The Student Room Group

anyone else struggling with a levels?

At GCSE, i got a majority of A*s and some As. I never really struggled much with school (not to sound very cocky, i say this because at gcse when choosing subjects, i did subjects which ive always had a passion for and my brothers helped me a lot with them). i am now studying maths, further maths, french and physics (which apparently is quite a common combo for engineering/maths/physics students hahah). i am seriously struggling with physics. most people in my class are getting max a D, and i dont know if this is normal. im doing so much better in my other classes, is this usual with physics or something
Original post by anonymous1231231
At GCSE, i got a majority of A*s and some As. I never really struggled much with school (not to sound very cocky, i say this because at gcse when choosing subjects, i did subjects which ive always had a passion for and my brothers helped me a lot with them). i am now studying maths, further maths, french and physics (which apparently is quite a common combo for engineering/maths/physics students hahah). i am seriously struggling with physics. most people in my class are getting max a D, and i dont know if this is normal. im doing so much better in my other classes, is this usual with physics or something


i am struggling with all my a-levels and i got mainly c's at gcse. so don't be disheartened. you are not the only one.
Reply 2
Original post by anonymous1231231
At GCSE, i got a majority of A*s and some As. I never really struggled much with school (not to sound very cocky, i say this because at gcse when choosing subjects, i did subjects which ive always had a passion for and my brothers helped me a lot with them). i am now studying maths, further maths, french and physics (which apparently is quite a common combo for engineering/maths/physics students hahah). i am seriously struggling with physics. most people in my class are getting max a D, and i dont know if this is normal. im doing so much better in my other classes, is this usual with physics or something


Yeah I found there was a big step up from GCSE to AS and again from AS to A level. That's just how it is unfortunately... It's probably felt even worse since you can get away with just knowing textbook answers to stuff for GCSE and get an A*, but at A level they require a much higher level of understanding tbh. I know the feeling though - I'm doing almost the same options as you (Chemistry not French) and I'm seriously daunted by the number of papers I have to take this summer. I relate though RIP
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by anonymous1231231
At GCSE, i got a majority of A*s and some As. I never really struggled much with school (not to sound very cocky, i say this because at gcse when choosing subjects, i did subjects which ive always had a passion for and my brothers helped me a lot with them). i am now studying maths, further maths, french and physics (which apparently is quite a common combo for engineering/maths/physics students hahah). i am seriously struggling with physics. most people in my class are getting max a D, and i dont know if this is normal. im doing so much better in my other classes, is this usual with physics or something


You're just gonna have to study more I'm afraid.

Have you purchased the CGP books for Physics?
Original post by anonymous1231231
At GCSE, i got a majority of A*s and some As. I never really struggled much with school (not to sound very cocky, i say this because at gcse when choosing subjects, i did subjects which ive always had a passion for and my brothers helped me a lot with them). i am now studying maths, further maths, french and physics (which apparently is quite a common combo for engineering/maths/physics students hahah). i am seriously struggling with physics. most people in my class are getting max a D, and i dont know if this is normal. im doing so much better in my other classes, is this usual with physics or something

Hi,

Year 13 student here studying all your subjects except French. I agree, physics is very tricky and requires a lot of flexiability. I also struggled at the start of year 12 with physics but I devised a good plan that managed to get me an A at AS level. What I did: when studying physics I used as many sources as possible, from books, class notes, websites etc when revising for a topic, as you never know when one source gives you a valuable piece of info that other sources might not.

Another thing I did was I prioritised long term unsdertanding over short term results. WHat I mean by this is that I made sure that I 100% percent understood all yhe concepts in a topic before moving on to do a questions or other topics. Sure, this meant I would C's and D's at the start of year in my assessment, but I had faith in my strat and kept on pushing, which ensured me long term sucsess.

Last thing I wanna add is it's never too late to start revising thoroughly, especially for physics, Trust me, teh earleir you start, the more you'll thank yourself come final exam time

hope this helps and wish you all the best!! :smile:
Original post by 123chinchilla123
i am struggling with all my a-levels and i got mainly c's at gcse. so don't be disheartened. you are not the only one.


thank u!! its good to know!! what other options do u do
Original post by Bobeth
Yeah I found there was a big step up from GCSE to AS and again from AS to A level. That's just how it is unfortunately... It's probably felt even worse since you can get away with just knowing textbook answers to stuff for GCSE and get an A*, but at A level they require a much higher level of understanding tbh. I know the feeling though - I'm doing almost the same options as you (Chemistry not French) and I'm seriously daunted by the number of papers I have to take this summer. I relate though RIP


i feel like in my school anyway it isnt taught well. im also doing ocr b and i cant find any resources which finds revision very difficult. thanks for replying, it really helped!!
Original post by Kyber Ninja
You're just gonna have to study more I'm afraid.

Have you purchased the CGP books for Physics?


hi thanks for replying, yes I have, i find the content helpful but because im doing ocr b which has so little resources i find it very hard to put the knowledge into practice, and its really holding me back. ive looked at other exam board questions, and it can be fine, but sometimes it cant work eg because not enough information on one part of the chapter that ocr emphasises, or different content altogether.
Original post by Radioactivedecay
Hi,

Year 13 student here studying all your subjects except French. I agree, physics is very tricky and requires a lot of flexiability. I also struggled at the start of year 12 with physics but I devised a good plan that managed to get me an A at AS level. What I did: when studying physics I used as many sources as possible, from books, class notes, websites etc when revising for a topic, as you never know when one source gives you a valuable piece of info that other sources might not.

