GCSE to A-Level Jump

Hi everyone I am choosing my A levels and was just wondering contentwise how big is the jump to a level from GCSE in subjects like biology and chemistry or is it more building upon the GCSE syllabus at a higher level?

Reply 1

username4633536

14

Original post by bkjknkjkbj

Hi everyone I am choosing my A levels and was just wondering contentwise how big is the jump to a level from GCSE in subjects like biology and chemistry or is it more building upon the GCSE syllabus at a higher level?

It’s very big. You learn so much more at A level, although there is definitely overlap with GCSE, but you go way beyond. The work is obviously manageable, but if you don’t enjoy these subjects you are going to be in a lot of pain for a while!

Reply 2

Idk131

19

Do you think it is worth making notes, learning them and then do exam qs or is it better to learn online flashcards from PMT (physics and maths tutor) and do exam qs?

Reply 3

alevel20203

17

Original post by Idk131

Do you think it is worth making notes, learning them and then do exam qs or is it better to learn online flashcards from PMT (physics and maths tutor) and do exam qs?

I’d say do some Seneca learning just to learn it. But tbh alevels are said to be really hard and that but you learn everything and the learning process is like gcses if you get what I’m saying

Reply 4

bkjknkjkbj

OP

11

Original post by hariisawesome

It’s very big. You learn so much more at A level, although there is definitely overlap with GCSE, but you go way beyond. The work is obviously manageable, but if you don’t enjoy these subjects you are going to be in a lot of pain for a while!

When you say big - like 2 times more? 3 times more????

Reply 5

MusicalMe101

11

Hi, I’m currently in year 12 and take biology and chemistry. The jump is definitely noticeable, though people handle it very differently - I personally found it quite hard to adjust to how in depth the information given to us is and how quickly we are expected to pick everything up. It builds on your knowledge from GCSE, though some of the ideas you learnt are proved to be wrong or a bit different as it gets more complicated. Overall, it took me around 2 weeks to adjust to the speed and workload, and I really enjoy the subjects.

Hope this helps! :h:

Reply 6

revert2

14

I thought the jump from GCSE Biology to A Level Biology was okay.
There was a slight decrease in my average test performance (from 90%-100% in GCSE to 70-80% at A Level) but it was manageable and a lot of content builds off of GCSE.

Chemistry A Level, on the other hand, was horrendous and I’m so glad I dropped it when I had the chance. The entire class dropped like flies after the first test.
There are some people who are handling the change well, though, getting really good marks in tests.
So at the end of the day, it’s really just down to the person and how confident they already are with basic GCSE knowledge.

Reply 7

username4633536

14

Original post by bkjknkjkbj

When you say big - like 2 times more? 3 times more????

It’s not just size of content, it’s just waaaayyyy more detailed. Lots of mechanisms and pathways to memorise, and just a lot of content to remember. If you understand it it’s much easier to piece everything together and make links between the subjects. It’s not even 2 times more new content tbh. For biology, you cover most of the same topics at GCSE, just in much more detail (such as photosynthesis and respiration, how nerve impulses actually work, population dynamics, etc.) Chemistry you learn many new concepts which are quite different to GCSE, (e.g thermodynamics, reaction mechanisms, aromatic rings, etc), but some things do overlap. If you get at least a B/A in GCSE then you should be fine to do well in the subject at A level. Even if you get lower, as long as you work hard/enjoy the subject you can do well. If you are really worried you can ask your school/library to lend you a textbook and just have a look at the types of things covered, or look at the syllabus online or watch YouTube videos covering some of the A level stuff. Just remember to learn things as you go along, at GCSE you can cram things last minute before the exam and get a good grade, but at A level if you don’t put in the work as you go along, making good notes, you will struggle. But believe me you quickly get used to the workload and you’ll be fine! 😊

Reply 8

bkjknkjkbj

OP

11

Original post by hariisawesome

It’s not just size of content, it’s just waaaayyyy more detailed. Lots of mechanisms and pathways to memorise, and just a lot of content to remember. If you understand it it’s much easier to piece everything together and make links between the subjects. It’s not even 2 times more new content tbh. For biology, you cover most of the same topics at GCSE, just in much more detail (such as photosynthesis and respiration, how nerve impulses actually work, population dynamics, etc.) Chemistry you learn many new concepts which are quite different to GCSE, (e.g thermodynamics, reaction mechanisms, aromatic rings, etc), but some things do overlap. If you get at least a B/A in GCSE then you should be fine to do well in the subject at A level. Even if you get lower, as long as you work hard/enjoy the subject you can do well. If you are really worried you can ask your school/library to lend you a textbook and just have a look at the types of things covered, or look at the syllabus online or watch YouTube videos covering some of the A level stuff. Just remember to learn things as you go along, at GCSE you can cram things last minute before the exam and get a good grade, but at A level if you don’t put in the work as you go along, making good notes, you will struggle. But believe me you quickly get used to the workload and you’ll be fine! 😊

Ok thanks just quite worried cause I'm caught up in this year's covid situation :frown:

GCSE to A-Level Jump

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