The Student Room Group

I came, I learnt, I conquered my AS Levels










Hey there guys!
Welcome to my very first Grow your Grades blog!!!!
It's a work in progress.
But a journey we're all going through right now.








Well, maybe the parents and teachers here aren't going through the same the journey as the students. But that's an entirely different ballgame.

As for me, I'll a year 12 student trying to keep herself afloat. I'm new both to GYG and the whole process of A-levels. Well, AS levels, but A-levels too.

I've survived my GCSEs and now I'm hoping to do the same with exams this summer. Through a combination of good luck, snacks, and revision. Not to mention a whole lot of convincing myself to work.

But, just a great big welcome to you guys. Let's fight our way through the exams together.


JAC

Scroll to see replies

Original post by JustACoincidence











Hey there guys!
Welcome to my very first Grow your Grades blog!!!!
It's a work in progress.
But a journey we're all going through right now.









Well, maybe the parents and teachers here aren't going through the same the journey as the students. But that's an entirely different ballgame.

As for me, I'll a year 12 student trying to keep herself afloat. I'm new both to GYG and the whole process of A-levels. Well, AS levels, but A-levels too.

I've survived my GCSEs and now I'm hoping to do the same with exams this summer. Through a combination of good luck, snacks, and revision. Not to mention a whole lot of convincing myself to work.

But, just a great big welcome to you guys. Let's fight our way through the exams together.


JAC


Welcome to Grow Your Grades! :wavey: What A-levels are you taking? :h:
Original post by Fox Corner
Welcome to Grow Your Grades! :wavey: What A-levels are you taking? :h:


Hey there! Thanks for the welcome!

I'm taking Maths, Physics, Biology, and History at my Sixth Form. I guess History is the odd one out in all these sciences but hey-ho. History is awesome.

JAC
Hey , i'm in AS aswell , i think i'll be sticking around here

i'm taking bio,chem and history

maybe we could help each other out in bio :smile:

Gl
Original post by Ray_Shadows
Hey , i'm in AS aswell , i think i'll be sticking around here

i'm taking bio,chem and history

maybe we could help each other out in bio :smile:

Gl


Maybe. My exam board is AQA, but I guess the Biology doesn't change (in essence), no matter the exam board!
:h:
Original post by JustACoincidence
Maybe. My exam board is AQA, but I guess the Biology doesn't change (in essence), no matter the exam board!
:h:


ah mines ocr , oh well
hi i take maths phys and econ how u finding your subs and what boards do u do
Original post by dcencima
hi i take maths phys and econ how u finding your subs and what boards do u do



Heyo! My boards are AQA for Biology and Physics. Edexcel for Maths, and I think it's also the latter for History.

I'm definitely finding all my subjects very interesting, but also a lot more work than GCSE.

How about you? - that's a lot of maths-type subjects you've got there.
:banana:

JAC
Hey there lovely TSR users!


I've had a very interesting (ahem! weird) biology lesson today). Picture the scene:

You're sat down, taking notes on gas exchange in fish. Your teacher disappears into the side room; he returns holding a tray. A fish head is dangled in your face, you recoil but see others taking the heads. Your best friend, seated beside you, takes the fish's head. Plates, scalpels, and scissors are handed out. The teacher instructs you to remove a section of the gills. You do it. He then announces you get five minutes to play with the head. A pair of boys, behind you, is removing the eyes. Your best friend is chopping the fish in half. Another girl is finding the brain and ends up dropping half the fish on the floor. The whole room smells like fish. Your teacher is telling you about the time he desiccated a neighbour's cat.


Well, there you go. A very, ah, strange lesson to put it mildly. But certainly something I'll remember when stressing in the exam hall.



On a more pleasant note, one of my physics teachers had a wave model featuring jelly babies. We were allowed to eat when the demonstration was other and did so with glee. A little different to desiccating fish heads.




JAC
Hey, it's JAC here (but you knew that already).

Just thought I'd post my GCSE grades - for a little bit of context. It'll interesting to see how my AS grades compare to the GCSE ones.

