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Picking A Levels and Applying to 6th Form

Hey!
So I've been studying abroad at a Singaporean Curriculum school for the past 6 years, and I'm trying to move back tot the UK for 6th form. I completed my IGCSE's last year (Junior College 1) and got my results back recently (all A*-B).

I know nothing about the education system in the UK, but as far as I can tell from some quick Googling- you guys retake GCSE's in Lower 6th Form and take A and AS Levels in Upper 6th Form. In my school we study for IGCSE's in Secondary and take them in JC 1, and study for A and As Level's in JC 1 and the first half of JC 2 (we take the first set of exams in the first semester of JC2). We were given a maximum of 5 IGCSE subjects- 3 mandatory (English, ICT, Mandarin) and 2 of our choice. I had to argue like hell to get an extra science in (I chose Maths, Physics, Chemistry).

I'm interested in Law and Journalism, and have a list of subjects I would like to take- but I have no idea what I'll be doing exactly in 6th form. I've also got some questions about applying. Does your teacher tell you your predicted GCSE grade or??? I'm just lost tbh. Feel stupid emailing schools about this stuff, and my parents don't really want me to move abroad so they aren't really answering my questions.
Reply 1
Sixth form lasts for two years-Lower Sixth (Year 12) and Upper Sixth (Year 13). You can only retake GCSE English and Maths in Year 12 if you didn't manage to get a C grade, so you won't need to do that. As of 2015, most A Level courses don't split up into AS and A2 where you take half of the exams in Year 12 and the other half in Year 13, now you take all of the exams for the full A Level in Year 13. As for journalism and law, it would be a good idea to take English. You take 3 A Levels, you could take 4 and continue with 3 in upper sixth, but not worth the hustle
Original post by solark
Sixth form lasts for two years-Lower Sixth (Year 12) and Upper Sixth (Year 13). You can only retake GCSE English and Maths in Year 12 if you didn't manage to get a C grade, so you won't need to do that. As of 2015, most A Level courses don't split up into AS and A2 where you take half of the exams in Year 12 and the other half in Year 13, now you take all of the exams for the full A Level in Year 13. As for journalism and law, it would be a good idea to take English. You take 3 A Levels, you could take 4 and continue with 3 in upper sixth, but not worth the hustle


Thank you sooo muchhh, but what if I wasn't satisfied with my GCSE scores and wanted to retake them anyway, or didn't get to do an exam I wanted to do in the first place? Could I do this in 12 year?
Reply 3
Original post by prazzyjazzy
Thank you sooo muchhh, but what if I wasn't satisfied with my GCSE scores and wanted to retake them anyway, or didn't get to do an exam I wanted to do in the first place? Could I do this in 12 year?

In theory you could, but it means extra hours of work and lessons and you really don't need it. A Levels are hard enough, you should focus on them during the two years of Sixth form. What colleges are you thinking of applying to? Are you moving here alone?
Original post by solark
In theory you could, but it means extra hours of work and lessons and you really don't need it. A Levels are hard enough, you should focus on them during the two years of Sixth form. What colleges are you thinking of applying to? Are you moving here alone?


I'm moving to the UK alone, but I'll be staying with my grandparents. I was thinking of going to Watford Grammar School for Girls or Parmiters. I barely had any preparation for IGCSE's last year, but you're probably right about focusing on A levels. My classmates are stressing out over retaking IGCSE's and doing A/AS Levels.
I don't see the point of re-sitting your GCSE's if you've achieved 100% A*-B. Just focus on your A-Levels. With those grades you can still get into the best institutions in the UK, providing you meet their A-Level requirements.


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Reply 6
Original post by prazzyjazzy
I'm moving to the UK alone, but I'll be staying with my grandparents. I was thinking of going to Watford Grammar School for Girls or Parmiters. I barely had any preparation for IGCSE's last year, but you're probably right about focusing on A levels. My classmates are stressing out over retaking IGCSE's and doing A/AS Levels.


