A-Levels and what they entail
I'm currently trying to decide what I want to take for A-Levels, and I have narrowed the list down to six subjects:
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
Scroll to see replies
It really depends on what your main skills are, personally I find mathematical subjects much more difficult to essay based subjects but you might be the opposite! Those are all really well appreciated subjects at University and you shouldn't worry about their appearance. Be warned though, that work load will be awful and if you haven't already started A levels you will find that the subjects are so much more intense than at GCSE. You'll learn that your teachers have mostly been lying to you for 5 years like I did.
Original post by suzylemonade
I'm currently trying to decide what I want to take for A-Levels, and I have narrowed the list down to six subjects:
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
All are highly valued, all are hard in their own ways. I'm about to finish A levels in chemistry and physics (and biology) and the extent to which you find them interesting is an entirely subjective matter. I find them all interesting in various aspects but also boring in others.
Original post by suzylemonade
I'm currently trying to decide what I want to take for A-Levels, and I have narrowed the list down to six subjects:
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
In terms of value by unis, it really does depend what you want to do - if you want to take say physics then further maths would be of most value and english lit of least but if you wanted to take english that would probably reverse.
For interesting-'ness' I wuould say that for me Chemistry was the most interesting and I would hate doing English or French as they aren't my thing but you may love them :P I did Math, Further Math, Chem and Physics of which I found Physics to be very easy (and completely useless as prep for uni physics) and probably found chemistry the hardest purely because of the volume you are required to learn for some exam boards.
Original post by Billie4810
It really depends on what your main skills are, personally I find mathematical subjects much more difficult to essay based subjects but you might be the opposite! Those are all really well appreciated subjects at University and you shouldn't worry about their appearance. Be warned though, that work load will be awful and if you haven't already started A levels you will find that the subjects are so much more intense than at GCSE. You'll learn that your teachers have mostly been lying to you for 5 years like I did.
Oh gosh, really? Like how bad? And how many hours would I be expected to put in every day?
Original post by natninja
In terms of value by unis, it really does depend what you want to do - if you want to take say physics then further maths would be of most value and english lit of least but if you wanted to take english that would probably reverse.
For interesting-'ness' I wuould say that for me Chemistry was the most interesting and I would hate doing English or French as they aren't my thing but you may love them :P I did Math, Further Math, Chem and Physics of which I found Physics to be very easy (and completely useless as prep for uni physics) and probably found chemistry the hardest purely because of the volume you are required to learn for some exam boards.
For interesting-'ness' I wuould say that for me Chemistry was the most interesting and I would hate doing English or French as they aren't my thing but you may love them :P I did Math, Further Math, Chem and Physics of which I found Physics to be very easy (and completely useless as prep for uni physics) and probably found chemistry the hardest purely because of the volume you are required to learn for some exam boards.
Ah, okay. Thanks
Original post by suzylemonade
Oh gosh, really? Like how bad? And how many hours would I be expected to put in every day?
It really depends on what you want to get out of it. But the jump from GCSE to A level really is startling for anyone of any ability, and you're expected to do much more. Generally my college recommends 4 hours for each subjects a week done out of college time along with the 4.5 hours spent in lessons. But really do go in and remember that as a qualification they are significantly harder.
I wouldn't say its a massive jump if your used to working hard from GCSEs anyway, at least thats what I found from doing science subjects at A Level. At A level, there's much more content to go through and concepts will be tougher but your doing the 4/5 subjects you like, and so you'll be much happier and content to actually do the work unlike some GCSEs at times. I agree with people saying that most subjects are very subjective, as I think you should think about what subjects you like, what your good at and what career/s your looking at. This makes decision of choosing subjects a lot easier.
I don't think the jump is too bad for science/maths subjects, I mean C1 is basically GCSE stuff with really basic integration and differentiation at the end. Then unit 1 for AQA chemistry if I remember correctly, I had already done some of the stuff we were doing like moles/titration calculations, covalent/ionic bonding, cracking alkanes etc.
I've done well so far doing maths/sciences and everyone I speak to is like 'omg you must be so clever doing those subjects', but I really couldn't have done essay subjects, I was terrible at them even at GCSE. It just really depends on what you're good at and I think that should be an important factor when choosing A-levels.
I've done well so far doing maths/sciences and everyone I speak to is like 'omg you must be so clever doing those subjects', but I really couldn't have done essay subjects, I was terrible at them even at GCSE. It just really depends on what you're good at and I think that should be an important factor when choosing A-levels.
I do chemistry and maths out of the ones you've listed.