Here are my GCSE grades for Y'all:

Business (Edexcel) Distinction*

English Language (Edexcel) 7

English Literature (AQA) 6

Mathematics Option H (Edexcel) 8

Geography A (Edexcel) A*

History B (Edexcel) A*

Biology (AQA) A

Chemistry (AQA) A

Physics (AQA) A*

German (AQA) B

Further Mathematics (AQA) B - I'm rather impressed by this one; my population didn't get any lessons on this and I managed to do better than/ as well as most of the other population who DID receive lessons. Pure luck, probably. Along with low-grade boundaries, perhaps.


Well, there you go. That's how I managed on my GCSEs. To be honest, I did find it quite stressful, being pressured a little to do well on my exams. While it was never explicitly said, the pressure was there, as I'm the smart child in our family. My sister was at the lower end, and my little brother will probably achieve mid-range (assuming he decides to actually put the effort). It was never outrightly pt upon me, but the feeling was there.

Did you guys feel any similar pressures? I'd imagine a lot felt the pressure from parents, that they needed to do well, even it was never said.

JAC
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by JustACoincidence
Heyo! My boards are AQA for Biology and Physics. Edexcel for Maths, and I think it's also the latter for History.

I'm definitely finding all my subjects very interesting, but also a lot more work than GCSE.

How about you? - that's a lot of maths-type subjects you've got there.
:banana:

JAC

haha lol yeh and im the same board for maths and phys as you

Original post by JustACoincidence
Hey, it's JAC here (but you knew that already).

Just thought I'd post my GCSE grades - for a little bit of context. It'll interesting to see how my AS grades compare to the GCSE ones.

Here are my GCSE grades for Y'all:

Business (Edexcel) Distinction*

English Language (Edexcel) 7

English Literature (AQA) 6

Mathematics Option H (Edexcel) 8

Geography A (Edexcel) A*

History B (Edexcel) A*

Biology (AQA) A

Chemistry (AQA) A

Physics (AQA) A*

German (AQA) B

Further Mathematics (AQA) B - I'm rather impressed by this one; my population didn't get any lessons on this and I managed to do better than/ as well as most of the other population who DID receive lessons. Pure luck, probably. Along with low-grade boundaries, perhaps.


Well, there you go. That's how I managed on my GCSEs. To be honest, I did find it quite stressful, being pressured a little to do well on my exams. While it was never explicitly said, the pressure was there, as I'm the smart child in our family. My sister was at the lower end, and my little brother will probably achieve mid-range (assuming he decides to actually put the effort). It was never outrightly pt upon me, but the feeling was there.

Did you guys feel any similar pressures? I'd imagine a lot felt the pressure from parents, that they needed to do well, even it was never said.

JAC

nice results mate and yeh kinda felt the pressure not cos im the smart but Asian family

Original post by JustACoincidence
Hey there lovely TSR users!


I've had a very interesting (ahem! weird) biology lesson today). Picture the scene:

You're sat down, taking notes on gas exchange in fish. Your teacher disappears into the side room; he returns holding a tray. A fish head is dangled in your face, you recoil but see others taking the heads. Your best friend, seated beside you, takes the fish's head. Plates, scalpels, and scissors are handed out. The teacher instructs you to remove a section of the gills. You do it. He then announces you get five minutes to play with the head. A pair of boys, behind you, is removing the eyes. Your best friend is chopping the fish in half. Another girl is finding the brain and ends up dropping half the fish on the floor. The whole room smells like fish. Your teacher is telling you about the time he desiccated a neighbour's cat.


Well, there you go. A very, ah, strange lesson to put it mildly. But certainly something I'll remember when stressing in the exam hall.



On a more pleasant note, one of my physics teachers had a wave model featuring jelly babies. We were allowed to eat when the demonstration was other and did so with glee. A little different to desiccating fish heads.




JAC


random wth lol and i wish my physics lesson were like that my teacher is the WORST original one who could left for some operation
Original post by dcencima
haha lol yeh and im the same board for maths and phys as you


nice results mate and yeh kinda felt the pressure not cos im the smart but Asian family



random wth lol and i wish my physics lesson were like that my teacher is the WORST original one who could left for some operation


Not good. I had an English teacher in year 10 who had to leave due to illness and having operations. We had loads of temps and didn't really learn anything for about half a year. She wasn't a particularly good teacher, and had to keep going over basic things as out classes were mixed level in years 10 and 11. Wasn't the best time in English.


