step up to a levels

Original post by rafi07

Hi everyone,
I'm starting sixth form next week with the a levels biology chemistry and maths and hopefully going to do an epq as well. I'm just wondering how big the step up is from GCSEs (which I found fairly easy but still worked really hard in and got all 9s ) to a level. also if anyone has any tips that they learnt whilst doing a levels and wished they had known from the start that would be much appreciated,
thanks all!

I found the step up to A Levels manageable as long as I stayed on top of my work. I would recommend doing your homework the day you get it, setting yourself personal deadlines and staying on top of (or ahead if you can) any note-taking you need to do as this will put you in a very good position for your end of year exams! For context, I am going into year 13 and I also do Biology, Chemistry and Maths and took an EPQ, so let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!!

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 2

OP

thanks so much, arw you planning to do medicine??
what was your epq in?

Reply 3

Yes, I'm hoping to apply for Medicine in October. My EPQ was also related to Medicine.

Reply 4

OP

Ah great, I'm also planning to do medicine, what so you think of the epq topic " Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of an opt-out organ donation system"?

Reply 5

JDINCINERATOR

21

Original post by rafi07

Hi everyone,
I'm starting sixth form next week with the a levels biology chemistry and maths and hopefully going to do an epq as well. I'm just wondering how big the step up is from GCSEs (which I found fairly easy but still worked really hard in and got all 9s ) to a level. also if anyone has any tips that they learnt whilst doing a levels and wished they had known from the start that would be much appreciated,
thanks all!

From my experiences, A-levels are very different from GCSEs. I think there's a greater emphasis on relaying factual information in the exams, and you need to study harder to get better grades. You do learn a lot of complex vocabulary at A-level that you'll need to get your head around if you want to do well. Thankfully when you get to university you're not as restricted when it comes to your learning. I did ok with my A-levels, but I did struggle with certain subjects I took. Law was really tough and I found English Literature to be similarly difficult- but I did get the grades I needed from English Language, History and Film Studies to advance to university.

Reply 6

Original post by rafi07

Ah great, I'm also planning to do medicine, what so you think of the epq topic " Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of an opt-out organ donation system"?

I like the idea! It is very recent so there would definitely be lots to talk about and you could also bring in a lot of different perspectives while evaluating this. However, as this change happened relatively recently, it might be difficult to find resources that are reliable and aren't getting updated constantly, so maybe that could be something to keep in mind. I would also make sure to conclude it with which side you agree with most as this shows critical thinking skills which is something the examiners are looking for.

Reply 7

OP

the change was recent however surely there will be much written about the pros and cons even before the shift in systems, should I tweak my title at all?

Reply 8

KH29

12

Original post by rafi07

Hi everyone,
I'm starting sixth form next week with the a levels biology chemistry and maths and hopefully going to do an epq as well. I'm just wondering how big the step up is from GCSEs (which I found fairly easy but still worked really hard in and got all 9s ) to a level. also if anyone has any tips that they learnt whilst doing a levels and wished they had known from the start that would be much appreciated,
thanks all!

From personal experience, I loved A Levels. The two years were far better than my 5 years at GCSE. From what I know from my friends who did Chemistry, they did tell me it was a big step. For A Level maths - which I done, yes it was a major step it came as a shock. The worse part was I entered Sixth Form at the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year, the same year where people were entering the school after months of lockdown and I didn't look at a single thing of the content in A Level maths until late August (after I received my GCSE results) so the big gap was a shock for me.

Good luck and enjoy the last two years of your school years, make the most of it, spend time with good people with a goal of succeeding !

Reply 9

Original post by rafi07

the change was recent however surely there will be much written about the pros and cons even before the shift in systems, should I tweak my title at all?

Yeah, I'm sure you will find lots of reliable sources on the topic. Just make sure that the information has not been updated while you undergo your EPQ. For example, we were discouraged from writing about the pandemic as a topic for our EPQ since information was still updating and research was being carried out. But I'm sure it won't be too much of a hassle for you on this topic.

