Year 12 Help for current year 11s picking subjects
Hey, I'm currently in year 12 so I know that You must be picking your subjects now so I thought I'd tell you about my subjects so if you're interestedin them there'll be something for you to read here 
Any other year 12s who want to help post on the same format as me, quote me and I'll add it to the original post 
TSR username: tooambitious
Subjects: Economics, French, Further mathematics and mathematics
How I'm finding them so far:
Economics:- it's is not very difficult so far, but I think it's easier for me then a lot of my peers because I supplement my learning by exta curricular learning and people in my class who aren't really aren't enjoying it, find the lessons boring and a bit difficult and it'll only get harder My advice: only do it if you're prepared to keep up to date with news current affairs and extra reading outside the subject.
French: again I'm not feeling a step up at all but there are a couple in my class who are struggling, I you easily got an A* at GCSE you'll be fine, if you got an A and are prepared to work you'll again be fine, it's great if you like the language and in lessons we often have philosophical debates about why a language is etc, and we debate current affairs which is funMy advice: if you enjoy and find it easy now the step up won't be a problem
Maths: C1 and S1 so far and both build on GCSE C1 is easier of te two because S1 introduces new topics, if you've done a GCSE in stats it'll be even
easier. If you're at an A at GCSE AS will be fine (although beware A2 is harder) My Advice if you don't like maths it'll be dull don't take it.
Further Maths FP1 and M1 t the moment, absolutely love them not as difficult as people would have you believe of my test so fr fp1 has been only 1% bhind c1 so really quite easy - the concepts themselves are more difficult but the questions are easy. M1 once you grasp the drawing of the questions it's easy (honestly just understanding what the q wants you to draw is the hardest part and it's not very hard tbh) My advice: take it if you Love maths, because it'll take up half of your time (if you do 4)
In order of difficulty - hardest to easiest
Further maths
Economics
Maths
French
But honestly theyre all very close and quite simple so far, but all very interesting and Reccomend them all!
Hope this helps anybody choosing
TSR username - RaHiNa
Subjects i'm taking- Government and Politics, Chemistry, Psychology, and History
History (OCR)- interesting. taking at it gcse is an extra bonus! always try and keep ontop of content, as that is something you really don't want to be behind on.
Psychology- can be quite interesting but i would say more boring.
Politics- interesting, probably the one i most enjoy. it's current and goes well with History.
Chemistry- if you like science it should be enjoyable. keep ontop of content and it should go well. this is one subject which i think you should definately understand the content because it makes learning the other topics easier plus in the beginning it might be hard but content becomes better to learn as you carry on. and there's a lot of maths i would say get a grade A atleast for GCSE or be someone who is good at maths (doesn't have to mean you enjoy maths). even if you don't enjoy maths, it's not so bad as it's combined with atoms etc which hopefully you'll be interested in if you're considering to take chem.
Order of Difficulty (1 being the most difficult)
1- History
2-Chemistry
3-Politics
4-Psychology
TSR username :
subjects: maths history physics english philosophy and german (i do the IB)
Maths - boring
history - really interesting because it covers a large variety of time periods and countries
philosophy - awesome even though my brain feels tired when i think too much
physics - meh pretty good
english - surprisingly fun since i despised it at GCSE
german - death
theory of knowledge - makes me doubt everything i have ever known
hardest to easiet
german
physics
english
history = philosophy
maths
TSR username: 08batee
Subjects: Maths, Physics, Biology, Geography
Maths - Not too bad so far, although I'm finding it a relatively large step up from GCSE. S1 is actually pretty good, considering I hated statistics at GCSE, but C1 is quite dull!
Advice: Don't take it unless you have a really good grasp of everything at GCSE and are confident using it.
Physics - Really good! I'm doing the AQA A spec, and absolutely love it. Favourite subject by far, and really interesting!
Advice - If you like it at GCSE, do it!! Must have a good grasp of at least basic maths though.
Biology - Quite boring if I'm honest, it's pretty much the same topics as GCSE, but in more detail, and with more chemistry. Not a huge fan.
Advice - Do it if you love the topics you're doing currently.
Geography - Alright, although there's an enormous amount of information and work in it. It's quite dull in comparison to GCSE, and there's tons more case studies!!
Advice - Only do it if you have an amazing memory, and are willing to put in a huge amount of hours!
In order of difficulty - Hardest - Easiest
Physics
Geography
Maths
Biology
TSR username: Viggo2790
Subjects: English Literature, Geography, History, Philosophy and Ethics, Drama.
How I'm finding them so far:
English Literature (WJEC):- Basically consists of reading three books and analysing some poems for an end of year exam. If you find GCSE easy or manageable, you shouldn't find it too difficult.