Chemistry(ocr a) - My favourite subject. Lots and lots of practical lessons, there are 2 exams and coursework for AS. It didn't find it to be a big step up from GCSE but in the begining a few concepts were slightly tricky to grasp for me personally. The transition is pretty smooth. First unit we learnt mainly about titrations, calculations and a few simple tests, bonding like covalent, ionic etc. The second AS unit was slightly longer, we learnt about alcohols, polymers, naming hydrocarbons (my FAV!!), green chemistry so stuff about global warming and the greenhouse effect and a lot of other things I can't remember now. It's a good subject to have. People say chemistry is the hardest A level but I think a language would take much more time and revision. Our OCR A textbooks are amazing. The papers are very repetitive and the mark schemes always look for the same things.
Maths - My easiest A level probably. I got an A at GCSE but I'm working slightly harder now because I have fewer subjects and I'm averaging around 90%. There are 3 exams each year. Core 1 and Core 2 and then either Stats or Mechanics. C1 is fairly easy, its like a bridging bit between gcse and A level. No new concepts except integration and differentiation which are really basic in c1 and you can pick up a lot of easy marks. C2 is slightly harder personally but not difficult at all. Some more new concepts like logs and radians that you haven't covered at gcse. Stats is boring to the point where you will stare at the clock and wait for the lesson to finish. I heard mechanics is slightly harder but more interesting. I do stats! Practice makes perfect. Maths is really easy to get a good grade in because of all of the revision material available online. I have just started C3 and it isn't bad at all.
My teacher described further maths as more maths rather than harder maths haha.
I much much prefer subjects like science and maths where only one answer is right the majority of the time. I hate the feeling of writing an essay and it could have gone either way.
With maths and chem you have the benefit of stalking unofficial mark schemes and stuff on tsr haah
Chemistry(ocr a) - My favourite subject. Lots and lots of practical lessons, there are 2 exams and coursework for AS. It didn't find it to be a big step up from GCSE but in the begining a few concepts were slightly tricky to grasp for me personally. The transition is pretty smooth. First unit we learnt mainly about titrations, calculations and a few simple tests, bonding like covalent, ionic etc. The second AS unit was slightly longer, we learnt about alcohols, polymers, naming hydrocarbons (my FAV!!), green chemistry so stuff about global warming and the greenhouse effect and a lot of other things I can't remember now. It's a good subject to have. People say chemistry is the hardest A level but I think a language would take much more time and revision. Our OCR A textbooks are amazing. The papers are very repetitive and the mark schemes always look for the same things.
Maths - My easiest A level probably. I got an A at GCSE but I'm working slightly harder now because I have fewer subjects and I'm averaging around 90%. There are 3 exams each year. Core 1 and Core 2 and then either Stats or Mechanics. C1 is fairly easy, its like a bridging bit between gcse and A level. No new concepts except integration and differentiation which are really basic in c1 and you can pick up a lot of easy marks. C2 is slightly harder personally but not difficult at all. Some more new concepts like logs and radians that you haven't covered at gcse. Stats is boring to the point where you will stare at the clock and wait for the lesson to finish. I heard mechanics is slightly harder but more interesting. I do stats! Practice makes perfect. Maths is really easy to get a good grade in because of all of the revision material available online. I have just started C3 and it isn't bad at all.
My teacher described further maths as more maths rather than harder maths haha.
I much much prefer subjects like science and maths where only one answer is right the majority of the time. I hate the feeling of writing an essay and it could have gone either way.
With maths and chem you have the benefit of stalking unofficial mark schemes and stuff on tsr haah
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Billie4810
It really depends on what you want to get out of it. But the jump from GCSE to A level really is startling for anyone of any ability, and you're expected to do much more. Generally my college recommends 4 hours for each subjects a week done out of college time along with the 4.5 hours spent in lessons. But really do go in and remember that as a qualification they are significantly harder.
Right, okay. Thanks for the help
Original post by 344302
I do chemistry and maths out of the ones you've listed but I also know quite a bit about further maths.
Chemistry - My favourite subject. Lots and lots of practical lessons, there are 2 exams and coursework for AS. It didn't find it to be a big step up from GCSE but in the begining a few concepts were slightly tricky to grasp for me personally. The transition is pretty smooth. First unit we learnt mainly about titrations, calculations and a few simple tests. The second AS unit was slightly longer, we learnt about alcohols, polymers, naming hydrocarbons (my FAV!!) and a lot of other things I can't remember now. It's a good subject to have. People say chemistry is the hardest A level but I think a language would take much more time and revision.