I've got two physics teachers though. My other one is particularly easy to distract when it comes to having debates about things that slowly becomes less linked to physics and watching clips on youtube. I kid you not, he has shown our class the same clip at least 5 times in as many months.

JAC
Damn i liked ur thread title, caught my attention whilst i was scrolling down and blanking the other unecessary and unrelevant threads :smile:
Congrats to surviving the GCSE year!!!
Original post by JustACoincidence
Not good. I had an English teacher in year 10 who had to leave due to illness and having operations. We had loads of temps and didn't really learn anything for about half a year. She wasn't a particularly good teacher, and had to keep going over basic things as out classes were mixed level in years 10 and 11. Wasn't the best time in English.


I've got two physics teachers though. My other one is particularly easy to distract when it comes to having debates about things that slowly becomes less linked to physics and watching clips on youtube. I kid you not, he has shown our class the same clip at least 5 times in as many months.

JAC


lol do all physics teachers go off tangents
Original post by TheGirlFelonXxXx
Damn I liked ur thread title, caught my attention whilst I was scrolling down and blanking the other unnecessary and irrelevant threads :smile:
Congrats on surviving the GCSE year!!!



Glad you like it! I always feel a catchy or pun title gets things off to a great start. Nice to know it can catch your attention! :h:


JAC
Microscopes! The bane of biology lessons!

Ok, so maybe they aren't that bad. Still, leaning over one for the best part of an hour is enough to give anyone backache. Including me! Counting hundreds of cells through a tiny microscope lesson, trying to calculate the mitotic index, isn't exactly the easiest way to spend a lesson. Granted, it isn't the hardest, either.

I've noticed I tend to write most about biology (and physics) lessons. It's not that Maths and History aren't interesting, but rather that unusual things tend to happen more in the science lessons. Apparently.

Anyways, we started doing statistics and mechanics in Maths last week. Two lessons a week on that, and two on pure maths from now on. That's how all my subjects are structured: one teacher teaches a topic at the same as another teaches a different topic. Means I've got to remember to bring the right folder to each lesson, and not start bring my French Revolution folder to English Civil war lessons. (I have done that a few times before. oops!)

In other news, I've started making an effective revision timetable with a key and everything. While you can make digital ones, I prefer having a hand-drawn one. Makes it more real I guess. But I'm putting extra effort into this one, instead of just writing the subject and allocated time under the days. This one's got pretty colours and everything.

I'm aiming to put a lot more work into AS and A-level revision than I ever did with GCSE. While I did do revision for GCSE, it probably wasn't as much or done as early, as I could have done it. Maybe it wouldn't have made a whole load of difference to my grades, but A-level requires a whole load more work. This means starting months, not weeks, before the exams. These notes of mine are going to be neat, easy-to-read, and pretty. After all, I may need most of them for A-level exams the following year.

Obviously, I didn't have a GYG blog last year, so I've got a little more incentive to put extra work into this. *winks*

Here's to exam success and good luck vibes for all. They may seem a long way off but every day counts. It's all about building up and reducing the workload by summer time.

JAC

Monday, 22nd January 2018




Well hello there. *winks*

We're back to the daily grind of college. Okay, so it's not that bad. But carrying around a bunch of heavy textbooks and huge folders doesn't exactly make Mondays seem any better.

As you've probably noticed, I have now elected to date my posts at the start. Aside from it aiding a little splash of colour the posts, it gives a clear starting point for the post.

But enough of that boring stuff. *yawns* We've got other, more important, things to think about. Mainly that I finally organised all the French Revolution work in my notebook into my nice pretty ring binder. Phew! I've been putting the task off for weeks, and finally decided to take the plunge. Aside from a broken hole-puncher, I made it out without any major injuries. Yay. I do try and be organised but it does get difficult when you've got two topics going at once in four different subjects. That's old loads of topics that need splitting into various sub-sections and folders. Not fun. However, there is a nice feeling when you have a shelf full of neatly organised folders looking pretty.

