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Jump from GCSE to A Level

OliviaBaggaley

How severe is the jump from GCSE to A Level? I'm not really nervous about the jump as I can manage myself well and I'm a pretty independent learner (if I do say so myself!). I just wanted to know from anyone's personal experience, preferably in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths, as that is what I intend to take at college, but any advice would be appreciated!

Reply 1

username2088165

Hey Olivia,

Try not to worry too much about the jump from GCSE to A Level! I did different subjects to the ones you're going to do, however the 'jump' from GCSE to A Level was manageable, even for 2 of the subjects which I hadn't studied before. Just be prepared to work hard from the beginning (but remember to relax too!), and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it :smile:

Reply 2

OliviaBaggaley

Original post by Leviathan1741

Thank you for your advice! I think I just don't know what to expect, that's all! Not working hard isn't a thing to me, so hopefully it should be manageable!

Reply 3

username2088165

Original post by OliviaBaggaley

Thank you for your advice! I think I just don't know what to expect, that's all! Not working hard isn't a thing to me, so hopefully it should be manageable!

You're welcome! A lot of people are nervous when starting A Levels, but it probably won't be as bad as you think it will! Good luck :h:

Reply 4

OliviaBaggaley

Original post by Leviathan1741

You're welcome! A lot of people are nervous when starting A Levels, but it probably won't be as bad as you think it will! Good luck :h:

Thank you!

Reply 5

username2199397

All sciences?! Lol your screwed :biggrin:

Reply 6

TheMouseyS

No you're not screwed at all. There really isn't a jump from GCSE to AS in the sciences at least cos a lot of the basic stuff is repeated and the progression from there is quite natural and definitely manageable. The massive jump IMO is AS to A2.... Good luck for that one

Reply 7

drandy76

Didn't take Physics, but I didn't really notice much of a jump in difficulty in the other 3, granted all the content in biology was a *****

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Reply 8

rolla01

Let me not sugar coat it. The jump is HUGE. You'll be thinking of GCSEs as a joke wondering how you didn't get 15 A*s.

However A-levels are very manageable, as many have done before so don't worry about.

Reply 9

Aoba

Original post by OliviaBaggaley

There is a small jump in difficulty , you will not feel it if you did not find things difficult or If your independent. If you were to ask How large the step up is maths is the best example , previously the largest amount of work you needed to do for a question at gcse was about 5-6 , comparing this to AS level its more common to have these largest amounts of work and some up by about 2 more steps. A level can be quite a bit longer too.
In the end its just what was difficult becomes standard and a new difficult arises
(though they are not really difficult at all you can weigh it against your GCSE)
AS level is about 38% harder at max and the general level is the A*/A standard at GCSE
From doing Physics and chemistry as well I can say the content in chemistry increased a little , the difficulty yeah they believe you can do more maths now but not so much, more memory however
(the maths in chemistry will never be as difficult as maths in maths and the learning never as much as biology so its a mix)
Physics , people tend to find it hard and I can say it is harder than the rest but I find it easiest as well.

The jump from AS level physics to A level physics or as with maths is indeed a bit steeper than GCSE, (this is simply because they now bring in many different ways of thinking you are not used to once you get that there's virtually no step up other than an increase of methods) Chemistry for me had 0 step up.... maybe its just me...

Reply 10

GabbytheGreek_48

its not a big jump if you work hard did those subjects except physics but it mostly builds on it the problem with why some people struggle with the jump is exam questions are a little more applied as oppose to gcse where its mostly straight forward quesrions but once you get use to those its fine

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Reply 11

Abbey15

Its like entering an armed battle with nothing but a feather duster to defend yourself 😂😂

Reply 12

Loyale

The jump is only hard if you make it. If you come home after lessons and revise and make your notes; do your homework on the day you get it and use your "frees" wisely, it won't be hard. That being said, you have to be good at organising your time (something i wasn't good at) because it means you can work hard and play hard.

My biggest tip is to do practice papers as soon as you finish a topic so you can do topic based exam questions. I did bio and chem and it's easy to feel bogged down but make sure you manage your time well and do work properly.

Reply 13

PurpleDelight

If you ever feel like you have plenty of time, you need more work because a LOT more time should be spent studying. You don't have to do all the sciences or you could switch Maths with another subject. I chose all sciences and Maths at first and in the first 2 weeks I was like hell no so I switched Physics with Philosophy and Ethics. Maths was extremely hard for me but with that subject, you're either really good or ****! Don't be disheartened if you get any E s or U s.