Unless ur aiming for a specific university that requires more A's than you have or more GCSE grades so look at some university websites to see if there's even requirement for law for gcse cuz i don't think it's more than a C or above for maths and english. Anyway i don't think you need to retake or take do more subjects.

Also look at what subject requirements at A Level they'd want to see and then choose. Hope this helps and gd luck:smile:

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Reply 7
what subjects are you thinking of taking? :smile:
Original post by Legend15
I don't see the point of re-sitting your GCSE's if you've achieved 100% A*-B. Just focus on your A-Levels. With those grades you can still get into the best institutions in the UK, providing you meet their A-Level requirements.


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Thanks for the help. TUT Was super worried that my grades wouldn't be enough because I didn't take a lot of subjects
Original post by solark
what subjects are you thinking of taking? :smile:


Uhm, English Literature & Language, History, Economics/Politics/Foreign language. I'm torn on the last one, I took a Mandarin IGCSE but wasn't really into it so I'll probably scrap the Foreign Language subject. I checked, and I meet their requirements for the 6th form I'm applying to. My classmates are taking a ridiculous number of A Levels. Mathematics, Chem, Physics, Biology, and some of them are doing Additional Mathematics and Mandarin. We're a science focused school, so we've never had Literature or History. I'm kinda worried that this might leave me lagging behind T.T
Original post by Legend15
I don't see the point of re-sitting your GCSE's if you've achieved 100% A*-B. Just focus on your A-Levels. With those grades you can still get into the best institutions in the UK, providing you meet their A-Level requirements.


Posted from TSR Mobile


Thanks so much for the help! I checked the requirements on the 6th forms' site for all the subjects I'm interested in taking and I meet all of them, so I can start focusing on A Levels now. So glad to get this off my shoulders, my school didn't encourage us to take IGCSE's seriously so I felt like I could have done better. Its just that I read some threads on TSR where good GCSE's can improve your odds at getting into a University even if your A Levels aren't as high as other applicants.
Reply 11
Original post by prazzyjazzy
Uhm, English Literature & Language, History, Economics/Politics/Foreign language. I'm torn on the last one, I took a Mandarin IGCSE but wasn't really into it so I'll probably scrap the Foreign Language subject. I checked, and I meet their requirements for the 6th form I'm applying to. My classmates are taking a ridiculous number of A Levels. Mathematics, Chem, Physics, Biology, and some of them are doing Additional Mathematics and Mandarin. We're a science focused school, so we've never had Literature or History. I'm kinda worried that this might leave me lagging behind T.T

Economics has a relatively easy exam in my opinion, should be easy getting an A or even an A*. Have you done history to IGCSE? One of the hardest A levels to pick!
Original post by solark
Economics has a relatively easy exam in my opinion, should be easy getting an A or even an A*. Have you done history to IGCSE? One of the hardest A levels to pick!

No I haven't, I'm checking out past papers online to see what its like. That's my biggest worry, but its also the most important subject I'm taking
Reply 13
Original post by prazzyjazzy
No I haven't, I'm checking out past papers online to see what its like. That's my biggest worry, but its also the most important subject I'm taking

Classical Civilisation is a great alternative to Modern and Medieval History, if you are interested in Ancient Greece and Rome. Its a mix of Ancient History and Literature and it's a more "unusual" subject to pick (exact opposite of History) and well respected by all unis :smile: Oh and about Mandarin-if it is your first language don't bother taking it, top universities won't consider Foreign language qualifications from native speakers
Original post by solark
Classical Civilisation is a great alternative to Modern and Medieval History, if you are interested in Ancient Greece and Rome. Its a mix of Ancient History and Literature and it's a more "unusual" subject to pick (exact opposite of History) and well respected by all unis :smile: Oh and about Mandarin-if it is your first language don't bother taking it, top universities won't consider Foreign language qualifications from native speakers

That's really handy to know, I hadn't heard of that before so I'll have to look into it some more. Mandarin isn't my native language so I think I'll be good there.

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