Get ready for the final year of your A-levels
You're now halfway through your A-level journey – but your second year will likely be tougher than your first.
So what will year 13 look like? Here's some insight from The Student Room community, including what makes your final year harder – and why you should be ready for the challenge.
Read more: study, learning and revision tips from students who got A*s
A step up
Your second year will be harder than first year – the concepts will be trickier, the analysis will be deeper and the workload will be more demanding.
You’ll be expected to link different parts of the subject together to show your understanding. Your teachers also assume that you’re motivated and expect you to work independently.
But you can do all of that – it’s just the next step.
"It's generally a bit harder but the extent depends on your subject. Maths in year 13 is noticeably more difficult, but for history it's about the same – except that you have to manage coursework by yourself on top of your studies," says Sinnoh.
Read more on The Uni Guide: where to start with applying to uni
Getting prepared
Why not read some popular books that relate to the subjects you study? Choose something that looks interesting and get stuck in.
Another great way to prepare is by searching newspapers and magazines for features related to the topics you’re going to learn in the coming year.
"I'm going to be doing a lot of reading. It could be something to do with your subject, or just anything that interests you," says rosie.mn.
Read more on The Uni Guide: making a revision timetable that actually works
Go in deep
There’s more in-depth learning and revision required for your second year, which often means being proactive in your approach to work.
“I asked my teachers to make up questions and went through them, made plans and learned key ideas," says Gohohom.
"Make notes that are useful and insightful; don't just copy from the textbook or teacher and avoid being vague."
Review your work
Most A-level courses have all their exams at the end of year 13 – and you'll be tested on everything, including material from your first year.
So regularly test yourself (quizzes or flashcards can be useful) on different topics to make the final revision period much easier.
"My best advice would be to just keep on top of your revision," says iWonTaekIt. "If you consolidate what you know as you learn, you'll have more time to focus on harder topics."
"I personally found making to-do list and ordering them by deadline helped me keep on top of all my work," says DrawTheLine.
Everything comes together
You should start seeing the 'big picture' of the course in second year: how the different elements link and how the key concepts can be applied to a variety of topics.
"Things just seemed to click in year 13 – I knew what to expect and had all my revision techniques sorted," says yeahthatonethere.
"The subjects seemed to build upon first year content so there weren't too many new concepts to deal with."
