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School wouldn't allow me to a subject at A level as I didn't do it at gcse

So I done single Award science at gcse and I wanted to do biology at a level but my school said no as I hadn't done it at GCSE yet two of my friends are doing A level business studies and they didn't do it at GCSE! Who should I ask about a swapping a subject for biology?

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head of sixth? how do you actually expect to handle it though assuming you did double science/btec? There will be massive gaps in your knowledge so you will be miles behind from the start and bio is tough.
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Original post by Miss Charlie
head of sixth? how do you actually expect to handle it though assuming you did double science/btec? There will be massive gaps in your knowledge so you will be miles behind from the start and bio is tough.


I don't like the head of sixth, I don't think she would see it from my point of view. I know biology is tough but what a level isn't? If they're allowing others to do subjects they haven't previously studied then I should be allowed to do the same.
done single science but done physics and chemistry at A level and got an A in both so definietly can be done with some hard work!
Tough luck! head of sixth is your person. No offence but a level business is a piss take in comparison to biology, teachers would let someone take business without GCSE but not biology or at least give them a term and if their grades were crap they would be gone by xmas
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BigManMC
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Original post by anonymous
so i done single award science at gcse and i wanted to do biology at a level but my school said no as i hadn't done it at gcse yet two of my friends are doing a level business studies and they didn't do it at gcse! Who should i ask about a swapping a subject for biology?


dont do biology, seriously
Reply 6
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Original post by Miss Charlie
Tough luck! head of sixth is your person. No offence but a level business is a piss take in comparison to biology, teachers would let someone take business without GCSE but not biology or at least give them a term and if their grades were crap they would be gone by xmas


All I can do is ask but I'm going to go through my head of year from last year who is a senior teacher as I think she is more accommodating
Reply 7
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Original post by BigManMC
dont do biology, seriously


Why?? Surely it can't be that bad? I find it interesting!
How many times do I need to say it, only head of sixth can do anything/or the teacher who teaches a level bio
Reply 9
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Original post by Tom Downey
done single science but done physics and chemistry at A level and got an A in both so definietly can be done with some hard work!


Exactly!! It's all down to the effort you put in!!
Original post by Miss Charlie
How many times do I need to say it, only head of sixth can do anything/or the teacher who teaches a level bio


Fair enough but tbh she shouldn't be head of sixth it's either you do as she says or it's nothing at all and she obviously can't respect students needs. You'd think she was the principal!
Biology A-Level is designed for students who have at least double science, if not triple science.

Business Studies A-Level is designed to be accessible to students who have never studied it before.

They are not comparable.
Original post by Anonymous
Why?? Surely it can't be that bad? I find it interesting!


Every single school and college asks for double science GCSE to do science A-levels, mine does and refuses to let you do them without it. You have missed a whole year of content that everyone that double science did, you do not have the basis for A-level biology at all. It is not just your school, it is everywhere in the entire country, for good reasons. A-levels build on GCSE content, you have no idea about any of the topics that were in additional science, which were harder than single science. You would not absolutely succeed in A-level biology at all.

Business studies is completely different because it doesn't build on prior GCSE knowledge like A-level sciences do, they're not comparable in any way. You don't need any basis in business studies to do the A-level, it's taught from scratch whereas biology isn't. You have done either half or a third of the science the students who did double or triple science did at GCSE, it will be hard enough for them.
(edited 6 years ago)
Talk to the bio teacher then

!
Original post by Anonymous
Fair enough but tbh she shouldn't be head of sixth it's either you do as she says or it's nothing at all and she obviously can't respect students needs. You'd think she was the principal!
Reply 14
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kkboyk
21
A level Biology requires the knowledge of GCSE Biology, whereas A-level Business teaches you from scratch and include things from GCSE Business.

There's no way you'll be able to keep with A-level Bio if you don't even have the basic knowledge needed in the first place. You're practically leading yourself to failure.

Your only chance is to either sit the GCSE Bio, and then do A-level Bio next year, or maybe sit Bio ad a private candidate.
Original post by kkboyk
A level Biology requires the knowledge of GCSE Biology, whereas A-level Business teaches you from scratch and include things from GCSE Business.

There's no way you'll be able to keep with A-level Bio if you don't even have the basic knowledge needed in the first place. You're practically leading yourself to failure.

Your only chance is to either sit the GCSE Bio, and then do A-level Bio next year, or maybe sit Bio ad a private candidate.


Geography is as challenging as biology surely? I'd say it is. They're allowing a person in my year to do geography as well and they didn't do gcse geography
Original post by Anonymous
Geography is as challenging as biology surely? I'd say it is. They're allowing a person in my year to do geography as well and they didn't do gcse geography


Again, geography A-level doesn't build on GCSE content, the topics are vastly different. You need the correct basis in science (at least double science GCSE) for biology, as it directly continues on from the GCSEs.
Single award science? Don't people normally either do Double (Core and Additional) or Triple (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)?
Original post by TheFame
Single award science? Don't people normally either do Double (Core and Additional) or Triple (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)?


People who do single award science are the bottom/second from bottom set students who need 2 years to complete the single award instead of 1. Every school and college in the country requires at least double science GCSE to do science A-levels. People who do double science do single science in year 1 and additional science in year 2, the OP has done half of the science these students have done and a third of the science people who did triple science (like myself), have done. There's no way their school will let them take A-level biology because they don't have the knowledge and basis to succeed.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Glassapple
People who do single award science are the bottom/second from bottom set students who need 2 years to complete the single award instead of 1. Every school and college in the country requires at least double science GCSE to do science A-levels. People who do double science do single science in year 1 and additional science in year 2, the OP has done half of the science these students have done and a third of the science people who did triple science (like myself), have done. There's no way their school will let them take A-level biology because they don't have the knowledge and basis to succeed.


That's exactly what I was thinking. Clearly OP doesn't have the qualifications to do A Level biology and probably wouldn't fare well in it. I know people who only did Double and struggled massively in comparison to those who did Triple.

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