How hard is A level biology?

Hi
I have chosen to take bio, his and psych for a level. But I'm slightly worried about how difficult bio will be as I only achieved a B in it for gcse. Also a level is a big step up from gcse so I'm unsure if I'm clever enough to do it. Could anyone tell me the hardest topics in biology so I could get a head start? Thanks

Reply 1

Zuza K

B grade is the requirement for biology a level, so if you have achieved it, that means you are smart enough to do it, don't put yourself down. It is a big step up, but with the help of teachers you'll be absolutely fine.
Here is the biology a level website: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/as-and-a-level/biology-7401-7402.You can have a look at the specification and practice papers to determine if it is something you would enjoy doing and if it's for you. Remember that in the first few weeks of sixth form, you can change subjects if you decide that you would prefer to do something different.
Believe in yourself and good luck x

Reply 2

-Eirlys-

Debate & Current Affairs Helper

I got a U in my bio AS level. :lol:

I found it hard, but it didn't help the teacher was a complete *****.

Reply 3

yeahthatonethere

I've just finished my first year of sixth form and did Biology (got an A in my AS exam). I didn't find the content too hard, there's just a lot of it! If you start revising from the start, make good notes and have good revision habits that work for you then you'll do fine!

For me, flash cards were a saving grace! Colour coding was helpful and past papers were key. The mark schemes for biology can be very picky about what gets you the mark so doing a lot of papers will be the best thing you can do (but don't do them all at once, save some for the exam period). Do old spec, specimen, new spec and basically any you can find.

Don't put yourself down! They wouldn't let you do it if they didn't think you could handle it. You are smart enough and if you work hard you will get the grade. It's an enjoyable subject and I loved the first year of A levels despite how hard it was!

Good luck mate!

Reply 4

Mesopotamian…

The hard thing about biology is the fact that if your answer does not match up with the mark scheme you don't get the marks even if your knowledge is correct. It's literally a game of memorising the mark scheme - which is made even more difficult by the fact that we're doing the new specification which has only one past paper and a few specimens.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

strawberry06

I got a B for GCSE Biology and got a C for A-Level Biology. Biology is content heavy, there is so much that you need to know. There are also a lot of application and maths question in the new spec which are hard and the markschemes are so picky. Biology was a killer for me towards the end, I hated it sooo much. I preferred Chemistry over Biology !

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

-Eirlys-

Debate & Current Affairs Helper

That's very true! You have to answer something in a certain way otherwise you would get a low score, which I thought was ridiculous.

Original post by Mesopotamian.

Reply 7

Mesopotamian…

Original post by hannxm

That's very true! You have to answer something in a certain way otherwise you would get a low score, which I thought was ridiculous.

Exactly it's very annoying 😤

Reply 8

Stanyaboy

I'm taking the exact same subjects, and got a B at GCSE.After a year I can say, it is the hardest subject I do. I do not dislike it, but it is hard as ****.You can do it though, just make sure to always revise at the end of terms or you'll end up like me, doing a retake of my mock because I got 40%, which is a U

Reply 9

jadder1224

Original post by aMae1424

Hi there!
I took A level biology and I achieved a grade B in biology at gcse aswell. I must admit that I thought there was quite a big step from gcse, and only achieved a grade C at AS biology. But I guess I didn't revise as much as I should have. However, I turned it around in A2 by resitting one AS exam and ended up achieving a grade B at A level! So, if it was possible for me to achieve a decent grade then anyone can! Stay positive, you can do it! What I found hardest during A2 level was the human body, like muscles, nerves, and the nervous system. But I took AQA, so different exam boards may have different specifiactions. Oh and during AS level, it wasn't that I didn't understand anything, I just didn't put enough effort into learning and remembering it. So as long as you revise and learn, make sure you understand everything, you'll be fine.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll be great :smile:

Reply 10

Owenkearney

Original post by jadder1224

I've picked a level biology because I enjoyed it at gcse and got A+A* in core and additional science. Could you advise me to how a level biology really is because I am considering changing it for sociology. My alevel options are geography biology and economics.

Reply 11

jadder1224

Original post by Owenkearney

Hi, biology was my favourite subject at a level. its just so interesting. but there is quite a lot of content to remember. So with biology start revision earlier and practise loads of past papers.
Good luck :smile: