Bad Grades at the start of Year 12

Grades drop significantly because A levels are much harder than GCSE's. I've seen people who start Year 12 with C's and come out with As or Bs in Year 13. 2 years or even 1 year is a lot of time to improve in if you work hard.

Will your grades improve? If you work hard they can, but i can't guarantee how well you will do in the future. Its not impossible for you to get higher grades, you just need to work harder perhaps.

Don’t overthink it! I’ve just started year 12 too, I’m doing the same subjects as you plus geography and I actually got an E in maths! I was definitely disappointed, but you have to realise that there’s so much time to improve, and I can assure you that you’re not the only person in this situation. It’s a huge jump and it’s very overwhelming. Keep studying, I’m sure teachers will be more than happy to go through topics you’re unsure about, they’re there to make sure you do the best you can after all. Sounds cheesy but don’t give up, keep working at it and you’ll do really well.

Hi,
So I just started my a levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths. We’ve done a few tests and my grades have been much lower than I expected and lower than people around me.
In chemistry I got an B, biology a C and maths a D. However A*s in these subjects at GCSE. Although I’ve heard that grades drop between a levels and gcse, everyone around me still managed to get A’s and B’s. Will my grades improve over the year and by the end of year 12.
Thanks any replies will be greatly appreciated.

Hey, I’m in yr13 doing these same subjects. If I have one piece of advice it’s do not stress, just work, don’t even work ‘hard’, ppl go on and on about the difficulty of AS but let me tell you, work on understanding the topic whether it’s understanding it the first, second even third time and watch yourself know it like the back of your hand after that 📈. Trust me nomenclature in chem had me dying in the first weeks, but all that stress does is prevent out from seeing the simplicity of it all. It is manageable. You will get those As. In yr12 I was convinced I couldn’t do well, everytimeI’d get an A I’d make excuses like that test was easy’ or ‘it’s going to be harder in the exam’ congratulate yourself from time to time even a C but just make sure you don’t fall behind and don’t let small fails dishearten you, it gets you nowhere. I wish you all the best. Trust me, you’ve got this.

This is super reassuring to hear. I’m struggling a lot with nomenclature as well right now however hearing from a year 13 student has convinced me to try and understand things better. Thanks soo much I wish you the best of luck in your a levels exams

I got a B in the year 12 Chem mock, then retook it and got a C... . I also got a B in Further Maths and a B in Biology. I only just scraped an A in Maths.
In the real thing I got A*AAA.

Don't take your year 12 grades too seriously because you will improve, even if you don't do much work. At least in Chemistry I definitely found by the end of the second year I was a lot more confident.

However if you are struggling with year 12 maths (since it's just GCSE concepts at this point) I think you will struggle with year 13. Perhaps you should devote more time to this or get help

That’s good to hear also do you have any tips on how to revise for maths. If not thanks for the reply anyway

I got a B in the year 12 Chem mock, then retook it and got a C... . I also got a B in Further Maths and a B in Biology. I only just scraped an A in Maths.
In the real thing I got A*AAA.

Don't take your year 12 grades too seriously because you will improve, even if you don't do much work. At least in Chemistry I definitely found by the end of the second year I was a lot more confident.

However if you are struggling with year 12 maths (since it's just GCSE concepts at this point) I think you will struggle with year 13. Perhaps you should devote more time to this or get help