My advice: Read a few classic novels from the Victorian period, it might save you time reading books later on when you are busier, personally having read Dorian Gray in the summer beforehand my workload now is reduced.
Geography (Edexcel): No coursework which is a shame but incredibly similar to GCSE level at AS in terms of content, just the exams are essay based, which is slightly harder.
My advice: If you were comfortable at GCSE, or looking for a safe subject to drop after AS, geography may be for you.
History (Edexcel): A lot of content to remember, but it should be manageable if you are finding the GCSE course easy enough. The hardest part is the exams, I haven't quite got the technique myself yet, but once I do I should be ok.
My Advice Not as staightforward as say geography, but nevertheless an interesting subject that will if taken in conjunction with similar other subjects will help your essay writing skill.
Philosophy and Ethics (OCR): A very interesting subject. If you are open minded you will love it, you need to be keen to learn as it will not necessarily teach itself as in other subjects. It's wonderful looking at social principle which is agreed upon, and then discovering why it is agreed upon, and who proposed it first. I love it when a theory comes together!
My advice: May seem difficult at first but once you 'get' how to do the exams, the key is being more concise than you think you need to be, then it all comes together and you can sound like a perfect pseud in no time!
Drama (AQA/AKA the devil.) The exciting bits of English, I took it because I didn't do it for GCSE and I really wanted to do some acting. My most 'fun' subject probably. The AS is full of practical with very little written. A2 is predominately written though.
My advice: If you want to do some fun, constructive and get an extra qualification instead of your frees, this is the subject for you.
In order of difficulty - hardest to easiest
History,
Geography,
Philosophy and Ethics,
English,
Drama.
Any other year 12s who want to help post on the same format as me, quote me and I'll add it to the original post TSR username: tooambitious
Subjects: Economics, French, Further mathematics and mathematics
How I'm finding them so far:
Economics:- it's is not very difficult so far, but I think it's easier for me then a lot of my peers because I supplement my learning by exta curricular learning and people in my class who aren't really aren't enjoying it, find the lessons boring and a bit difficult and it'll only get harder My advice: only do it if you're prepared to keep up to date with news current affairs and extra reading outside the subject.
French: again I'm not feeling a step up at all but there are a couple in my class who are struggling, I you easily got an A* at GCSE you'll be fine, if you got an A and are prepared to work you'll again be fine, it's great if you like the language and in lessons we often have philosophical debates about why a language is etc, and we debate current affairs which is funMy advice: if you enjoy and find it easy now the step up won't be a problem
Maths: C1 and S1 so far and both build on GCSE C1 is easier of te two because S1 introduces new topics, if you've done a GCSE in stats it'll be even
easier. If you're at an A at GCSE AS will be fine (although beware A2 is harder) My Advice if you don't like maths it'll be dull don't take it.
Further Maths FP1 and M1 t the moment, absolutely love them not as difficult as people would have you believe of my test so fr fp1 has been only 1% bhind c1 so really quite easy - the concepts themselves are more difficult but the questions are easy. M1 once you grasp the drawing of the questions it's easy (honestly just understanding what the q wants you to draw is the hardest part and it's not very hard tbh) My advice: take it if you Love maths, because it'll take up half of your time (if you do 4)
In order of difficulty - hardest to easiest
Further maths
Economics
Maths
French
But honestly theyre all very close and quite simple so far, but all very interesting and Reccomend them all!
Hope this helps anybody choosing
TSR username - RaHiNa
Subjects i'm taking- Government and Politics, Chemistry, Psychology, and History
History (OCR)- interesting. taking at it gcse is an extra bonus! always try and keep ontop of content, as that is something you really don't want to be behind on.
Psychology- can be quite interesting but i would say more boring.
Politics- interesting, probably the one i most enjoy. it's current and goes well with History.
Chemistry- if you like science it should be enjoyable. keep ontop of content and it should go well. this is one subject which i think you should definately understand the content because it makes learning the other topics easier plus in the beginning it might be hard but content becomes better to learn as you carry on. and there's a lot of maths i would say get a grade A atleast for GCSE or be someone who is good at maths (doesn't have to mean you enjoy maths). even if you don't enjoy maths, it's not so bad as it's combined with atoms etc which hopefully you'll be interested in if you're considering to take chem.
