I have been struggling with my a levels, how do I improve?

So in my school there are assessments in October last year and January this year. I have been struggling with my 3 a levels bio, chem and econ. In my jan assessment, I only got a B in bio and Ds in both econ and chem.My teachers at the school kept mentioning how if I failed these, they don’t see a chance of me getting an A or an A*.I really want to study medicine or something science related in university.It has only been one term and I know that I have time , but how do I improve?

(edited 10 months ago)

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Original post by Agh I hate names

So in my school there are assessments in October last year and January this year. I have been struggling with my 3 a levels bio, chem and econ. In my jan assessment, I only got a B in bio and Ds in both econ and chem.My teachers at the school kept mentioning how if I failed these, they don’t see a chance of me getting an A or an A*.I really want to study medicine or something science related in university.It has only been one term and I know that I have time , but how do I improve?

Sorry to hear things not going aswell as you would like .
My suggestion would be a tutor or going to see your head of subjects for guidance on what to do . Now is the time for sure and you will be able to improve massively by working smart now. So that means doing the right work as opposed to quantity . So learning topics and then testing and past papers

So for Chem and bio what about looking at science with hazel https://swhlearning.co.uk/

And https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/

They have past papers and revisions guide too

Otherwise Justin Craig does Easter revision courses there is lots of info out there
Good luck and I am sure you will achieve your goals !

Original post by Agh I hate names

So in my school there are assessments in October last year and January this year. I have been struggling with my 3 a levels bio, chem and econ. In my jan assessment, I only got a B in bio and Ds in both econ and chem.My teachers at the school kept mentioning how if I failed these, they don’t see a chance of me getting an A or an A*.I really want to study medicine or something science related in university.It has only been one term and I know that I have time , but how do I improve?

Hi @Agh I hate names,

I did Biology and Chemistry during my A-Levels, so I'll try my best to help you out from my experience.

In terms of chemistry, for inorganic you would be required to be familiar with calculations so do practice some past paper questions covering those. I struggled a lot with calculations, so I did tons of practice questions that covered these and eventually I became more aware of which formulas to use. Whereas for organic chemistry, you would be required to have a good understanding of organic mechanisms and naming organic compounds. Depending on your exam board, you may be required to draw out these mechanisms as well. I watched loads of videos online that went through these mechanisms and I relied on PMT a lot as well.

As for Biology, I noticed that when I was doing the past papers I came across many big mark questions. These 'big mark' questions usually ask of a particular process, but just by mentioning specific keywords you can easily get the marks you need. I wrote down those big mark questions on a flashcard, and wrote the answers in memorable bullet points on the back of it. Flashcards are also useful for memorising biological processes and mechanisms.

Overall I think my number one tip is to drill past papers. Although this seems like a no brainer, try maximise this technique by:
- Revise the content
- Attempt the paper in timed conditions
- Mark the paper and read the examiners report.

Identify the areas you need to improve on and revise those topics. If you feel the revision is sufficient, you can try re-attempt the paper, or topical questions. By practicing past papers you can also become more familiar with the format of the paper, and expect which types of questions you'll find in different sections of the paper.

Hope this helps,
Danish
BCU Student Rep

I have been struggling with my a levels, how do I improve?

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