Literally think I'm going to fail a levels.
I'm in year 12 and just had my first term at sixth form and I'm already failing.I have been spoken to by my biology and chemistry teacher, my maths teacher is making me attend some clinic which is useless and not helpful and I had to have a meeting with my head of sixth form about my progress.
My maths teacher is atrocious and does not teach and just gives questions to do and nothing else and when I ask for help they are always like oh what don't you understand like in this type of condescending tone or just says we just talked about this when some person asked about it, were you not listening but I didn't understand it and I was listening, so I asked again and every time they are like that.Also they aren't that great at explaining.I tried looking stuff online (examsolutions and Jack Brown) but I can't sometimes find how to do the questions.Also maths is my weakest subject and not having a good teacher does not help.
Biology is just hard and the textbook is bad as when I copy what it says when answering an exam question for h/w the teacher tells me it's wrong and that the wording is not right.So the textbook is just waffle and does not even use the right wording and online resources are pretty limited I only found mr pollock and biofact sheets.So how am I meant to do well when I don't even know what the wording the examiner wants is and there is little resources online to help me when Im struggling.I ask the teacher for help and stuff but still not doing the best.
Chemistry is also not going well, the concepts are hard and it was my best subject at gcse and could easily get top marks without struggle.But now Im so bad at the calculations as sometimes Im not sure how to manipulate the numbers to get things right.And the PAG questions are hard and Im not sure how on earth I will pass paper 3 which focuses on the practicals.The textbook is also not good in my opinion and the fact I don't really learn well from textbooks does bot make the situation any better, I also learnt best from videos but they need to be concise.But with the calculations even though I can do the basics but when stuff gets more complex and wordy I just get confused.
The fact the school is forcing everyone to do 4 a levels does not make the situation better,so I choose economics because it's not the hardest ever a level and so I can focus on my other 3 a levels.The fact that Im failing puts me off even trying and when I do want to try I don't even know where to start and when I try doing work it's not like I don't want to do it,it's just a lot of the time I can't do it.Everything is a struggle and I really want to change my situation as I need to get a* a* a minimum for the uni and course I really want to go to and Im not sure what to do to make it happen.
My maths teacher is atrocious and does not teach and just gives questions to do and nothing else and when I ask for help they are always like oh what don't you understand like in this type of condescending tone or just says we just talked about this when some person asked about it, were you not listening but I didn't understand it and I was listening, so I asked again and every time they are like that.Also they aren't that great at explaining.I tried looking stuff online (examsolutions and Jack Brown) but I can't sometimes find how to do the questions.Also maths is my weakest subject and not having a good teacher does not help.
Biology is just hard and the textbook is bad as when I copy what it says when answering an exam question for h/w the teacher tells me it's wrong and that the wording is not right.So the textbook is just waffle and does not even use the right wording and online resources are pretty limited I only found mr pollock and biofact sheets.So how am I meant to do well when I don't even know what the wording the examiner wants is and there is little resources online to help me when Im struggling.I ask the teacher for help and stuff but still not doing the best.
Chemistry is also not going well, the concepts are hard and it was my best subject at gcse and could easily get top marks without struggle.But now Im so bad at the calculations as sometimes Im not sure how to manipulate the numbers to get things right.And the PAG questions are hard and Im not sure how on earth I will pass paper 3 which focuses on the practicals.The textbook is also not good in my opinion and the fact I don't really learn well from textbooks does bot make the situation any better, I also learnt best from videos but they need to be concise.But with the calculations even though I can do the basics but when stuff gets more complex and wordy I just get confused.
The fact the school is forcing everyone to do 4 a levels does not make the situation better,so I choose economics because it's not the hardest ever a level and so I can focus on my other 3 a levels.The fact that Im failing puts me off even trying and when I do want to try I don't even know where to start and when I try doing work it's not like I don't want to do it,it's just a lot of the time I can't do it.Everything is a struggle and I really want to change my situation as I need to get a* a* a minimum for the uni and course I really want to go to and Im not sure what to do to make it happen.
Hey, Year 12 newbie also! Whilst I don't take sciences, I just want to say that it's going to fine, just give yourself some time, so far I've recieved 3/40 and an F. I'm not letting that get to me because I know that I can do better and over time I will. It literally is just practise, it's not fair to expect yourself to turn from a gcse standard student to an A-level student within a month. The more practise you do the more understanding you'll recieve of what you're supposed to do and how you're supposed to answer questions. Let this frustration drive you to work harder and don't be too hard on yourself!