Reply 10

OP

Original post by KH29

From personal experience, I loved A Levels. The two years were far better than my 5 years at GCSE. From what I know from my friends who did Chemistry, they did tell me it was a big step. For A Level maths - which I done, yes it was a major step it came as a shock. The worse part was I entered Sixth Form at the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year, the same year where people were entering the school after months of lockdown and I didn't look at a single thing of the content in A Level maths until late August (after I received my GCSE results) so the big gap was a shock for me.

Good luck and enjoy the last two years of your school years, make the most of it, spend time with good people with a goal of succeeding !

thank you!

Reply 11

Can'tDecideAName

8

I will say that for STEM subjects, if you achieved grade 9's in the subjects you want to study the transition only feels like a change of work environment rather than a change in difficulty of the course. This stays true for most of the first year but the second year does get much more challenging.

I wouldn't be worried though, I buggered up my GCSE's (not really but I didn't get as good as I hoped as I cbb revising) and I still managed to succeed at A-levels

Reply 12

OP

Original post by Can'tDecideAName

I will say that for STEM subjects, if you achieved grade 9's in the subjects you want to study the transition only feels like a change of work environment rather than a change in difficulty of the course. This stays true for most of the first year but the second year does get much more challenging.

I wouldn't be worried though, I buggered up my GCSE's (not really but I didn't get as good as I hoped as I cbb revising) and I still managed to succeed at A-levels

thanks so much!

Reply 13

OP

Original post by JDINCINERATOR

From my experiences, A-levels are very different from GCSEs. I think there's a greater emphasis on relaying factual information in the exams, and you need to study harder to get better grades. You do learn a lot of complex vocabulary at A-level that you'll need to get your head around if you want to do well. Thankfully when you get to university you're not as restricted when it comes to your learning. I did ok with my A-levels, but I did struggle with certain subjects I took. Law was really tough and I found English Literature to be similarly difficult- but I did get the grades I needed from English Language, History and Film Studies to advance to university.

thanks so much!

Reply 14

jack_ray13

6

Original post by rafi07

Hi everyone,
I'm starting sixth form next week with the a levels biology chemistry and maths and hopefully going to do an epq as well. I'm just wondering how big the step up is from GCSEs (which I found fairly easy but still worked really hard in and got all 9s ) to a level. also if anyone has any tips that they learnt whilst doing a levels and wished they had known from the start that would be much appreciated,
thanks all!

My GCSE results came to a total of 76 if when I added all the grades up. I have already learnt like around half of AS pure maths and done some y13 content which tbh I have found pretty easy. And have managed to get an A and a couple B's in the 3 past papers I have done of AS pure edexcel. I think you will be totally fine im assuming mats a level is not an exceptionally easy one as long as im correct in that assumption your gonna get an easy 3 A's at least.

Reply 15

ThatKid777

9

Original post by rafi07

Hi everyone,
I'm starting sixth form next week with the a levels biology chemistry and maths and hopefully going to do an epq as well. I'm just wondering how big the step up is from GCSEs (which I found fairly easy but still worked really hard in and got all 9s ) to a level. also if anyone has any tips that they learnt whilst doing a levels and wished they had known from the start that would be much appreciated,
thanks all!

I can only vouch for chem, maths and epq. I absolutely love what I'm doing! However, this really does depend on having a great teacher and having a genuine passion for these subjects as my teachers were able to link most first year content back to GCSE and taught how how the new content expanded from GCSE. With that being said, and if you don't have great teachers I would say try to link it back to something you already know as AS-Level content really does link back to GCSE and the more connections you make the greater the depth of your understanding will be. Chemistry has high grade boundaries but don't be put off by this because it meant the exams are enjoyable and relatively straight forward! Maths is my first love - AS Maths I found was a walk in the park because I did GCSE Further Maths - always got high marks. EPQ is a hit or miss if you are passionate about your dissertation which I can use in my personal statement!

Reply 16

OP