[brimstone]

That time has come. The end of the exams are soon to be in sight, then the long summer holidays, the results and finally... moving on to Sixth Form . It's a big change going from GCSEs to A Levels, so this thread is here to help you find out about the transition from normal school to Sixth Form.

Feel free to ask questions here and to discuss the changes

Thank you to kellywood_5 for the following information :

From school to sixth form
-You'll have a much better relationship with most of your teachers and they'll treat you more like adults, even as friends sometimes
-Depending on the subjects you take and the size of your sixth form, the classes will probably be much smaller, allowing for more interaction in lessons and a more relaxed atmosphere
-You'll have frees and it'll most likely be up to you how you spend them
-You'll still be nagged to get your work done, but because you're there of your own free will, they can't do anything to you if you don't, so you need more self-motivation
-You'll be the most senior students in the school and thus expected to set a good example to the younger pupils

From GCSEs to A-levels-You only have to study your favourite and best subjects, which is obviously great
-The work will be much more in depth and probably more interesting
-For essay subjects, it'll be much more about analysis and evaluation than just pure facts
-You can no longer get away with having a basic knowledge of a subject and then blagging the exam or just learning reams of facts without actually understanding them

[Dragon Warrior]

Hey!
I'm already studying alevels and i found the transition cool but hard at first.
It was hard cos the stuff i was studying was completely new and advanced, in depth etc. But it was fun cos i was at a new school and studying only the subjects that i wanted to learn.
Its kinda scary but one big adventure so make the most of it!

[kellywood_5]

From school to sixth form
-You'll have a much better relationship with most of your teachers and they'll treat you more like adults, even as friends sometimes
-Depending on the subjects you take and the size of your sixth form, the classes will probably be much smaller, allowing for more interaction in lessons and a more relaxed atmosphere
-You'll have frees and it'll most likely be up to you how you spend them
-You'll still be nagged to get your work done, but because you're there of your own free will, they can't do anything to you if you don't, so you need more self-motivation
-You'll be the most senior students in the school and thus expected to set a good example to the younger pupils

From GCSEs to A-levels
-You only have to study your favourite and best subjects, which is obviously great
-The work will be much more in depth and probably more interesting
-For essay subjects, it'll be much more about analysis and evaluation than just pure facts
-You can no longer get away with having a basic knowledge of a subject and then blagging the exam or just learning reams of facts without actually understanding them

[Dragon Warrior]

basically a'levels are great but a lot of hard work!

[jellybellyele]

the transition to 6th form is ok but its the jump from AS to A level that is the hardest-the work just gets alot harder and most of your frees go. the first year of 6th form is fun because the workload is not too demanding and you can really get into your subjects. i wouldnt worry about moving up...6th form is fun-think of all the parties!!

[brimstone]

How do the frees go? Surely, because you drop a subject, you'd get more? Do the number of hours of lessons increase?

[Dragon Warrior]

(Original post by brimstone)
How do the frees go? Surely, because you drop a subject, you'd get more? Do the number of hours of lessons increase?

Bit of both, you do get more frees, but cos the work gets harder there's more work you end up doing in the frees so in a sense you get less. Hope that helps!

[brimstone]

Hehe yeah it does
Got this stickied by the way!

[Dragon Warrior]

(Original post by brimstone)
Hehe yeah it does
Got this stickied by the way!

what does that mean?
Lol feeling a little stupid.

[brimstone]

It means the thread is 'stuck' at the top of the page, you every time you come here, you'll see it at the top of the General 6th Form and Secondary School discussion page.

[Dragon Warrior]

(Original post by brimstone)
It means the thread is 'stuck' at the top of the page, you every time you come here, you'll see it at the top of the General 6th Form and Secondary School discussion page.

Ah *lightbulb switches on* thanks!
suppose it will help others who are in the same transition.

[brimstone]

I hope it will

[kellywood_5]

(Original post by brimstone)
How do the frees go? Surely, because you drop a subject, you'd get more? Do the number of hours of lessons increase?

You forget the freaks like me who don't drop a subject, and the even bigger freaks who pick another one up.......although I suppose I did in a way with Spanish GCSE, which just makes me the ultimate freak

[brimstone]

Lol, I don't wanna drop a subject But I'll have to see how the AS's go!

[generalebriety]

(Original post by kellywood_5)
You forget the freaks like me who don't drop a subject, and the even bigger freaks who pick another one up.......although I suppose I did in a way with Spanish GCSE, which just makes me the ultimate freak

*joins kellywood_5 on the rather vacant Spanish GCSE table*

I haven't noticed a great deal of difference really. I never did anything terrible to my teachers lower down the school so they were always ok with me anyway, and I think A-level style suits me more than GCSE. More understanding, less learning, at least in most subjects. I don't see how that can be done in, say, history, but I'm probably misinformed, having not done it for three years. Personally I just get the information (methods of application count too) up there into my brain and plough through past papers. The rest sorts itself out. Going into the exam room just ends up a (far more relaxed, less noisy etc.) past paper... just with today's date on the front.

Also, if you can handle sounding like an annoying kid, the one question that will make your life ten times easier through A-levels is "why?". As soon as you understand that, you've pretty much got anything down.

[kellywood_5]

(Original post by generalebriety)
*joins kellywood_5 on the rather vacant Spanish GCSE table*

Yay! Although you do 6 ASs as well, so I have to say, you remain the bigger freak

[generalebriety]

Oh.

Well... ok.

I'm staying at the table though.

[Dragon Warrior]

argh! i found it hard enough with 4 as levels.!

[van hoogestraten]

Well, when I applied my original options were Business Studies, Maths, Economics and Chemistry. But I was discouraged to drop one from Business Studies, maths and economics as they were of the same "discipline". So I dropped Business and chose Politics.

So far, I'm doing great. I think A-Levels bring out the best in you. It encourages you to think hard and argue hard. I thoroughly enjoy Economics and Politics because they have some modules covering European Union, and I'm an Eurosceptic.

You'll also meet more people that shares your interests as most sixth form students are filtered i.e. the sciences people, the social sciences people, the economics/business people..

And most importantly, the teachers will treat you as adults. Your relationship with your teachers will be more linear.

[juicylgd]

Heya.. i went to a 6th form but not at my school
is So cool

coz you make new friends
the teachers are incredible! most of mine went to oxford or cambridge and they're just the best teachers ever
theyre so friendly.. loads of people i know have their numbers to txt them about revision/hwk
u can email them whenever out of college to ask qs..they normally reply within one hour

but note takin is weird.. as u dont get told when to take them and at first i never used to!

but the transition subject wise is really hard, like in history i knew a girl that got all a*s and froma private school and got a d in history coz of technique or something!