Original post by CinnamonSmol
Hey, Year 12 newbie also! Whilst I don't take sciences, I just want to say that it's going to fine, just give yourself some time, so far I've recieved 3/40 and an F. I'm not letting that get to me because I know that I can do better and over time I will. It literally is just practise, it's not fair to expect yourself to turn from a gcse standard student to an A-level student within a month. The more practise you do the more understanding you'll recieve of what you're supposed to do and how you're supposed to answer questions. Let this frustration drive you to work harder and don't be too hard on yourself!
It's just hard when you go to a grammar school and everyone is so smart and on top of everything and doing very well not to compare yourself to everyone and feel down.The thing is I don't know what steps to take to change this situation,I feel like the main cause of this is a lack of resources online for a level that cater for my way of learning, which is visual with a mix of audio.But it can't just be all audio,if Im watching a video and someone just talks at me and there are no subtitles or words in the background or anything like that the information goes in one ear and out the other, I'm really specific when it comes to learning.
Original post by Anonymous1502
It's just hard when you go to a grammar school and everyone is so smart and on top of everything and doing very well not to compare yourself to everyone and feel down.The thing is I don't know what steps to take to change this situation,I feel like the main cause of this is a lack of resources online for a level that cater for my way of learning, which is visual with a mix of audio.But it can't just be all audio,if Im watching a video and someone just talks at me and there are no subtitles or words in the background or anything like that the information goes in one ear and out the other, I'm really specific when it comes to learning.
What spec are you doing?
Original post by Anonymous1502
It's just hard when you go to a grammar school and everyone is so smart and on top of everything and doing very well not to compare yourself to everyone and feel down.The thing is I don't know what steps to take to change this situation,I feel like the main cause of this is a lack of resources online for a level that cater for my way of learning, which is visual with a mix of audio.But it can't just be all audio,if Im watching a video and someone just talks at me and there are no subtitles or words in the background or anything like that the information goes in one ear and out the other, I'm really specific when it comes to learning.
maybe you need to learn to adapt to other methods or at least explore, try out different techniques and see what works for you. And dont compare! I know its hard but that will literally destroy your confidence in yourself to do well -i know from personal experience. Try and make do with your textbooks and what you do have and perhaps ask someone like a classmate for help
Original post by ImprobableCacti
What spec are you doing?
OCR A for biology,chemistry and maths and edexcel a for economics.
Original post by Anonymous1502
It's just hard when you go to a grammar school and everyone is so smart and on top of everything and doing very well not to compare yourself to everyone and feel down.The thing is I don't know what steps to take to change this situation,I feel like the main cause of this is a lack of resources online for a level that cater for my way of learning, which is visual with a mix of audio.But it can't just be all audio,if Im watching a video and someone just talks at me and there are no subtitles or words in the background or anything like that the information goes in one ear and out the other, I'm really specific when it comes to learning.
You seem to be talking about learning styles which is a debunked theory in learning science. My recommendation would be to read some stuff on study techniques - it really helped me.
This is a good starting point
http://www.learningscientists.org/
Original post by CinnamonSmol
maybe you need to learn to adapt to other methods or at least explore, try out different techniques and see what works for you. And dont compare! I know its hard but that will literally destroy your confidence in yourself to do well -i know from personal experience. Try and make do with your textbooks and what you do have and perhaps ask someone like a classmate for help
I can't learn using different methods it just doesn't work for me.I always ask my class mates for help but they can't always help and most aren't good at explaining.The textbook is like trash literally, the mark scheme for science is very strict and the wording has to be really specific or you won't get the mark, so if the textbook does not give the right wording it's of no use.
I think the best thing to do would be to talk to your personal tutor. If your maths teacher has an attitude like that, I suggest you ask your PT to change to another class if you feel as if it's distracting your learning. You're still in year 12, and you have PLENTY of time to improve on your weaknesses. I'm in year 13 and one of the things I wish I should've done was to tackle my problems early, by asking questions in class, using the resources available to me in college- and the internet. There is so much on the internet now; there's YouTube and websites which have a lot of useful information for you to utilise. But it's probably a good idea to express your concerns with your teachers, and personal tutor first.
