember. Print off relevant past paper questions, attempt them and then go through the mark scheme with your teacher. A levels are about applying knowledge but I think not knowing how to answer questions to the OCR mark scheme let me down.

Another thing, don't panic about ISA's, they're not as bad as they seem. A friend poured cyclohexane down the sink and then threw a glowing splint into it and set it on fire. I think she got close to full marks, honestly, it's not impossible! The maths in chemistry is not too bad as long as you know how to rearrange and work out percentages.

Pick your subjects wisely and be prepared to take any of them to A2. I thought I would definitely drop History so didn't think about the coursework in year 13 but I hate maths so now have to take History.

Find out what works for you in terms of revision (I didn't do much at GCSE) early on so by the time it comes to easter you'll have it all sorted. I wish I had done this instead of waiting till the week before and trying different techniques.

Keep up with your notes and copy them up, they won't make sense later on. You can then condense these, mind map and do whatever you like for revision. I mainly used my frees just for copying up notes. It helps to print off a spec for sciences so you know what you will cover and it forms a check list.

Use the resources available to you and ask for help if you need it, even if it is on time management skills (I should be revising for a chemistry test tomorrow but instead, I'm typing this) Good luck and it's not as scary as it seems, I promise!

[Larry31]

(Original post by momanium)
x

(Original post by Worms)
x

(Original post by momanium)
x

Hey guys!
I've noticed your combined worry of Maths A-Level, and seriously it isn't that bad! I've just finished AS Maths and did the Statistics module and honestly they make it out to be so much harder than it is. You do have to do practice, but the concepts are not too difficult. I personally hated maths at GCSE; felt like it was going to be unbearable at A-Level and that I'd be no good at all. Literally the only reason I took it was because I want to study medicine and it was maths or physics...I hated physics much more than maths :P However, AS-Level maths is so so SO much more interesting than GCSE maths; and if something interests you, then you will do well at A-Level. I really don't want you to worry, there is a step up, but it is very manageable, especially compared to the sciences...bio and chem are hard, but again are manageable, just less so than maths :P
Quote me if you have any questions about A-Levels, I'd be more than happy to help!

[minthumbugs]

(Original post by meeow)
I'm worried about:
'Crasting
OCR salters chemistry, apparently it's horrific. Also, science coursework.
Making new friends, i don't know many people there at all and i want to fit in well
English lit, because essay writing can be very hit or miss
C3 maths, and further maths next year
Whether i should work in frees or try to socialise

Oh dear, i do have quite a few worries!

Making friends comes naturally, the people that have joined in year 12 fit in and you can't tell that they joined without knowing anybody.

I've heard salters in difficult but you do have a whole class of people doing the same thing and they will be invaluable when you're doing that evil piece of homework!

I would advise reading the text at least twice from friends experiences. I know people who finished it for the first time (birdsong) a week before the exam! If you're worried about essays the best thing is to practice, ask a teacher for feedback and develop your writing style.

Some frees I spent socialising because there was one that the whole year had so nobody did much work. Do some work and stop to have a chat, you'll find most people do this. I have a friend who sits alone at a table and works intensely but will get up a couple of times to talk to other people. I think it's about finding a balance. If you have a free last on a friday you won't feel like working but other times you just need to get it done and people understand that.

I can only wish you the best on further maths, past papers are the key. You'll find it's the same question with different numbers most of the time.

I can't say much about procrastinating but if you break things down into little tasks I find it helps. Also, you should find the subjects you've chosen interesting so just reading around the subject because you find it interesting helps.

Don't worry! It will all fall into place

[Larry31]

(Original post by FrescoDiMorte)
Worried that I'll be at a disadvantage because my school only offers double science not triple.

That I wont have friends, because Im going somewhere quite far from where I live and that none of my current friends are going.

And the difficulty of A-level Chem,Phy and Maths.

I did double science at GCSE and was in a class of triple scientists in both my Bio and Chem classes. I was one of four people to get an A in the Chem Jan exam, so the GCSE does not matter in the slightest. I didn't find it harder to understand either. I think that the A-Levels in science are so drastically different from GCSE anyway that you're all in the same boat really. I can't really think of any time that I felt disadvantaged because I didn't do triple science.

[Worms]

(Original post by Larry31)
Quote me if you have any questions about A-Levels, I'd be more than happy to help!

What is the general grade change from GCSE to A-level. My school just put the AS predicted grade as 1 grade lower than what you got at GCSE. Is this the general trend?

[meeow]

(Original post by minthumbugs)
Making friends comes naturally, the people that have joined in year 12 fit in and you can't tell that they joined without knowing anybody.

I've heard salters in difficult but you do have a whole class of people doing the same thing and they will be invaluable when you're doing that evil piece of homework!

I would advise reading the text at least twice from friends experiences. I know people who finished it for the first time (birdsong) a week before the exam! If you're worried about essays the best thing is to practice, ask a teacher for feedback and develop your writing style.

Some frees I spent socialising because there was one that the whole year had so nobody did much work. Do some work and stop to have a chat, you'll find most people do this. I have a friend who sits alone at a table and works intensely but will get up a couple of times to talk to other people. I think it's about finding a balance. If you have a free last on a friday you won't feel like working but other times you just need to get it done and people understand that.

I can only wish you the best on further maths, past papers are the key. You'll find it's the same question with different numbers most of the time.

I can't say much about procrastinating but if you break things down into little tasks I find it helps. Also, you should find the subjects you've chosen interesting so just reading around the subject because you find it interesting helps.

Don't worry! It will all fall into place

Thanks for the advice, it's really reassuring to get someone's perspective once they've been through it all
I hope it does, i'll get to reading my set texts this summer too methinks