Getting into Physics A-Level

i'm currently doing a level physics (and also maths and computer science) and i took combined science back in high school and personally, im glad that i didn't do triple because i feel it would've put more pressure on me and combined is definitely easier. however, if you want to aim high and know you can put in the effort to revise and get good results then go for it honestly. but there's nothing wrong with taking combined because i got 8-7 (mind you, i did absolutely terrible for biology in my actual exams) and got into physics just fine. and unis usually won't bother with gcse results

Thank you, my school is likely to move me down to combined as I really don't think I did well on my mocks, and honestly I'm happy with that. My chemistry is really bad and being able to pull up my grade with higher marks in the physics and biology exams would really benefit me.

Can I also ask how you are finding the courses you are taking, Computer Science comes to me naturally since I enjoy it and have always been good, but Maths and Physics I do usually have to put in quite a bit of work to understand, so if there is anything I should know beforehand that'd be great.

Computer Science was always the easiest in high school and even now, it's not much different. The content is pretty similar, there are some extra stuff but they're easy to understand and honestly the only thing that sucks is that the mark schemes are genuinely kicking my ass. They're strict but doing practice questions and getting used to it is what will help you the most. Oh and the NEA project, the only regret I have is not starting it earlier. You start it at the end of year 12 or the start of year 13, but either way I recommend that you code whatever you want in the summer holidays between year 12 and 13, it puts you ahead and at ease. My exam board is OCR and the game itself does not have to be complicated at all, what you write up is where you get the marks. There's some people in my class doing the most complicated games but not scoring as high compared to those making simple things and writing it up well and getting really good scores.

I was pretty average at Maths but I went into 6th form really determined and I studied so much by doing exam questions over and over. I used exam questions from websites like MadAsMaths and DrFrost Maths as well as getting a pdf of the maths textbook and doing all the exam questions. Maths is the easiest one to revise for, there are so many helpful websites and youtube guides so I suggest you start revising early because it will really pay off. When you keep it up and the techniques sit in your brain, it really pays off. I did my end of year exam in year 12 with barely 30 minutes of revision and got an A because I worked my ass off in the start. The difficulty goes up in year 13 so the key thing is to not fall off. Just simply doing exam questions and going over what you did in class keeps you at the top.

Physics is the hardest for me right now, out of all the sciences I did during my GCSEs I scored the highest on it yet it's currently my worst subject because I neglected it in the start and did not revise for it as much as I did for Maths. Revision in physics is extremely important, notes do not matter as much - you need to be really good at logic and exam questions or else you're screwed. And that requires a good understanding of what you're learning. It's no joke, a lot of the physics students in my year struggle but I genuinely think that if you revise from the start you will be okay. It was difficult for me because I couldn't find good websites to do exam questions from like I could do with Maths but Physics and Maths Tutor will be your best friend, literally. And don't be afraid to reach out to teachers and ask questions in class, because they are there to help and getting things you don't understand in physics (and any other subject) explained to you is really, really important - especially since there aren't a wide variety of extremely helpful physics websites.

One way I was very motivated in the start was just keeping an interest in my subjects by watching videos and researching. The more you like something, the more you'd like to revise it of course.

Sorry for the long reply, but I hope this helps