Another thing I did was I prioritised long term unsdertanding over short term results. WHat I mean by this is that I made sure that I 100% percent understood all yhe concepts in a topic before moving on to do a questions or other topics. Sure, this meant I would C's and D's at the start of year in my assessment, but I had faith in my strat and kept on pushing, which ensured me long term sucsess.

Last thing I wanna add is it's never too late to start revising thoroughly, especially for physics, Trust me, teh earleir you start, the more you'll thank yourself come final exam time

hope this helps and wish you all the best!! :smile:


hello, thanks so much for this it really helped. Im doing an exam board which has v little resources and its so hard to cope, I dont understand what more i can do as i do past papers when i can find the right questions, but other than that theres so little i can really do.
Original post by anonymous1231231
hi thanks for replying, yes I have, i find the content helpful but because im doing ocr b which has so little resources i find it very hard to put the knowledge into practice, and its really holding me back. ive looked at other exam board questions, and it can be fine, but sometimes it cant work eg because not enough information on one part of the chapter that ocr emphasises, or different content altogether.


That's a **** situation. I never understand why schools choose B specs, they're usually harder and have no resources.

Which specific part of physics do you struggle with? If it's mechanics, I recommend exam-solutions

Particle Physics and astronomy is just a lot of memory work imo
Original post by anonymous1231231
thank u!! its good to know!! what other options do u do


i take maths, law and heath and social care
Original post by anonymous1231231
hello, thanks so much for this it really helped. Im doing an exam board which has v little resources and its so hard to cope, I dont understand what more i can do as i do past papers when i can find the right questions, but other than that theres so little i can really do.


Hi,

It doesn't have to be resources related to your spec, as physics is universal and the stuff you cover will be covered by alot of other books and sites. For example, I used a SAT subject test physics book to revise that gave me very useful techiniques in mechanics and a head start in topics we haven't covered yet. I even suggest this site. www.cracksat.com . go to it and maybe try the physics subejct tests questions by topic when you think you're ready. There are worked solutions for every question.

Don't forget, long term understanding!!
Original post by Kyber Ninja
That's a **** situation. I never understand why schools choose B specs, they're usually harder and have no resources.

Which specific part of physics do you struggle with? If it's mechanics, I recommend exam-solutions

Particle Physics and astronomy is just a lot of memory work imo


Thank u!! I swear all the other schools in my area do the usual AQA and edexcel and im jealous! we've not actually done much mechanics, we have our first test next week and i went on exam solutions for practice tho the exam style and question style (and sometimes content) is much different to ocr b questions ive seen. Ive yet to start particle physics and astronomy, and am very excited for particle physics, did you enjoy it?? i really liked the inside materials topic, which was about Young Modulus and Hooke's Law.
Original post by 123chinchilla123
i take maths, law and heath and social care


woww our schools doesn't even do law and health and social care haha
Original post by Radioactivedecay
Hi,

It doesn't have to be resources related to your spec, as physics is universal and the stuff you cover will be covered by alot of other books and sites. For example, I used a SAT subject test physics book to revise that gave me very useful techiniques in mechanics and a head start in topics we haven't covered yet. I even suggest this site. www.cracksat.com . go to it and maybe try the physics subejct tests questions by topic when you think you're ready. There are worked solutions for every question.

Don't forget, long term understanding!!


wow!! thanks so much the website looks helpful! i do try and use other non specific ocr resources for practice, but i find it still isn't completely helpful as the actual exam and question style (and content) is really quite different! i go on physics and maths tutor and use edexcel and aqa questions but it'd just be so much better to have real ocr b resources..
Original post by anonymous1231231
Thank u!! I swear all the other schools in my area do the usual AQA and edexcel and im jealous! we've not actually done much mechanics, we have our first test next week and i went on exam solutions for practice tho the exam style and question style (and sometimes content) is much different to ocr b questions ive seen. Ive yet to start particle physics and astronomy, and am very excited for particle physics, did you enjoy it?? i really liked the inside materials topic, which was about Young Modulus and Hooke's Law.


Yeah, probably the module I enjoyed most, haha.

You've just gotta grind
Original post by Kyber Ninja
Yeah, probably the module I enjoyed most, haha.

You've just gotta grind


thats good, something to actually look forward to next year. yeah like im motivated i just think its shi**y because ill sit down and not know what to do with myself, my teachers say they give us practice questions but tbh they give like 2 for revision after a chapter without answers...
Original post by anonymous1231231
woww our schools doesn't even do law and health and social care haha


yeah i guess it is quite special.
I do almost exactly the same subjects! Maths, further maths, physics and German - I'm doing completely fine in all but physics as well, I got an E in our mock a couple weeks back :/ I think it's important to remember that you chose it because it's a subject you enjoy (I hope!) and that even when you're struggling you just need to push through and put in the work inside and outside of college, asking your teacher or anyone else who does/ has done physics when you need help. Also if you're a year 1 you've still got plenty of time to catch up and use your holidays well. I'm setting up a revision plan and cracking down on physics before exams. Hope you do the same and good luck for your exams!

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