biology, chemistry and history alevel combination ?

Has anyone done these options before and what are you studying now in uni/ what job do you have? Why did you choose these subjects? What was it like doing history a level and sciences together, how difficult was it? Many people have told me history is incredibly different from gcse and I’m really scared now even tho I’m getting 9s. They’re telling me managing such a content heavy subject along with tricky sciences will be very hard. I’m considering psychology as well for this reason (I know it’s difficult too but perhaps you can give more straight forward answers than history questions?). Please help me decide!!!

What do you want to do after a-levels?
I would base your subject choices on that.

What do you want to do after a-levels?
I would base your subject choices on that.

not only that but also what subjects you enjoy because you'll be doing it for 2 years!

I do bio, chem and history, I enjoy my subjects but history (and biology) is heavy content so is psychology ( from talking to my friends). If you are doing GCSE history all already I'll say to do it for a level because the writing style is similar even though there's more writing.

Has anyone done these options before and what are you studying now in uni/ what job do you have? Why did you choose these subjects? What was it like doing history a level and sciences together, how difficult was it? Many people have told me history is incredibly different from gcse and I’m really scared now even tho I’m getting 9s. They’re telling me managing such a content heavy subject along with tricky sciences will be very hard. I’m considering psychology as well for this reason (I know it’s difficult too but perhaps you can give more straight forward answers than history questions?). Please help me decide!!!

Really? So does history not get in the way of you revising for the other two subjects? Because many older years have told me that psychology would be a less demanding option than history since history requires a lot of wider reading apparently. And they’re saying the course work is draining. Are you doing your course work rn if you’re in year 13? What topics do you do for history if you don’t mind me asking?

I do bio, chem and history and am currently in Y13! I personally don't really enjoy it but that's only because I don't enjoy my science subjects individually, not because of the combination. I find that history gives a bit of a break from science which i really enjoy, but that's just bc I love history. I've applied for history at uni but when I started Y12, I was thinking medicine, hence why I do bio and chem and really I chose chemistry because of how well it goes with bio, even though I didn't actually enjoy it that much in Y11. I personally found that history was BY FAR the easiest adjustment at A level and whilst, it is a lot of content, because it is (obviously) taught chronologically it doesn't really get harder, unlike bio and chem. I'd say have a look at what you would study at A level, especially in terms of history topics, and really make sure you enjoy the subjects.

Happy to answer any other questions!

I do bio, chem and history and am currently in Y13! I personally don't really enjoy it but that's only because I don't enjoy my science subjects individually, not because of the combination. I find that history gives a bit of a break from science which i really enjoy, but that's just bc I love history. I've applied for history at uni but when I started Y12, I was thinking medicine, hence why I do bio and chem and really I chose chemistry because of how well it goes with bio, even though I didn't actually enjoy it that much in Y11. I personally found that history was BY FAR the easiest adjustment at A level and whilst, it is a lot of content, because it is (obviously) taught chronologically it doesn't really get harder, unlike bio and chem. I'd say have a look at what you would study at A level, especially in terms of history topics, and really make sure you enjoy the subjects.

Happy to answer any other questions!

True, i think for me it’s because I haven’t started my coursework properly yet. So maybe psychology isn’t as heavy as history. There’s lots wider reading but my teacher provides the text books, articles, etc for me. History does kind of get in the way of revising chemistry and biology, but I think it’s because there’s a clear mark scheme for science compared to history.

I’m studying, America’s 1920-55, Britain’s 1918-97, Tudors ( haven’t started the topic yet). For coursework, I’m doing the Russian revolution.


I think when you’re choosing to do a subject, it’s better do what you’re good at and what you enjoy. One of the reasons why I chose history over maths and sociology.

Oh, i suppose people were right about history being a bad option with the sciences then…

What are you wanting to do after alevels if you’re year 13? And what are your predicted grades?

Also, I looked at some of the stuff for history and it looks quite different from gcse given that there’s a need for more sophisticated arguments (im worried as im not really good at that) rather than just regurgitating everything you know in a peel paragraph. I’m also a bit worried about the lack of resources for history. Do you happen to know any good websites or revision resources for this alevel?

