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Everyone Who Just Did A-levels Plz Read

Hello there everyone who has just done their a-levels.

In two weeks time we will find out how we did. Some will have done very well, others could have done better, but either way all of us worked very hard and we deserve ten minutes (at least!) to just wollow in self pride and sucess.

Soon all the "exams are too easy" media hype will begin, please just ignore it; it is written by people who really don't have a clue and don't understand what we do and have achieved. We are all brilliant, we deserve some recognition without trying to makes us feel frauds. We are not; we have worked and soon we will be paid off.

Well done everyone. Do not read the papers for a week after the results and have fun with your new qualifications.

"hard work is temporary, pride lasts a lifetime..."

Reply 1

Expression

14

only_me

Soon all the "exams are too easy" media hype will begin, please just ignore it; it is written by people who really don't have a clue and don't understand what we do and have achieved. We are all brilliant, we deserve some recognition without trying to makes us feel frauds. We are not; we have worked and soon we will be paid off.

An excellent posting in the whole, but I have picked out this part of the post, and must say how much over the past 3 years I have heard the "exams are too easy" line, and how every year in mid-August I get similarly frustrated, by newsreaders/editors asking "Are Exams just Getting Easier?" when the pass rates come out to be higher that the previous year, obviously it is not possible that students are working hard, or teaching standards are getting better.

Reply 2

Unregistered

I've just finished two A-levels in English Language and Sociology. On the whole, I didn't think they were difficult at all. I'm predicted two As (like most people) and all I seemed to do in the exam was analyse stuff.

One exam question asked us to analyse a shampoo bottle, and for that we had TWO HOURS. Another question asked how language had changed over the past 50 years. A sociology question was all about Zimmerman and West (dominance theory) something the class had been working on all year, while another English Language exam asked us to analyse a Virgin Mobile advertisement - so easy!

Throughout the course, we were shown past exam papers which (if I'm honest) looked really difficult. My teachers made it quite clear that if we'd been studying the subject a few years ago, we'd have had to revise a LOT more, as well learn grammatical symbols and complex naming such as infinitive verbs and auxiliaries etc.

If you collect the Beano or Dandy, you'd notice that over the years, the wording has become very simplistic. No longer are complex sentences and semi-colons used. Instead, it's just 5-worded speech bubbles. It's the same in newspapers. Most people grow up reading The Sun or the Daily Mirror commenting on how complex it is.

In short, I think A-levels are getting easier.

Reply 3

Unregistered

ok, im sorry, but that last post was a complete load of....well...dont want to get this post taken off..... just because your bloody brainy, and probally like to gloat about it to..... and uve been predicted two A's, but i dont think list most people...i found the a levels, very hard, very hard indeed...but i also revised very hard, as i hard as i possibly could. thats why i am gonna be happy with what ever the results...and i will be damned if i let you get away with a post like that on you gloating on how easy they were jus because you have a litle bit or brain then me.... well i hope ur soon realise,that it dont matta how brainy u are and that money doesnt make you happy....you dont nesscerialy need grades to be happy in ure future life, with all that probable money your gonna have from ure " 2 As "...where as i will be so gratefull for my life.. even its with no money, no grades or nuthing, jus aslong as i have a family that i love, and they love me.....!

Reply 4

Adhsur

15

For those who think A levels aren't getting easier, there might be something wrong with your thinking. For a start, consider why places like oxbridge have a separate maths exam now for entry - the a level syllabus just doesn't cover enough to be able to bridge the gap and it has been noted that less and less people can do this exam (which has stayed the same over years). Why is this? A levels are getting easier.

Having said this, since I'm doing AS, hopefully I'm inclined to think that I'll get good grades on the basis of my intelligence and not because of papers that have been dumbed down to appeal more to the mainstream.

And unregistered, fair enough you may be very happy with your grades which might not be 2 A's, but there's no need to get jealous and show your spite to people who will get grades like this and will be quite rightly proud of them.

Reply 5

Expression

14

Adhsur

For those who think A levels aren't getting easier, there might be something wrong with your thinking. For a start, consider why places like oxbridge have a separate maths exam now for entry - the a level syllabus just doesn't cover enough to be able to bridge the gap and it has been noted that less and less people can do this exam (which has stayed the same over years). Why is this? A levels are getting easier.

Having said this, since I'm doing AS, hopefully I'm inclined to think that I'll get good grades on the basis of my intelligence and not because of papers that have been dumbed down to appeal more to the mainstream.

The initial post wasn't over whether A-Levels are getting easier or not, but venting frustration at why the media use it as a tool every year - something that will clearly demoralize those that are unsuccessful, or not as successful as they would like to be, and indeed those who have put in loads of effort to get higher grades, only to find the value of them doubted.

Reply 6

It'sPhil...

2

I agree with Adshur. Because As levels are so much easier than old A-levels you can pick up easy points. If your sensible and work damn hard in the first year you can get a surplus of points on the easy papers allowing you to effectively doss in the second year. Also with modular exams and resit opportunities you have more chances at getting a good grade.

Reply 7

Chicken

12

You may think A-Levels are becoming easier, but it's just because things are getting taken off the syllabus because now with the AS's there is not time to learn it all. Those who did the old A-Levels learned from September through to July, then had summer hols, and then learned again from September until around Easter when revision started. With this new system we learn through to Easter (with maybe a break around Christmas for January exams), do our AS exams then learn again from the end of June to July, then September to December, then February to Easter. It is a lot more fragmented than it used to be, and it seems that A-Levels are getting easier simply because they cannot fit everything in that used to be on the syllabus.