Maths - My easiest A level probably. I got an A at GCSE but I'm working slightly harder now because I have fewer subjects and I'm averaging around 90%. There are 3 exams each year. Core 1 and Core 2 and then either Stats or Mechanics. C1 is fairly easy, its like a bridging bit between gcse and A level. C2 is slightly harder personally but not difficult at all. Some new concepts like logs and radians that you haven't covered at gcse. Stats is boring to the point where you will stare at the clock and wait for the lesson to finish. I heard mechanics is slightly harder but more interesting. I do stats! Practice makes perfect. Maths is really easy to get a good grade in because of all of the revision material available online. I have just started C3 and it isn't bad at all.
Further Maths - My teacher describes it as more maths rather than harder maths. Doing further maths helps your AS maths grade, for example if you do rubbish in S1 and amazing in M1 then your mechanics grade will go towards your AS maths.
Chemistry - My favourite subject. Lots and lots of practical lessons, there are 2 exams and coursework for AS. It didn't find it to be a big step up from GCSE but in the begining a few concepts were slightly tricky to grasp for me personally. The transition is pretty smooth. First unit we learnt mainly about titrations, calculations and a few simple tests. The second AS unit was slightly longer, we learnt about alcohols, polymers, naming hydrocarbons (my FAV!!) and a lot of other things I can't remember now. It's a good subject to have. People say chemistry is the hardest A level but I think a language would take much more time and revision.
Maths - My easiest A level probably. I got an A at GCSE but I'm working slightly harder now because I have fewer subjects and I'm averaging around 90%. There are 3 exams each year. Core 1 and Core 2 and then either Stats or Mechanics. C1 is fairly easy, its like a bridging bit between gcse and A level. C2 is slightly harder personally but not difficult at all. Some new concepts like logs and radians that you haven't covered at gcse. Stats is boring to the point where you will stare at the clock and wait for the lesson to finish. I heard mechanics is slightly harder but more interesting. I do stats! Practice makes perfect. Maths is really easy to get a good grade in because of all of the revision material available online. I have just started C3 and it isn't bad at all.
Further Maths - My teacher describes it as more maths rather than harder maths. Doing further maths helps your AS maths grade, for example if you do rubbish in S1 and amazing in M1 then your mechanics grade will go towards your AS maths.
That sounds good, actually. Chemistry GCSE is fine now, so do you reckon I'll be okay with Chemistry A-Level?
Do not take A level Mathematics with Edexcel.
Best advice i can give you
Best advice i can give you
Original post by suzylemonade
That sounds good, actually. Chemistry GCSE is fine now, so do you reckon I'll be okay with Chemistry A-Level?
Well, personally I found chemistry GCSE alright. Chemistry A level is bearable. Fun at times, never depressing, sometimes pointless but hey ho!
Original post by sonyeric33
Do not take A level Mathematics with Edexcel.
Best advice i can give you
Best advice i can give you
What's wrong with Edexcel/Maths?
I do it. It's the most common exam board for maths. Most amazing resources available are aimed at edexcel maths students. Billions of past papers available because spec hasn't changed in ages.
Papers seem decent. Mark schemes are fair and give error carried forward marks and method marks are quite generous I'd say.
Original post by SaFa1237
I don't want to sound biased but you should definitely choose Chemistry. It's an amazing subject, very enjoyable and you'll never get bored of it! 
Ah, okay
That's great, I think I will Original post by 344302
Well, personally I found chemistry GCSE alright. Chemistry A level is bearable. Fun at times, never depressing, sometimes pointless but hey ho!
Ah, okay then. Well, thank you
I definitely think I will take it, yeah Original post by suzylemonade
Ah, okay That's great, I think I will
That's great, I think I will Yay! You won't regret it! (Well you may at times but that counts for all your A levels)
Original post by suzylemonade
I'm currently trying to decide what I want to take for A-Levels, and I have narrowed the list down to six subjects:
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
Chemistry
English Literature
French
Further Maths
Maths
Physics
How difficult are these subjects? Which is the hardest, and which is the easiest? How interesting are they? (What's the most interesting and least interesting?) And which are valued most by Universities?
If you could let me know, that would be great.
Thanks
Well if you decide to do Physics it's best to maths alongside that. But the best thing I think to do is to do 2 very difficult heavy going subjects which are similiar and then something which is a bit different. e.g Maths, Physics and English lit. Advice aswell is take a 4th A-level which will give you backup incase one subject goes wrong or you are ill for one of the exams and your grade goes down.
Hope this is some help to your journey of your choices
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