I'm predicted A*AA with the A* in history. I applied for med ( hopefully I get in this yr)

I decided to pick history because I loved it during gcse and was good at it.

From what you're saying, maybe you should pick history but you did say you struggle with the source sections so look up online on A* source question essay examples, do essays, and give it to your teacher to mark with feedback!

Don't worry about not being good at writing the essays at first. keep on doing more and more even if it means your teacher gets bored of your presence. For my very first essay, I scored 8/20 but now I'm scoring around 16/20 ( depending if I don't get lazy with my writing).

History isn't really about peel paragraphs anymore, its a bit complex in that but you'll get the hang of it.

For resources, I use my teacher's PowerPoint and his example essays. I suggest using youtube to watch documentaries and essay structure, aqa and Edexcel textbooks and your teacher!

I'm predicted A*AA with the A* in history. I applied for med ( hopefully I get in this yr)

I decided to pick history because I loved it during gcse and was good at it.

From what you're saying, maybe you should pick history but you did say you struggle with the source sections so look up online on A* source question essay examples, do essays, and give it to your teacher to mark with feedback!

Don't worry about not being good at writing the essays at first. keep on doing more and more even if it means your teacher gets bored of your presence. For my very first essay, I scored 8/20 but now I'm scoring around 16/20 ( depending if I don't get lazy with my writing).

History isn't really about peel paragraphs anymore, its a bit complex in that but you'll get the hang of it.

For resources, I use my teacher's PowerPoint and his example essays. I suggest using youtube to watch documentaries and essay structure, aqa and Edexcel textbooks and your teacher!

Thank you for your advice! I’m basically in the same situation as you right now, only doing chemistry because you need it for most degrees such as medicine, dentistry or optometry and other healthcare degrees. However I also want to have my options open to do something in law should I change my mind, so that’s why I’m thinking about history (as I enjoy it).

However I looked at the spec and stuff it looks like there’s no set mark scheme and it’s a bit more analytical than gcse. I did ocr at gcse and the school I’m going to go to is aqa. Im not very good at extract/source questions and it seems that most of the exams are based on these.
Do you think that if I do history a level I’ll be able to get good grades in the end and get used to the weird exams in the end? I’m really worried about it.
I feel like psychology seems to have more of a set structure than history and a lot more resources… but I’m not sure if I’d be willing to give up history as it’s always been my favourite subject…
Anyways, The topics were gonna do are British empire, Russian revolution and America which seem interesting-ish.

What grades are you predicted for all your subjects? And what made you decide to do history btw?

I do AQA for history but different topics. It can seem quite source heavy but really you just need to know how to structure the questions which, when you get used to it, isn't that bad, although, because when being asked to analyse three sources on the same topic, it is essentially three separate questions, you do need a lot of knowledge about what is being asked, else you will run out of things to say. I imagine psych probably would have more resources, just because there are so many different topics you can study for history so you probably will struggle to find specification specific resources.

In terms of if you'll be able to get a good grade, tbh it really depends how much effort you put in but the bigger obstacle is definitely the volume of content, rather than the structure of questions. Another thing to keep in mind is that, even if you decide against history at A-level, you can still maintain an interest in history.

At GCSE I got 9s in bio, chem and history and now I'm predicted A* in history, A in bio and B in chem. I chose to do history primarily because I loved it, I never even considered doing it at degree level until halfway through Y12, I also had a look at the topics I'd be studying and spoke to my teachers about whether they're actually interesting (I stayed on at the same school as it has a 6th form) because I thought one of the topics looked quite boring, but now I love it!.

I'd say maybe have a look at past papers for the topics you'd be doing and see if you thing that it would be something you'd find interesting and keep in mind that, for history, you'll probably have to make your own revision resources (flashcards ect) as you may struggle to find pre-made resources

Hi,

Thank you so much for all your advice. It’s been really helpful and sweet and well done on your grades theyre amazing!! I hope i can get grades like that too

Also, if you don’t mind (you don’t have to) could you send me some of your examplar essays like extract questions or source questions that got good marks please?