Leaving sixth form in year 13

Hi, so I’m currently in year 13 but I’m really not doing well. On the recent mocks I got DUU which is just so so bad and the D was in English but I know I can get an A (predicted an a) or B (the grade I usually get) and even my teachers said I will do fine in the end. The Us were in biology and chemistry and I’ve done a lot of things to try and improve but I just don’t seem to and i don’t really like the content. If I left I would continue doing English but also two other a levels such as sociology and politics which I would do next year…but is it worth leaving or should I just stay and do the exams and see what I get in bio and chem, my main concern is those bad grades staying with me when I’m trying to get a job in the future etc and my parents wouldn’t want me to leave or do a gap year before uni so I just don’t know what to do NEED HELP ASAP PLSSS!!!

Reply 1

Threadsareold

OP

2

Original post by Threadsareold

Hi, so I’m currently in year 13 but I’m really not doing well. On the recent mocks I got DUU which is just so so bad and the D was in English but I know I can get an A (predicted an a) or B (the grade I usually get) and even my teachers said I will do fine in the end. The Us were in biology and chemistry and I’ve done a lot of things to try and improve but I just don’t seem to and i don’t really like the content. If I left I would continue doing English but also two other a levels such as sociology and politics which I would do next year…but is it worth leaving or should I just stay and do the exams and see what I get in bio and chem, my main concern is those bad grades staying with me when I’m trying to get a job in the future etc and my parents wouldn’t want me to leave or do a gap year before uni so I just don’t know what to do NEED HELP ASAP PLSSS!!!

I don’t think I explained it very well😭 so lmk if further explain is needed!!

Reply 2

Saima.Hussain.

13

Original post by Threadsareold

Hi, so I’m currently in year 13 but I’m really not doing well. On the recent mocks I got DUU which is just so so bad and the D was in English but I know I can get an A (predicted an a) or B (the grade I usually get) and even my teachers said I will do fine in the end. The Us were in biology and chemistry and I’ve done a lot of things to try and improve but I just don’t seem to and i don’t really like the content. If I left I would continue doing English but also two other a levels such as sociology and politics which I would do next year…but is it worth leaving or should I just stay and do the exams and see what I get in bio and chem, my main concern is those bad grades staying with me when I’m trying to get a job in the future etc and my parents wouldn’t want me to leave or do a gap year before uni so I just don’t know what to do NEED HELP ASAP PLSSS!!!

i do bio chem and english too, tip to improve bio since you said you got a U im assuming you dont understand the content fully so i would suggest you watch youtube videos i find miss estruch really good and watch exam walkthrough questions too. for chem i like to use to chemguide its really detailed and is markcheme specific and allery chemistry ma chemguy are good chemmistry youtubes, this alone should help you get at least a D if you use them well as now you just need to learn how to apply content you can do this by doing a bunch of practise questions and ask your teacher for help is your stuck.

Reply 3

Threadsareold

OP

2

Original post by Saima.Hussain.

i do bio chem and english too, tip to improve bio since you said you got a U im assuming you dont understand the content fully so i would suggest you watch youtube videos i find miss estruch really good and watch exam walkthrough questions too. for chem i like to use to chemguide its really detailed and is markcheme specific and allery chemistry ma chemguy are good chemmistry youtubes, this alone should help you get at least a D if you use them well as now you just need to learn how to apply content you can do this by doing a bunch of practise questions and ask your teacher for help is your stuck.

Thank you so much for your reply!!☺️ I’ll definitely have a look at all this and see how it goes…but do you think it’s still worth it if all I’ll get in the end is a D and end up at a bad uni and my head of year told me that these grades stay on like my cv forever so I may be disadvantaged by my grades, but I’m not sure if this is really true.

Reply 4

Saima.Hussain.

13

Original post by Threadsareold

Thank you so much for your reply!!☺️ I’ll definitely have a look at all this and see how it goes…but do you think it’s still worth it if all I’ll get in the end is a D and end up at a bad uni and my head of year told me that these grades stay on like my cv forever so I may be disadvantaged by my grades, but I’m not sure if this is really true.

i cant really say but u are predicted pretty high grades so you deffo have potential to achive them and more i think the issue maybe revision techinques and finding effective ways to learn as i said i think if you use the resources well minimum D if your bad at applying knowledge but once u master application questions through loads of practise u can deffo start hitting the big grades like Bs and As. but worse case scenario you get a not so good grade like D you can maybe resit as most unis accept this if u have extenuating circumstances. but i think you think abt this properly but really you should belief if yourself that u can attain these grades as i used to get bad grades coz i genuinly thought i wasnt smart enough but i got rid of this attitude and pushed myself i started getting As and A*, so mindset rlly dictates the grades you recieve in the end.