Order of Difficulty (1 being the most difficult)
1- History
2-Chemistry
3-Politics
4-Psychology
TSR username :
subjects: maths history physics english philosophy and german (i do the IB)
Maths - boring
history - really interesting because it covers a large variety of time periods and countries
philosophy - awesome even though my brain feels tired when i think too much
physics - meh pretty good
english - surprisingly fun since i despised it at GCSE
german - death
theory of knowledge - makes me doubt everything i have ever known
hardest to easiet
german
physics
english
history = philosophy
maths
TSR username: 08batee
Subjects: Maths, Physics, Biology, Geography
Maths - Not too bad so far, although I'm finding it a relatively large step up from GCSE. S1 is actually pretty good, considering I hated statistics at GCSE, but C1 is quite dull!
Advice: Don't take it unless you have a really good grasp of everything at GCSE and are confident using it.
Physics - Really good!
I'm doing the AQA A spec, and absolutely love it. Favourite subject by far, and really interesting! Advice - If you like it at GCSE, do it!! Must have a good grasp of at least basic maths though.
Biology - Quite boring if I'm honest, it's pretty much the same topics as GCSE, but in more detail, and with more chemistry. Not a huge fan.
Advice - Do it if you love the topics you're doing currently.
Geography - Alright, although there's an enormous amount of information and work in it. It's quite dull in comparison to GCSE, and there's tons more case studies!!
Advice - Only do it if you have an amazing memory, and are willing to put in a huge amount of hours!
In order of difficulty - Hardest - Easiest
Physics
Geography
Maths
Biology
TSR username: Viggo2790
Subjects: English Literature, Geography, History, Philosophy and Ethics, Drama.
How I'm finding them so far:
English Literature (WJEC):- Basically consists of reading three books and analysing some poems for an end of year exam. If you find GCSE easy or manageable, you shouldn't find it too difficult.
My advice: Read a few classic novels from the Victorian period, it might save you time reading books later on when you are busier, personally having read Dorian Gray in the summer beforehand my workload now is reduced.
Geography (Edexcel): No coursework which is a shame but incredibly similar to GCSE level at AS in terms of content, just the exams are essay based, which is slightly harder.
My advice: If you were comfortable at GCSE, or looking for a safe subject to drop after AS, geography may be for you.
History (Edexcel): A lot of content to remember, but it should be manageable if you are finding the GCSE course easy enough. The hardest part is the exams, I haven't quite got the technique myself yet, but once I do I should be ok.
My Advice Not as staightforward as say geography, but nevertheless an interesting subject that will if taken in conjunction with similar other subjects will help your essay writing skill.
Philosophy and Ethics (OCR): A very interesting subject. If you are open minded you will love it, you need to be keen to learn as it will not necessarily teach itself as in other subjects. It's wonderful looking at social principle which is agreed upon, and then discovering why it is agreed upon, and who proposed it first. I love it when a theory comes together!
My advice: May seem difficult at first but once you 'get' how to do the exams, the key is being more concise than you think you need to be, then it all comes together and you can sound like a perfect pseud in no time!
Drama (AQA/AKA the devil.) The exciting bits of English, I took it because I didn't do it for GCSE and I really wanted to do some acting. My most 'fun' subject probably. The AS is full of practical with very little written. A2 is predominately written though.
My advice: If you want to do some fun, constructive and get an extra qualification instead of your frees, this is the subject for you
.In order of difficulty - hardest to easiest
History,
Geography,
Philosophy and Ethics,
English,
Drama.
(edited 11 years ago)
How is gov and politicis people? Any good?
Any good?Original post by blueray
How is gov and politicis people? Any good?
Any good?It's a lot of my friends' favourite subjects, even those who tok it because thy didn't have Anytjing else, but I think trinity Coll Cambridge have it on their b list o subjects (check it out tjough I'm not certain)
Throwing in on the French: I did Spanish - at AS and it by far the biggest jump in any subject. I did Maths/Biol/Chem and I didn't notice a difficulty increase but I did with Spanish. GCSE was nicely straight forward although we probably didn't get taught quite a few things we should've. I feel it gets easier through the year, but the first term is a steep increase. Again, probably has some factors in with how good your teaching was prior etc. We had a bit of an issue with teachers at AS too, but even still, I think it's a subject which requires a lot of your own work - versus things like sciences where you can still coast by without doing much extra [if that's your style/forte].
Original post by tooambitious
Hey, I'm currently in year 12 so I know that You must be picking your subjects now so I thought I'd tell you about my subjects so if you're interestedin them there'll be something for you to read here Any other year 12s who want to help post on the same format as me, quote me and I'll add it to the original post
TSR username: tooambitious
Subjects: Economics, French, Further mathematics and mathematics
How I'm finding them so far:
Economics:- it's is not very difficult so far, but I think it's easier for me then a lot of my peers because I supplement my learning by exta curricular learning and people in my class who aren't really aren't enjoying it, find the lessons boring and a bit difficult and it'll only get harder My advice: only do it if you're prepared to keep up to date with news current affairs and extra reading outside the subject.