It sounds cliche, but work hard and it will pay off.
It sounds cliche, but work hard and it will pay off.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous1502
OCR A for biology,chemistry and maths and edexcel a for economics.
Ok, I'm currently in year 13 studying Maths & FM (Edexcel), OCR Physics A and AQA CS. I've have a lot of close friends studying OCR A Chem and Bio.
For Bio all of my friends say that the concepts aren't overly hard there is just way too much content (the text book is TWICE the size of the Physics). However, they do say that learning the textbook definitions is a MUST. For this why don't you try to make your own videos to remember the definitions? Or use Quizlet so that you can make it all into games.
Being unfamiliar with the Bio & Chem specs, one of the main things I can say to you is that A-Levels are HARD - they are completely different to GCSE. You can't get away with just learning from the textbook anymore.
For explanations and exam technique look at different exam boards' past papers (they cross over a lot - especially AQA). Use online resources such as YouTube videos explaining concepts - e.g. Mitosis & Meiosis - this doesn't have to be exam board specific as the science you're learning now is ACTUAL science, not some OCR bs.
For maths Hegarty is great, physicsandmathstutor.com has lots of past papers/cheat sheets etc.
Just PM me if you need any help with maths - I'd be happy to provide assistance! (I love maths (97 average at AS
))Original post by Xenice
I think the best thing to do would be to talk to your personal tutor. If your maths teacher has an attitude like that, I suggest you ask your PT to change to another class if you feel as if it's distracting your learning. You're still in year 12, and you have PLENTY of time to improve on your weaknesses. I'm in year 13 and one of the things I wish I should've done was to tackle my problems early, by asking questions in class, using the resources available to me in college- and the internet. There is so much on the internet now; there's YouTube and websites which have a lot of useful information for you to utilise. But it's probably a good idea to express your concerns with your teachers, and personal tutor first.
It sounds cliche, but work hard and it will pay off.
It sounds cliche, but work hard and it will pay off.
I can't say a teacher is bad, it will look bad on my part and you can't say that to a teacher.And changing class wouldn't be a good choice because my whole timetable would be changed and it's probably not possible since all math classes are full.But if I don't do well my school will give me bad predicted grades :/ and they are very stingy when it comes to that.So in the meeting with the head of sixth form I did express my concerns and they said they will talk to my teachers.Can you recommend some websites or youtubers, I looked online but I didnt find a lot of the resouces that useful or they weren't going in enough detail.
Original post by ImprobableCacti
Ok, I'm currently in year 13 studying Maths & FM (Edexcel), OCR Physics A and AQA CS. I've have a lot of close friends studying OCR A Chem and Bio.
For Bio all of my friends say that the concepts aren't overly hard there is just way too much content (the text book is TWICE the size of the Physics). However, they do say that learning the textbook definitions is a MUST. For this why don't you try to make your own videos to remember the definitions? Or use Quizlet so that you can make it all into games.
Being unfamiliar with the Bio & Chem specs, one of the main things I can say to you is that A-Levels are HARD - they are completely different to GCSE. You can't get away with just learning from the textbook anymore.
For explanations and exam technique look at different exam boards' past papers (they cross over a lot - especially AQA). Use online resources such as YouTube videos explaining concepts - e.g. Mitosis & Meiosis - this doesn't have to be exam board specific as the science you're learning now is ACTUAL science, not some OCR bs.
For maths Hegarty is great, physicsandmathstutor.com has lots of past papers/cheat sheets etc.
Just PM me if you need any help with maths - I'd be happy to provide assistance! (I love maths (97 average at AS ))
For Bio all of my friends say that the concepts aren't overly hard there is just way too much content (the text book is TWICE the size of the Physics). However, they do say that learning the textbook definitions is a MUST. For this why don't you try to make your own videos to remember the definitions? Or use Quizlet so that you can make it all into games.
Being unfamiliar with the Bio & Chem specs, one of the main things I can say to you is that A-Levels are HARD - they are completely different to GCSE. You can't get away with just learning from the textbook anymore.
For explanations and exam technique look at different exam boards' past papers (they cross over a lot - especially AQA). Use online resources such as YouTube videos explaining concepts - e.g. Mitosis & Meiosis - this doesn't have to be exam board specific as the science you're learning now is ACTUAL science, not some OCR bs.
