From DDE to A*AA - how I did it, and ask me anything!
Hello TSR!
I constantly get asked for advice by friends, family, and even teachers on how I turned not only my grades, but my entire life around so quickly, so I’m making this post to send to anyone who asks, and for the rest of TSR to see. I’ll start off with a bit of background information: I consider myself to be very ordinary in terms of education and academic achievement, I attended a state school right up to college, which is when I decided to move to a sixth form college. I never particularly stood out school, I was in top set for maths (but certainly not near the top of my class!) and second set for English. Skipping ahead, I finished my GCSEs with no A*s, but 4 As (three of which were my a level subjects), and the rest were Bs and Cs. I also got a 7 in Maths, English language and literature. Fast forward to A levels, I took Maths, Chemistry and Psychology and achieved the not so great grades of two Ds and an E. I then retook the next year and managed to get A*AA!
I’m going to split this post in to three main questions, as these are the ones I get asked most often.
What went wrong originally?
Two things: revising the wrong way and for too little time. Revision is all about finding the right technique for you, and I feel like mine had no structure. I had a timetable and revised for about 2 hours a day, which is probably above average, but this was low quality revision - I was simply reading through textbooks and making notes, with the odd past paper here and there.
How did you revise?
I explained previously how I revised the first time round, but that all changed the second time. The second time, I revised by predominately using online resources. There’s a lot of different websites, but I personally used revisely, as it has lots of resources for all the A levels I was taking. These sort of websites are excellent as they provide videos tutorials with supplementary revision notes. Following along two different types of revision content side by side is what really did it for me. This isn’t necessarily going to be the best solution for you, but it seems this is the way a lot of people are starting to go about revision these days.
Are you a genius?
People have been asking me this since I got my A level grades, but absolutely not! My grades are not a result of any sort of natural talent (hence the original DDE). I’m not saying there aren’t certain people who are naturally gifted, because there are, but you don’t have to be one of those people in order to get good grades. It’s all about having the right attitude, mindset and techniques; figuring out what works for you personally is the tricky part.
Don’t give up hope! I hope this can be inspiring to some people, and please be sure to ask any questions you have.
I constantly get asked for advice by friends, family, and even teachers on how I turned not only my grades, but my entire life around so quickly, so I’m making this post to send to anyone who asks, and for the rest of TSR to see. I’ll start off with a bit of background information: I consider myself to be very ordinary in terms of education and academic achievement, I attended a state school right up to college, which is when I decided to move to a sixth form college. I never particularly stood out school, I was in top set for maths (but certainly not near the top of my class!) and second set for English. Skipping ahead, I finished my GCSEs with no A*s, but 4 As (three of which were my a level subjects), and the rest were Bs and Cs. I also got a 7 in Maths, English language and literature. Fast forward to A levels, I took Maths, Chemistry and Psychology and achieved the not so great grades of two Ds and an E. I then retook the next year and managed to get A*AA!
I’m going to split this post in to three main questions, as these are the ones I get asked most often.
What went wrong originally?
Two things: revising the wrong way and for too little time. Revision is all about finding the right technique for you, and I feel like mine had no structure. I had a timetable and revised for about 2 hours a day, which is probably above average, but this was low quality revision - I was simply reading through textbooks and making notes, with the odd past paper here and there.
How did you revise?
I explained previously how I revised the first time round, but that all changed the second time. The second time, I revised by predominately using online resources. There’s a lot of different websites, but I personally used revisely, as it has lots of resources for all the A levels I was taking. These sort of websites are excellent as they provide videos tutorials with supplementary revision notes. Following along two different types of revision content side by side is what really did it for me. This isn’t necessarily going to be the best solution for you, but it seems this is the way a lot of people are starting to go about revision these days.
Are you a genius?
People have been asking me this since I got my A level grades, but absolutely not! My grades are not a result of any sort of natural talent (hence the original DDE). I’m not saying there aren’t certain people who are naturally gifted, because there are, but you don’t have to be one of those people in order to get good grades. It’s all about having the right attitude, mindset and techniques; figuring out what works for you personally is the tricky part.