French: again I'm not feeling a step up at all but there are a couple in my class who are struggling, I you easily got an A* at GCSE you'll be fine, if you got an A and are prepared to work you'll again be fine, it's great if you like the language and in lessons we often have philosophical debates about why a language is etc, and we debate current affairs which is funMy advice: if you enjoy and find it easy now the step up won't be a problem
Further Maths: C1 and S1 so far and both build on GCSE C1 is easier of te two because S1 introduces new topics, if you've done a GCSE in stats it'll be even
easier. If you're at an A at GCSE AS will be fine (although beware A2 is harder) My Advice if you don't like maths it'll be dull don't take it.
Further Maths FP1 and M1 t the moment, absolutely love them not as difficult as people would have you believe of my test so fr fp1 has been only 1% bhind c1 so really quite easy - the concepts themselves are more difficult but the questions are easy. M1 once you grasp the drawing of the questions it's easy (honestly just understanding what the q wants you to draw is the hardest part and it's not very hard tbh) My advice: take it if you Love maths, because it'll take up half of your time (if you do 4)
In order of difficulty - hardest to easiest
Further maths
Economics
Maths
French
But honestly theyre all very close and quite simple so far, but all very interesting and Reccomend them all!
Hope this helps anybody choosing
Any other year 12s who want to help post on the same format as me, quote me and I'll add it to the original post TSR username: tooambitious
Subjects: Economics, French, Further mathematics and mathematics
How I'm finding them so far:
Economics:- it's is not very difficult so far, but I think it's easier for me then a lot of my peers because I supplement my learning by exta curricular learning and people in my class who aren't really aren't enjoying it, find the lessons boring and a bit difficult and it'll only get harder My advice: only do it if you're prepared to keep up to date with news current affairs and extra reading outside the subject.
French: again I'm not feeling a step up at all but there are a couple in my class who are struggling, I you easily got an A* at GCSE you'll be fine, if you got an A and are prepared to work you'll again be fine, it's great if you like the language and in lessons we often have philosophical debates about why a language is etc, and we debate current affairs which is funMy advice: if you enjoy and find it easy now the step up won't be a problem
Further Maths: C1 and S1 so far and both build on GCSE C1 is easier of te two because S1 introduces new topics, if you've done a GCSE in stats it'll be even
easier. If you're at an A at GCSE AS will be fine (although beware A2 is harder) My Advice if you don't like maths it'll be dull don't take it.
Further Maths FP1 and M1 t the moment, absolutely love them not as difficult as people would have you believe of my test so fr fp1 has been only 1% bhind c1 so really quite easy - the concepts themselves are more difficult but the questions are easy. M1 once you grasp the drawing of the questions it's easy (honestly just understanding what the q wants you to draw is the hardest part and it's not very hard tbh) My advice: take it if you Love maths, because it'll take up half of your time (if you do 4)
In order of difficulty - hardest to easiest
Further maths
Economics
Maths
French
But honestly theyre all very close and quite simple so far, but all very interesting and Reccomend them all!
Hope this helps anybody choosing
TSR username: 08batee
Subjects: Maths, Physics, Biology, Geography
Maths - Not too bad so far, although I'm finding it a relatively large step up from GCSE. S1 is actually pretty good, considering I hated statistics at GCSE, but C1 is quite dull!
Advice: Don't take it unless you have a really good grasp of everything at GCSE and are confident using it.
Physics - Really good!
I'm doing the AQA A spec, and absolutely love it. Favourite subject by far, and really interesting! Advice - If you like it at GCSE, do it!! Must have a good grasp of at least basic maths though.
Biology - Quite boring if I'm honest, it's pretty much the same topics as GCSE, but in more detail, and with more chemistry. Not a huge fan.
Advice - Do it if you love the topics you're doing currently.
Geography - Alright, although there's an enormous amount of information and work in it. It's quite dull in comparison to GCSE, and there's tons more case studies!!
Advice - Only do it if you have an amazing memory, and are willing to put in a huge amount of hours!
