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A level Advice

So i'm almost finished with year 11 and soon going to start year 12, and i just wanted to ask what advice would you give me about A levels? And what did you do in your A levels that you regret doing? and don't advise me to do.


Thanks guys,
Original post by jess456L
So i'm almost finished with year 11 and soon going to start year 12, and i just wanted to ask what advice would you give me about A levels? And what did you do in your A levels that you regret doing? and don't advise me to do.


Thanks guys,

I'm just finishing Year 13, I did English Language, English Literature and History (and Maths at AS) and found them all really good - are you looking to do arts or sciences? :smile: my best advice would be to plan ahead and realise the importance of the exams; last minute revision just doesn't cut it, and it makes it so much easier to revise throughout the year. Just because you have fewer subjects does not mean you have a smaller workload :h:
Reply 2
I take Biology, Chemistry and Psychology :smile:
I would definitely say stay organised, revise as you go along and especially with the new spec as its spread across two years now, make sure you make revision materials as you go along!
Do practice questions and ask your teacher things you're not sure on.
One thing I would say is important is that if within the first few weeks you don't think you like the subject you're taking then swap it for another subject! Once you get to christmas or even after October half term, you would have so much work to catch up on you probably wouldn't be able to change it and its even harder to revise if you don't enjoy what you're taking! :smile:
Reply 3
eat
Be on top of everything
Reply 5
Original post by jess456L
So i'm almost finished with year 11 and soon going to start year 12, and i just wanted to ask what advice would you give me about A levels? And what did you do in your A levels that you regret doing? and don't advise me to do.


Thanks guys,


I'm pretty much done with year 13 now, I just have these exams and I took English Literature, History and Spanish so hopefully I can be of some use!

I would recommend, in terms of studying, that you keep on top of everything. That can seem really easy and simple because you only have 3/4 subjects in comparison to the 12 at GCSE, but A Levels are nothing like GCSEs, you REALLY need to work and you need to work HARD to get the grades you want. Teachers say that there is a big jump between GCSEs and A Levels and this is what the jump is! The fact that you are suddenly expected to do so much more independent work an understand everything very well!

But in the end it is all worth it because you may need to do that extra reading to fully understand a concept! The jump is huge, but it's not impossible, and as long as you use what very little time you have, I can promise you that you will do well. Don't be afraid to ask your teacher to re-explain something, or to see them after school to go through some work or something. Teacher feedback is essential, especially for arts/humanities A Levels.

In general, sixth form is hard, I won't lie to you, but it is manageable as long as you choose the right subjects for you, work hard at them, and make use of all the free time you have (you may not do this at first... no one does) but realise how valuable that time is! But also, enjoy the experience!

Good luck with everything!
Reply 6
STAY ON TOP OF WORK. DON'T FALL BEHIND. DON'T BE LAZY. DON'T SAY YOU WILL CATCH UP SOME DAY, CATCH UP ASAP!

Seriously though, the amount of times I heard this and said "mhm I'll do it" but didn't end up doing it :/ I can't stress it enough.

Make solid notes from the start so that you can go straight to them during revision.

But the most important thing of all....

Enjoy what you are doing. A levels are going to be tough, no doubt about it. But it will be so much easier if you're passionate about what you do and ultimately enjoy learning.

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