Obviously, they're much more than pretty faces. All those notes and sheets are going to be invaluable when it comes to exams. Now, as I stated in an earlier post, I have had a revision timetable. However, I'm not aiming to do too much work at the moment. If I burn myself out now, I won't be able to keep going in the long run. On the other hand, I am making notes as I go in time for mocks and end-of-topic tests. That's something.

Now, I'd post pictures of my notes, but this thing doesn't seem to like taking photos saved from my pictures. Which is weird. Once I sort that, I'll have a bunch of notes to share, as well as some pictures of delicious home-made snacks. Mmm ... cake. Random question time - what's your favourite cake? I would have to say a simple sponge, covered with buttercream icing and sweets. The perfect treat for a sweet-toothed girl like me. Yummy.

Another thing, I realise you guys don't know an awful lot about me. Time to fix that.

I am an Aries.

My Hogwarts house is Gryffindor - I have gotten Gryffindor twice and Ravenclaw once though, on the official test.

My Patronus is a cat.

Doctor Who is an amazing TV show.

I want to write and publish a book someday - if you ask, I'll post some examples of my writing. I've no idea if it's any good or not.

I want to see the Northern Lights.

I want to go to New Zealand, Rome, Venice, and Berlin.

I have very vivid dreams - I shall probably share some of these wacky adventures my head creates.

Space is awesome, but also terrifying.

I have a sonic screwdriver.

I play Lord Of The Rings Online - find me on Crickhollow server as Hellelas.

I'm an atheist.

Science is awesome.

I think I want to work in Stem cell research or astrophysics.

My Chinese new year animal is the snake



Well, that's all for now. I hope y'all had a great Monday.

Until the next time,

JAC

Thursday, 26th January 2018



Howdy peeps! It's Friday!!! Whoop!

Ok, so the end of the week is great. But - college work and revision remains as an ever-present weight over my head. Okay, so many that's a little dramatic. Still, when you've got a maths test on Monday, covering three chapters of work, you need to get busy.

Quickly.

The weekend is for relaxing too, though. Doing too much revision, too early, can really burn you out and leave unwilling to learn later on when it's really important to keep going and keep learning. So at the moment, it's small, half-an-hour sessions with ten minutes break between them. I'll do about four-six at the weekend, and a couple every night. But no more than that until maybe March/April. It's all about planning for the long run, not a short sprint.

Heh, here I am, using sport analogies when I have to be on of the least sporty people about. Okay, so I do enjoy a casual game of rounders (back when we actually did P.E) and I am a relatively fast runner, but that's about it. Oh - badminton was always a laugh in P.E.

In other news, I had a physics test on momentum yesterday. I know I've messed up at least one question, but I'm hoping to do okay. I'll post the result when I get it - whether or not it's good. After all, it's not just about being the best; it's about improving, improving, improving. Moving upwards and onwards, using your mistakes to propel you into a greater understanding.

Phew! A busy week for me, and I'm sure it was for you guys too.

Here's to a nice relaxing weekend.

JAC
I’m thinking of taking maths and physics as part of my AS levels next year. Would you recommend??
Original post by Dannipayne
I’m thinking of taking maths and physics as part of my AS levels next year. Would you recommend??



Maths and Physics are definitely a great pair to pick. The mechanics part of Physics will help with the Maths mechanics, and vice versa.

Maths is a great subject to have - very useful in life, but also not altogether too challenging, if you're in any way good at Maths. Lot's of new content, but some stuff is just adding a bit more to the GCSE level stuff. Just started doing Statistics, which has been easy so far.

Physics is good for applying things in the real world - especially the mechanics and electricity part. It's really interesting too; I find the particle and wave stuff most interesting out of it.

In short, if you enjoy both of these subjects, go for it! They're a great pair to have together and open a range of careers up. I really would recommend picking them if you like them.

The most important thing is to pick subjects you enjoy; if you don't like it now, why would you choose a career with it?

Hope this helps! :h:

JAC

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