In order of difficulty - Hardest - Easiest
Physics
Geography
Maths
Biology
TSR username : 
subjects: maths history physics english philosophy and german (i do the IB)
Maths - boring
history - really interesting because it covers a large variety of time periods and countries
philosophy - awesome even though my brain feels tired when i think too much
physics - meh pretty good
english - surprisingly fun since i despised it at GCSE
german - death
theory of knowledge - makes me doubt everything i have ever known
hardest to easiet
german
physics
english
history = philosophy
maths
subjects: maths history physics english philosophy and german (i do the IB)
Maths - boring
history - really interesting because it covers a large variety of time periods and countries
philosophy - awesome even though my brain feels tired when i think too much
physics - meh pretty good
english - surprisingly fun since i despised it at GCSE
german - death
theory of knowledge - makes me doubt everything i have ever known
hardest to easiet
german
physics
english
history = philosophy
maths
this thread is so helpful! econ sounds good
anything on chem or psych? i'm taking economics, maths, chem, and psych but i've never tried economics or psych before so not sure how they're gonna go down :/
anything on chem or psych? i'm taking economics, maths, chem, and psych but i've never tried economics or psych before so not sure how they're gonna go down :/
Original post by tooambitious
x
TSR username: Viggo2790
Subjects: English Literature, Geography, History, Philosophy and Ethics, Drama.
How I'm finding them so far:
English Literature (WJEC):- Basically consists of reading three books and analysing some poems for an end of year exam. If you find GCSE easy or manageable, you shouldn't find it too difficult.
My advice: Read a few classic novels from the Victorian period, it might save you time reading books later on when you are busier, personally having read Dorian Gray in the summer beforehand my workload now is reduced.
Geography (Edexcel): No coursework which is a shame but incredibly similar to GCSE level at AS in terms of content, just the exams are essay based, which is slightly harder.
My advice: If you were comfortable at GCSE, or looking for a safe subject to drop after AS, geography may be for you.
History (Edexcel): A lot of content to remember, but it should be manageable if you are finding the GCSE course easy enough. The hardest part is the exams, I haven't quite got the technique myself yet, but once I do I should be ok.
My Advice Not as staightforward as say geography, but nevertheless an interesting subject that will if taken in conjunction with similar other subjects will help your essay writing skill.
Philosophy and Ethics (OCR): A very interesting subject. If you are open minded you will love it, you need to be keen to learn as it will not necessarily teach itself as in other subjects. It's wonderful looking at social principle which is agreed upon, and then discovering why it is agreed upon, and who proposed it first. I love it when a theory comes together!
My advice: May seem difficult at first but once you 'get' how to do the exams, the key is being more concise than you think you need to be, then it all comes together and you can sound like a perfect pseud in no time!
Drama (AQA/AKA the devil.) The exciting bits of English, I took it because I didn't do it for GCSE and I really wanted to do some acting. My most 'fun' subject probably. The AS is full of practical with very little written. A2 is predominately written though.
My advice: If you want to do some fun, constructive and get an extra qualification instead of your frees, this is the subject for you
.In order of difficulty - hardest to easiest
History,
Geography,
Philosophy and Ethics,
English,
Drama.
TSR username - RaHiNa
Subjects i'm taking- Government and Politics, Chemistry, Psychology, and History
History (OCR)- interesting. taking at it gcse is an extra bonus! always try and keep ontop of content, as that is something you really don't want to be behind on.
Psychology- can be quite interesting but i would say more boring.
Politics- interesting, probably the one i most enjoy. it's current and goes well with History.
Chemistry- if you like science it should be enjoyable. keep ontop of content and it should go well. this is one subject which i think you should definately understand the content because it makes learning the other topics easier plus in the beginning it might be hard but content becomes better to learn as you carry on. and there's a lot of maths i would say get a grade A atleast for GCSE or be someone who is good at maths (doesn't have to mean you enjoy maths). even if you don't enjoy maths, it's not so bad as it's combined with atoms etc which hopefully you'll be interested in if you're considering to take chem.
Order of Difficulty (1 being the most difficult)
1- History
2-Chemistry
3-Politics
4-Psychology
Subjects i'm taking- Government and Politics, Chemistry, Psychology, and History
History (OCR)- interesting. taking at it gcse is an extra bonus! always try and keep ontop of content, as that is something you really don't want to be behind on.
Psychology- can be quite interesting but i would say more boring.
Politics- interesting, probably the one i most enjoy. it's current and goes well with History.
Chemistry- if you like science it should be enjoyable. keep ontop of content and it should go well. this is one subject which i think you should definately understand the content because it makes learning the other topics easier plus in the beginning it might be hard but content becomes better to learn as you carry on. and there's a lot of maths i would say get a grade A atleast for GCSE or be someone who is good at maths (doesn't have to mean you enjoy maths). even if you don't enjoy maths, it's not so bad as it's combined with atoms etc which hopefully you'll be interested in if you're considering to take chem.
Order of Difficulty (1 being the most difficult)
1- History
2-Chemistry
3-Politics
4-Psychology
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