And I think it is extremely demoralizing come August when the results are out, and the press say how the exams are getting easier. We've just slogged our way through a hectic year, revised our asses (excuse the language) off and sat in exam halls for hours on end to be told - when we get our results and finally feel it was all worth it - that the exams were easy and 'dumbed down'. That is not a good feeling really, so thankyou only_me for your little piece because its good to know that other people feel the same about the press.

Reply 8

Unregistered

ok, im sorry, but that last post was a complete load of....well...dont want to get this post taken off..... just because your bloody brainy, and probally like to gloat about it to..... and uve been predicted two A's,

That's the thing though, I'm not at all brainy. In an IQ test, I got a terrible score.

Reply 9

Xenon

11

For those who did the maths P3 paper this year, do you reckon that that paper was more difficult than papers in the past A-levels. I reckon that it was the most difficult of the previous P3 A2 papers.

Reply 10

emom100

8

Unregistered

I've just finished two A-levels in English Language and Sociology. On the whole, I didn't think they were difficult at all. I'm predicted two As (like most people) and all I seemed to do in the exam was analyse stuff.

.

This may sound like a dumb question but if you found them easy why didn't you do more subjects? With only 2 subjects you've had more preparation and revision time than people doing 3 or 4 so you would have had an advantage.

Reply 11

Unregistered

emom100

This may sound like a dumb question but if you found them easy why didn't you do more subjects? With only 2 subjects you've had more preparation and revision time than people doing 3 or 4 so you would have had an advantage.

I also did a VCE in Business. That was VERY difficult. :frown:

Reply 12

Toyosi

It'sPhil...

Because As levels are so much easier than old A-levels you can pick up easy points. If your sensible and work damn hard in the first year you can get a surplus of points on the easy papers allowing you to effectively doss in the second year.

I'd get that idea straight out of your head. A2 is not a doss. And to whoever thinks that being predicted 2As in english language and sociology is the worlds biggest achievement and proves that A2s are extremely easy should get off their high horse. Try getting 4As when doing a really difficult subject like chemistry, maths, physics, a language that is not your own or even english lit. If A2s are so easy why are u only doing 2. If we all did 2 subjects odds are we might get better grades in them due to all the time we'd have for them.

Reply 13

Chicken

12

Toyosi

Try getting 4As when doing a really difficult subject like chemistry, maths, physics, a language that is not your own or even english lit.

I agree totally - I did chemistry, physics, maths and french (as well as general studies) for AS and when I told people I did those subjects they'd be gobsmacked. However I do them cos I enjoy them (apart from french which i dropped after AS), and although i'm not predicted anything like straight A's for A2, i'm glad I chose those subjects and wouldn't want to do sociology or anything even if you say it is easy.

Reply 14

Nylex

10

Heh, you did the same as me, except I didn't do Chemistry.

Reply 15

Kates

However I do them cos I enjoy them (apart from french which i dropped after AS), and although i'm not predicted anything like straight A's for A2, i'm glad I chose those subjects and wouldn't want to do sociology or anything even if you say it is easy.

I agree.
I did chemistry, psychology and maths to A2 and german to AS. They were not easy subjects and im prob not gunna get A's in them, but i didnt wanna pick 'easy' subjects, i wanted to do ones i liked, even if they were really hard!!

Reply 16

Nylex

10

I found French a lot easier than Maths and Physics. Physics was the hardest.

Reply 17

It'sPhil...

2

Toyosi

I'd get that idea straight out of your head. A2 is not a doss...

Actually ive already done an A2 in maths and found it pretty easy but thats not the point. I think you misunderstood what I meant. What I meant was that if you play the exam game ie really stack up the points in As get as close to 300 out of 300 as you can then you leaqve yourself in an excellent position to get a good grade wityh less effort in the A2s. People at my school regularly get 300 UMS at As and then either get CCC or something in the A2 units and still get the A grade. There have been loads of times when people dont even need to take one of the exams because they already have 480 UMS from the first 5. This is not uncommon and its part of the reason why i think the new system is easy.

Reply 18

Expression

14

It'sPhil...

There have been loads of times when people dont even need to take one of the exams because they already have 480 UMS from the first 5. This is not uncommon and its part of the reason why i think the new system is easy.

You telling me that someone getting :

96, 96, 96, 96, 96 from the first 5 Units is "not uncommon" - I assure you on the national picture it is "uncommon" at the very least.

Plus it is unlikely that you'd come into the final session, knowing for a fact that you have reached the magic 480 mark.

Reply 19

It'sPhil...

2

Expression

You telling me that someone getting :

96, 96, 96, 96, 96 from the first 5 Units is "not uncommon" - I assure you on the national picture it is "uncommon" at the very least.

Plus it is unlikely that you'd come into the final session, knowing for a fact that you have reached the magic 480 mark.

I dont want to sound like im boasting but at my school it honestly isnt uncommon especially in scienecs. in maths we get ppl getting rediculously high scores like 580 every year and those are the ones that take it a year early. in economics 3 people got the full 300 for As last year and the best is 597 overall. My school isnt even one of the best in the region so im sure tonnes of other people get high scores like these... anyway my point wasnt really to boast and say wow these guys are great but to say that most people can acheive good scores if they realise the importance of the much easier As marks

Everyone Who Just Did A-levels Plz Read

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