For maths Hegarty is great, physicsandmathstutor.com has lots of past papers/cheat sheets etc.
Just PM me if you need any help with maths - I'd be happy to provide assistance! (I love maths (97 average at AS
))Thanks,I will message you soon with some questions, probably tomorrow.
With biology, I find the fact that the wording in the textbook is wrong sometimes and I don't get the mark because of that and I have no idea where Im meant to get the right wording from.I feel like the textbook for sciences is pretty much useless for the sciences and the explanations are not very good and too wordy and not very accessible.If your friends can recommend any online resources it would be great.
Original post by Anonymous1502
Thanks,I will message you soon with some questions, probably tomorrow.
With biology, I find the fact that the wording in the textbook is wrong sometimes and I don't get the mark because of that and I have no idea where Im meant to get the right wording from.I feel like the textbook for sciences is pretty much useless for the sciences and the explanations are not very good and too wordy and not very accessible.If your friends can recommend any online resources it would be great.
With biology, I find the fact that the wording in the textbook is wrong sometimes and I don't get the mark because of that and I have no idea where Im meant to get the right wording from.I feel like the textbook for sciences is pretty much useless for the sciences and the explanations are not very good and too wordy and not very accessible.If your friends can recommend any online resources it would be great.
The textbook isn't where you get exam technique at A-Level
You get wordings from past paper questions
I'll ask them tomorrow if they know of any online resources but I do recommend YouTube for non exam board specific videos
Side note - the textbook isn't useless, it has all of the exam board definitions that may come up in the exam, also if you can, maybe try out the kerboodle that comes with it? (Idk I've never used it)
I don't know how good your teachers are for Bio but for physics I find that my class notes were probable the best to revise from
I usually go over my notes and try put things into diagrams so that I can visualise it better than just paragraphs- maybe try do this with the textbook and ask your teachers for better ways to think of the concepts?I do biology, chemistry, maths and physics. I find that during my first half term (I’m year 12 too) I have had a turn at loving and hating each subject. Maybe you are just hating each subject and in turn just giving up and not learning. Just keep at it and read as much as you can! If you need help feel free to message me. I do Edexcel Biology, Edexcel Chemistry, OCR physics and MEI Maths.
Doing maths physics economics
During the first term I panicked and felt that I weren't good enough for my course but once I sat down and revised what we were doing and going to be doing everyday I recovered and am doing fine now I recommend making notes on things in class then going home and summarising those notes when you get home as well as doing a few past papers to improve exam techniques to learn exact wording
During the first term I panicked and felt that I weren't good enough for my course but once I sat down and revised what we were doing and going to be doing everyday I recovered and am doing fine now I recommend making notes on things in class then going home and summarising those notes when you get home as well as doing a few past papers to improve exam techniques to learn exact wording
My college also uses the same specification for the sciences. Have you heard of 'Snaprevise' by any chance? It's a great revision resource; I use it to make notes to build my knowledge on. It has detailed videos, which includes diagrams and useful information. As well as the videos, it has its own summary of notes required for the specification.
You have to pay for it, but it's worth it.
Here's an example of what the videos consist of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6yIj9TLVo0&list=PLkocNW0BSuEF0ZvCepqbMwnpWN96DCbJi&index=11
(full videos are normally more than 10 minutes long)
Snaprevise website:
https://snaprevise.co.uk/
You have to pay for it, but it's worth it.
Here's an example of what the videos consist of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6yIj9TLVo0&list=PLkocNW0BSuEF0ZvCepqbMwnpWN96DCbJi&index=11
(full videos are normally more than 10 minutes long)
Snaprevise website:
https://snaprevise.co.uk/
(edited 6 years ago)
I am taking (OCR A) Chemistry, (AQA) Biology, and Maths (Edexcel). I do feel the pressure and I find it hard to study during my free period as I get easily distracted. However, I find that going over my notes and adding extra information helpful. Rant: Biology has a lot of content and my brain could not fit as much information 
Omg wow throwback I felt the same last year in year 12 lmao. Honestly you’ll be fine! The first few weeks were the worst! I had the biggest breakdown of my life in my first term! You’ll get better just relax and keep trying hard.
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