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studying for a levels in yr 11 summer

bunsenburner92

12

good idea? bad idea? aiming for top grades next year, and I’ll be bored if I don’t do some form of school work

Reply 1

Muttley79

20

Original post by bunsenburner92

good idea? bad idea? aiming for top grades next year, and I’ll be bored if I don’t do some form of school work

Doesn't your school set prep work over the summer? Many schools do ..

Reply 2

username5835980

18

Might as well, if you want to.

Reply 3

vicvic38

19

They may set some prep work as Muttley79 has noted, but I actually think you'd be better off expanding yourself academically in other ways. If you're aiming at top grades, you're probably aiming at top unis, and starting to read around subjects now (out of pure interest) will really help when you come to choose what you want to do and when you start making applications.

Out of interest what are you doing at A Level? Might be able to help with interesting topics/books/resources.

Also, I only started seriously studying in January Y13 and I did great so don't stress.

Reply 4

PastelColours

18

Don’t. Take the break before a levels hit you.

Reply 5

Squiggles1238

20

I found it good to do things like buying the textbook in the summer to have a read through, watching people’s youtube videos about what to expect from the course and how to study it best

Reply 6

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Don't think there's much point personally. The only thing I did the summer before I started IB was read one of the English lit texts, and that was just because my sister had also done it the year before and we had a copy lying around, plus I was bored (and it was actually a decent read).

If you must do something then you're probably better off consolidating your GCSE knowledge than starting on something new without any guidance - that's just a recipe for misunderstanding something and potentially learning bad "habits" for certain topics that are hard to break!

That said if you're doing English lit reading (but not analysing) the texts is not the worst possible use of your time, as then you'll have a general overview of the whole text before you start doing your close reading and analysis in lessons once you start the A-level proper.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 7

vicvic38

19

Original post by artful_lounger

Don't think there's much point personally. The only thing I did the summer before I started IB was read one of the English lit texts, and that was just because my sister had also done it the year before and we had a copy lying around, plus I was bored (and it was actually a decent read).

If you must do something then you're probably better off consolidating your GCSE knowledge than starting on something new without any guidance - that's just a recipe for misunderstanding something and potentially learning bad "habits" for certain topics that are hard to break!

Ooooh IB, aren't you a smart one? XD
(PRSOM)

Reply 8

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by vicvic38

Ooooh IB, aren't you a smart one? XD
(PRSOM)

Well I got the average of my schools average and the worldwide average in the end so evidently not so much, at least at the time :tongue:

maybe more so now (at least, slightly more diligent with my academic work anyway!).

Reply 9

bunsenburner92

OP

12

Original post by Muttley79

Doesn't your school set prep work over the summer? Many schools do ..

Basic work to ensure that you’re prepared for yr 12 but but not the a-level content

Reply 10

bunsenburner92

OP

12

Original post by vicvic38

They may set some prep work as Muttley79 has noted, but I actually think you'd be better off expanding yourself academically in other ways. If you're aiming at top grades, you're probably aiming at top unis, and starting to read around subjects now (out of pure interest) will really help when you come to choose what you want to do and when you start making applications.

Out of interest what are you doing at A Level? Might be able to help with interesting topics/books/resources.

Also, I only started seriously studying in January Y13 and I did great so don't stress.

I’m doing biology, chemistry and maths. I just want to get into the routine of being constantly ahead of school work so that in the lessons I can really focus on deepening my knowledge rather than just learning it, if that makes sense..

Reply 11

aliaa03

21

A levels are hard as **** TRUST ME as someone who was actually excited for them since it was “only 3 subjects”. You should enjoy year 11 summer.

Reply 12

Muttley79

20

Have you covered all the GCSE Maths spec in depth?

Try these to test yourself: https://www.drfrostmaths.com/sow.php?year=Full%20Coverage%20Revision%20Worksheets&term=GCSE

Original post by bunsenburner92

Basic work to ensure that you’re prepared for yr 12 but but not the a-level content

Reply 13

bunsenburner92

OP

12

Original post by Muttley79

Have you covered all the GCSE Maths spec in depth?

Try these to test yourself: https://www.drfrostmaths.com/sow.php?year=Full%20Coverage%20Revision%20Worksheets&term=GCSE

Those tasks were assigned by my school to do for mock revision in November so I’ve done it, I’m pretty confident on GCSE content, all the teachers are saying that maths a-level is a lot harder, so I want to keep on top of it to ensure I get an a*

Reply 14

Muttley79

20

What every single question? You wouldn't have finished the full spec by then.

There's no guarantee of an A* to those with full marks at GCSE ... what about UKMT questions - have you done many of them?

Original post by bunsenburner92

Those tasks were assigned by my school to do for mock revision in November so I’ve done it, I’m pretty confident on GCSE content, all the teachers are saying that maths a-level is a lot harder, so I want to keep on top of it to ensure I get an a*

Reply 15

behxshtaa

11

pls pls have fun before your life gets ruined and consumed by workload and stress like no other.

Reply 16

vicvic38

19

Original post by bunsenburner92

I’m doing biology, chemistry and maths. I just want to get into the routine of being constantly ahead of school work so that in the lessons I can really focus on deepening my knowledge rather than just learning it, if that makes sense..

I wouldn't bother working ahead on these (only things I would do is any work teachers set and then ensuring you know all the GCSE maths curriculum.)

Definitely check out Khan academy for stuff on mathematics.

Reply 17

1234512

10

don't listen to the rest. if you're taking maths or sciences i HIGHLY advise you to start studying this summer. watch youtube videos explaining each topic and make notes. do exam-style questions from pmt. summer break is about 2 months so you can cover more than 10 chapters of work for each subject. this will be the best decision you will ever make and i can assure you that you will be the top of the class. just do the work in small chunks and dont be too harsh on yourself so you dont burn out. 3 hours a day of revision will help you so so much.

Reply 18

rebelw

12

nah just get a life and learn the a level content at school with everyone else

Reply 19

1234512

10

Original post by bunsenburner92

I’m doing biology, chemistry and maths. I just want to get into the routine of being constantly ahead of school work so that in the lessons I can really focus on deepening my knowledge rather than just learning it, if that makes sense..

for maths watch tlmaths on youtube. for chemistry, I highly recommend allery chemistry. as for biology, there's Miss Estruch. Watch the videos first explaining the content and make notes, then go through the notes until you somewhat know the content. after that go to physics and maths tutor and do exam-style questions on that topic. don't be discouraged if you're getting the questions wrong, instead, let that motivate you to do more. year 12 is very important as your teachers will be giving predicted grades for your unis. also if you're applying to med (just assuming based on your subjects) you need more than just grades. plan work experience by emailing a bunch of doctors on https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/our-services/find-consultant. most might not respond but you need to email as many doctors until you can find one to shadow. do community work/ charity events if available.

You can do all these things and still enjoy your summer holiday, don't let people convince you otherwise. If you do this i will assure you that you will get A* predictions

studying for a levels in yr 11 summer

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