Reply 5

Threadsareold

OP

2

Original post by Saima.Hussain.

i cant really say but u are predicted pretty high grades so you deffo have potential to achive them and more i think the issue maybe revision techinques and finding effective ways to learn as i said i think if you use the resources well minimum D if your bad at applying knowledge but once u master application questions through loads of practise u can deffo start hitting the big grades like Bs and As. but worse case scenario you get a not so good grade like D you can maybe resit as most unis accept this if u have extenuating circumstances. but i think you think abt this properly but really you should belief if yourself that u can attain these grades as i used to get bad grades coz i genuinly thought i wasnt smart enough but i got rid of this attitude and pushed myself i started getting As and A*, so mindset rlly dictates the grades you recieve in the end.

I think I forgot to mention but I’m predicted an A in English but two Es in bio and chem. I do think I’ll be able to turn it around at get atleast a D in bio and chem but it’s just not a good grade and sixth form is so so depressing. I’m most likely gonna take a gap year anyway and do new a levels so is it really worth staying and if I did leave I could still do English this year as a private candidate I’m not sure I just wanted an unbiased opinion so thank you for all your replies!! Also what is your best revision technique?

Original post by Threadsareold

Hi, so I’m currently in year 13 but I’m really not doing well. On the recent mocks I got DUU which is just so so bad and the D was in English but I know I can get an A (predicted an a) or B (the grade I usually get) and even my teachers said I will do fine in the end. The Us were in biology and chemistry and I’ve done a lot of things to try and improve but I just don’t seem to and i don’t really like the content. If I left I would continue doing English but also two other a levels such as sociology and politics which I would do next year…but is it worth leaving or should I just stay and do the exams and see what I get in bio and chem, my main concern is those bad grades staying with me when I’m trying to get a job in the future etc and my parents wouldn’t want me to leave or do a gap year before uni so I just don’t know what to do NEED HELP ASAP PLSSS!!!

Hi there,

I couldn't help but relate to this post. I myself was targeted As and Bs at A-Level, but found myself struggling very much with the second year content (I did Maths, Law and Psychology). By March/April I was getting E's, U's and the occasional D grade - which I told myself was a fluke. I really can empathise with you about the worry for wanting to achieve.

Some big advice I was given which really helped me was to ask myself one simple question: "Am I trying my best?". If the answer was wholeheartedly 'yes' then why put extra stress and pressure on myself by thinking about recent failures, I was trying my best at the end of the day - my fellow peers were just more academically built than me, and that's okay! The content will stick and the knowledge will accumulate, you just need to give yourself some time and appreciation to allow this to happen naturally. If you enjoy the subjects you're doing this helps massively - perhaps try and reinvoke that passion through some research if you find the subject content a bit dry.

There can be an element of trying 'too hard' when it comes to revising for exams. If you spend half your time revising and half your time worrying about whether you revised properly and why you can't remember that all important percentage fact, it will be more detrimental than allowing yourself to go through the motions of actually retaining the information. Instead, spend half your time revising and half your time reflecting on exactly what you've learnt and why. It's all about mindset with how you approach learning! I've seen some other great advice about revision in and around this thread so I won't go into the details of that, as revising is always going to be helpful to improve grades, however making sure it's the right revision strategy for you and getting into the right mindset to learn is going to be the biggest challenge.

Another thing I think it's important to recognise is the time you have to go. We are in February, so it may feel like time is running out, but if you keep track of this time going forward you might feel more in control, and you could then start looking into what content to revise when.

The grades I got still weren't great when I did finish Year 13, but applying my philosophies above about approaching things with 100% positivity and the right attitude has landed me in a management role, which I never thought I would achieve but it just proves anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

There's also something to be said about time, with you mentioning potentially changing your subject next year. People can apply for University at any stage of their life, so spending an additional year doing a-levels you believe you will enjoy more isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things. All we have is time and from my experiences people who defer going to University for a year or even 2 actually have increased chances of getting onto their course, if they can demonstrate what they have done with their time between then in their personal statement (many volunteer, work or restudy during their time out).

I hope my response has given you some reassurance that you're not the only one who has felt the way you are currently and that with the right approach it will work out! For example, I know now I can go and restudy my A-Level Maths whenever I choose!

All the best with your revision and exams,
Ethan

Leaving sixth form in year 13

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