Don’t give up hope! I hope this can be inspiring to some people, and please be sure to ask any questions you have.
Scroll to see replies
This was really useful to read. First of all, congrats about those grades but also thank you for giving me a little advice before going into yr 12 in 2 days!
Always comforting to be reassured that anything can be done, and that good grades come from hard (and effective) work
Always comforting to be reassured that anything can be done, and that good grades come from hard (and effective) work
(edited 5 years ago)
Describe how you specifically revised chemistry. Like when did you finish going over the content and how much time you spent and also what resources/papers did you do? Also did you try past papers from other exam boards besides the one you were taking?
What are you planning on doing now?
Are you planning to go to Uni? If so, what would you like to study and where?
Nice! I also am a retake, I went from BBC (Maths,Bio,Phys) to A*AAB (Maths,Bio,Phys,Fmaths).
Original post by adamp9281
This is an incredible improvement, congrats! Hopefully I can get grades as high as yours...
You sure can. What a levels are you taking?
Congrats! That’s an amazing improvement. Which a level would you say is the hardest in your opinion (out of the ones you’re taking) and why?
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Mikasadoge
Nice! I also am a retake, I went from BBC (Maths,Bio,Phys) to A*AAB (Maths,Bio,Phys,Fmaths).
how did you revise bio?
Original post by x_Bronx
You sure can. What a levels are you taking?
Maths, Chemistry and Biology
Original post by June_.
This was really useful to read. First of all, congrats about those grades but also thank you for giving me a little advice before going into yr 12 in 2 days!
Always comforting to be reassured that anything can be done, and that good grades come from hard (and effective) work
Always comforting to be reassured that anything can be done, and that good grades come from hard (and effective) work
Glad I helped! Just don't let yourself get a little too confident! What A levels have you chosen?
Original post by x_Bronx
Glad I helped! Just don't let yourself get a little too confident! What A levels have you chosen?
I'm more looking forward to it than anything. Physics, maths and further maths😋
That's really amazing! Congrats. Pointless question really but I suppose you found it much harder going from a B to an A or from an A to an A* than it was going from a D to a B?
Original post by x_Bronx
Congratulations on those fantastic results and finding the courage to have another go at it by retaking. I decided to take a gap year and not apply to ucas originally. After having received my results this year BDE, D in bio and E in chem i am planning to retake and hopefully get amazing results like you. I share a similar experience of not finding the best way to revise and feeling as though i work hard but not receiving great results. Looking back now it was the way i revised ( not revising smart)and how long i had left it until i actually began. I would like to know when did you start revising for your retakes? Did you apply to UCAS with the grades of DDE and to what course requirements? Did your grades achieved after retakes exceed the course entry requirements you applied for so did you look at adjustment? Do you have any tips on how to revise smartly or in general- I don't want to make the same mistakes Thanks
Congrats on your results!
I'm a bit confused as to how you have a few number grades in your GCSEs (which would suggest you're going into year 13 now)? Did you end up retaking them later?
I'm a bit confused as to how you have a few number grades in your GCSEs (which would suggest you're going into year 13 now)? Did you end up retaking them later?
Definitely relate to this, My AS levels were DDEU and A2 not much better, put a lot of work into resits and came out with AAA
Now at vet school so you definitely can turn your future around if you are actually motivated enough. Actually feel having a less competitive application made me more determined with that underdog factor.
Now at vet school so you definitely can turn your future around if you are actually motivated enough. Actually feel having a less competitive application made me more determined with that underdog factor.
Wow that's great, hard work truly does pay off and I aspire to be like this during my A-Levels. Just wanted to ask, how did you find it best to tackle chemistry as I am choosing both Chem and Biology and got a 7-6 in my GCSE's. Im honestly worried as I know chem is very hard and don't want to drop down grades. I was planning to revise like I usually do (workbooks, notes, rev cards and past papers) however you mentioned how even though you did the same, you got low grades. Would you say this isn't the best way to revise in general or did it just not work for you personally?
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