The Student Room Group

A Levels that are EASIER than GCSE

So, this could be the most stupid question ever asked, but have you found any of your A Levels easier than when you did it for GCSE, and if so, why?
No single subject at A level is easier because the purpose is for there to be an advance in the requirement of knowledge. HOWEVER, a few people (including myself) find the general course set up of all 4 A levels to be easier as it's more independent and focuses on the subjects you enjoy.

Do you have an idea of which subjects you want to take? I could let you know how I found the GCSE to A level progression if you're thinking of taking any of the same subjects as myself.
Original post by xxx-ooo-xxx
No single subject at A level is easier because the purpose is for there to be an advance in the requirement of knowledge. HOWEVER, a few people (including myself) find the general course set up of all 4 A levels to be easier as it's more independent and focuses on the subjects you enjoy.

Do you have an idea of which subjects you want to take? I could let you know how I found the GCSE to A level progression if you're thinking of taking any of the same subjects as myself.


Hiya!
From what I've seen, A Levels are much harder than GCSE, for they set you up for university; I want to go to Oxford.
And with regards to your HOWEVER, I feel that that could work for me- my previous school was a private school, so with fewer people in classes and more focus on subjects I could do quite well.

Now, I know for a fact that I want to take:

English Language [I've ALWAYS been interested in language as a being, and frequently read books all about linguistics and similar aspects of language].

French [Purely, I speak French fluently and want to study it at university].

Classical Civilisation [I did Latin for GCSE, so plan on doing Classics as a way of seeing whether it's something I could have an interest in.

Drama and Theatre Studies [My fourth option- Drama- is purely because I want to pursue a job as a playwright part time, and I purely love theatre and want to do as much drama as I can, as well as having great interest in practitioners]

However, I am deliberating over doing Maths, as I do want to change it about a bit, and maths fascinates me. I just don't know if I want it as a qualification, because I already have knowledge of calculus, logarithms and Euclidean geometry, but I don't think I'd be able to cope with it as an A Level, nor have it as my one bad grade.

And Chemistry is also a potential one, but that seems unlikely.
Reply 3
Original post by TeenPolyglot
Hiya!
From what I've seen, A Levels are much harder than GCSE, for they set you up for university; I want to go to Oxford.
And with regards to your HOWEVER, I feel that that could work for me- my previous school was a private school, so with fewer people in classes and more focus on subjects I could do quite well.

Now, I know for a fact that I want to take:

English Language [I've ALWAYS been interested in language as a being, and frequently read books all about linguistics and similar aspects of language].

French [Purely, I speak French fluently and want to study it at university].

Classical Civilisation [I did Latin for GCSE, so plan on doing Classics as a way of seeing whether it's something I could have an interest in.

Drama and Theatre Studies [My fourth option- Drama- is purely because I want to pursue a job as a playwright part time, and I purely love theatre and want to do as much drama as I can, as well as having great interest in practitioners]

However, I am deliberating over doing Maths, as I do want to change it about a bit, and maths fascinates me. I just don't know if I want it as a qualification, because I already have knowledge of calculus, logarithms and Euclidean geometry, but I don't think I'd be able to cope with it as an A Level, nor have it as my one bad grade.

And Chemistry is also a potential one, but that seems unlikely.
Doesn't seem like you really care for your initial question, you just want to talk about yourself
Original post by TeenPolyglot
However, I am deliberating over doing Maths, as I do want to change it about a bit, and maths fascinates me. I just don't know if I want it as a qualification, because I already have knowledge of calculus, logarithms and Euclidean geometry, but I don't think I'd be able to cope with it as an A Level, nor have it as my one bad grade.


The only subject of those that I take is maths and I can tell you that it is most likely not as hard as you think it will be. I, personally, always felt the same about maths and even after getting nearly 100% in GCSE I was thinking 'it'll be too hard'.

A massive part of it is past papers, I missed 2+ months of school because my dad died, however, I completed all the papers I could get my hands on and I worked my way to an A grade in practices this year (year 12). So while I can't give you advice on the other subjects, I can tell you that I think you'd be pleasantly surprised by what maths is like, it's still all about practice and the progression is very gradual! And it looks good for uni applications regardless :smile:
Original post by Yua
Doesn't seem like you really care for your initial question, you just want to talk about yourself


That's a bit unfair, I asked which subjects they took and they simply answered
I dunno, they are called advanced levels for a reason.
Original post by Yua
Doesn't seem like you really care for your initial question, you just want to talk about yourself

Sorry about that- I'm quite narcissistic at times :s-smilie:

But which A Levels did you take?
Original post by xxx-ooo-xxx
The only subject of those that I take is maths and I can tell you that it is most likely not as hard as you think it will be. I, personally, always felt the same about maths and even after getting nearly 100% in GCSE I was thinking 'it'll be too hard'.

A massive part of it is past papers, I missed 2+ months of school because my dad died, however, I completed all the papers I could get my hands on and I worked my way to an A grade in practices this year (year 12). So while I can't give you advice on the other subjects, I can tell you that I think you'd be pleasantly surprised by what maths is like, it's still all about practice and the progression is very gradual! And it looks good for uni applications regardless :smile:


Thank you so much! It's one of my underlying choices, and now that someone's told me something truthful [I hope :tongue:] about it, instead of "Just don't take it", I feel quite positive about it. :smile:

Also, sorry about hearing about your dad passing; I hope you're okay :redface: Always here if you want to talk :smile:
A-levels are harder than GCSEs, but because you're older you might find it easier. Even more so if you change your method of study when you start A-levels.

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