What makes Sixth Form so difficult?

As a year 11 student, I've been told by many sixth formers (far too many) that I should be glad I'm doing GCSE's and that A-Levels are so much more difficult.

But what makes them so much more difficult? Is it the advanced content, the sheer amount of content, the gap between GCSE and A-Level, the workload?

I think I'll personally find A-Levels more enjoyable than GCSE's because the main thing I loathe about school are the subject's I'm terrible at (*cough* Maths and Chemistry *cough*) and as soon as I don't have to do them I think I'll enjoy the experience so much more.

Does anyone enjoy A-Levels over GCSE's here? I'd love to hear a variety of opinions.

Thanks!

I personally found A Levels easier than GCSEs, I think mainly because I was doing fewer subjects, and they were subjects that I actually had at least somewhat of an interest in. The workload did increase, but for the most part it was manageable as I didn't have to cover so many different subject areas. I didn't enjoy sixth form, but it was miles better than GCSE. You just have to see how things go really, as everyone feels differently

Work load definitely start doing notes from day one and revise for all tests no matter how small

As a year 11 student, I've been told by many sixth formers (far too many) that I should be glad I'm doing GCSE's and that A-Levels are so much more difficult.

But what makes them so much more difficult? Is it the advanced content, the sheer amount of content, the gap between GCSE and A-Level, the workload?

I think I'll personally find A-Levels more enjoyable than GCSE's because the main thing I loathe about school are the subject's I'm terrible at (*cough* Maths and Chemistry *cough*) and as soon as I don't have to do them I think I'll enjoy the experience so much more.

Does anyone enjoy A-Levels over GCSE's here? I'd love to hear a variety of opinions.

Thanks!

a levels are way better imo; idk how i got through high school without free periods and studying so many subjects hahaha
sure, the content is pretty advanced compared to gcse but then again you're studying 3/4 subjects instead of like 10 so of course they're gonna be more in-depth but not necessarily more difficult, you just have to put effort in

as long as you stay on top of stuff and go over stuff you've learned right from the start instead of last minute before exams it makes things feel a lot 'easier'
i think people who make out a levels are a big deal are those who werent prepared for the style of teaching - at gcse you learn stuff and revisit it over and over but at a level it's constant learning (which i prefer because every lesson feels worthwhile in sixth form whereas a LOT of high school lessons felt like a waste of time)

I'm about to sit my AS Levels and am working at ABCU, despite only getting 2 As at GCSE. Personally, I don't find the content of the work more difficult, I think that it's the amount. You have to know so much - thinkers, theories, models, dates and names. One thing I find really annoying is the grade boundaries. For example, 50% can get you a D whereas 70% can get you a B. Then it's a fine line between the top grades where you may have a A-C be within a 8-12 mark range, which makes it so much easier to make one mistake on a question and lose a whole grade.

I personally feel that Sixth Formers are treated more like adults, especially at my school. We have vending machines, kettles, microwaves and pool tables and smoking areas. The work is a lot less script-like than GCSE. You can argue your own way instead of having to follow the same narrative as everyone else taking the paper. If you get good GCSE grades, I strongly recommend Sixth Form. However, it's not for those who found GCSEs difficult - unless you do subjects like Hospitality, Youth Work or Football Academy. In that case, Sixth Form is still a good option but you won't share the same experience as those taking non-vocational subjects.

personally, i didn't find the gap between GCSE and A Levels too hard to adjust to (this probably depends on the subject). however, A level content is a big step up and the exams are much harder (and with higher grade boundaries!). also, the amount of content we get through is unreal - i think i had done the same amount of work by christmas of year 12 as the whole of my gcse course in some subjects lol

i think everything is just alot more intense which is why it is more stressful. A big factor, i think, is that we have to decide what we want to do after year 13 - for universities, we have to research courses and unis, look at open days, check course requirements, write our personal statement etc. etc., which is just a whole bundle of stress tbh. and then once that whole process is done - we have to wait for all our responses and then have the pressure of having to meet offers!!

I think the constant learning sounds quite cool. Perhaps it's people that liked to take day's off in year 10/11 who find it difficult to stay on top of that? Thank's for the advice about going over stuff straight from the start, I'm hoping I won't procrastinate as much as I do with my GCSE's.



Those grade boundaries sound horrible. It reminds me a bit of Biology (we got the results for the mock we did, the 2016 B1 paper, I got 47/60 and an A* was 49! They seem to have gotten so much higher!). What exactly do you mean by "Not having to follow the same narrative as everyone else taking the paper"? Do you mean structure-wise or...?



Damn, that sounds like a lot of content haha. Wow I'd almost forgotten about all the research regarding uni's and personal statements. Does your sixth form give you much support, or are you left to research them independantly?

Damn, that sounds like a lot of content haha. Wow I'd almost forgotten about all the research regarding uni's and personal statements. Does your sixth form give you much support, or are you left to research them independantly?

What I'm trying to say is, if you're doing a written subject like RE or English Literature, there aren't really rights and wrongs. You can say whatever you want as long as you have some evidence and relevance. I felt that in GCSE you had to say one of numerous things in order to get marks.

P.S. I had de ja vu writing this