Polish A-Level

Hi, I will be taking the polish alevel exam in 2027. Im sitting it independently since there are no teachers, can anyone help me start? As in resources,books,analysis etc?

Hey, I did A-Level Polish last summer in Year 12 and I managed to get an A*. I did communism for the IRP, and Katyń by Andrzej Wajda and Tango by Sławomir Mrożek for the film and book. I’m just saying — all topics are challenging, BUT these are the most approachable. With communism, there are lots of sources (books, websites, videos) and plenty of facts you can memorise and just use in your essay, whereas the other topics, like racism, are really hard to find information for and the questions can be difficult to answer. Katyń and Tango are also quite easy to grasp, so it’s mainly about knowing the characters, the main themes and the key vocabulary for the essay.
For the IRP I really recommend Życie w PRL by Iwona Kienzler. What I did was read some of the key parts of the book — the chapters on the impact of PRL on daily life, for example the restrictions on alcohol and tobacco trade, and how those restrictions didn’t actually help fight alcoholism but instead made the situation worse. I also focused on education, access to resources like cars, food, and basic products (reglamentacja). It’s all described really well in the book, so if you read it you’ll easily notice the most important information I’m listing. I also talked about how the Church opposed communism, mainly mentioning Jan Paweł II and Father Jerzy Popiełuszko — his activism, his role in supporting Solidarność, the protests, and the impact of his death.
I also learned some key facts about Solidarność and the main figures — for example Anna Walentynowicz, the important dates of the protests, the date of establishing Solidarność, what they did to protest against the restrictions of PRL, and how the regime tried to eliminate the movement. I also included activists like Jerzy Borowczak, Bogdan Felski and Ludwik Prądzyński. I learned the basic information about the leaders at the time (Bierut, Gomułka, Gierek) — not too much, just enough to know what I was talking about.
I made three mind maps from the key information I extracted from the book (like I said, not every chapter is relevant to the bullet points in the A-Level, so choose carefully). I made one mind map per bullet point and I just read them until I could recall most of it easily (for example: increasing alcohol prices and restricting its sale meant people started using denaturat, which was more dangerous; or that only a certain amount of meat was allowed per person per month — like I said, it’s all in the book so I wont go off on a rant and start recalling the facts as I barely remember the figures and dates now).
On top of that, I kept writing essays, which become really easy once you remember some key facts, dates and names like the ones I mentioned above.
Also remember that even if the question is about only one of the bullet points, you still have to incorporate all three. You will get a text to summarise, and that text will most likely be about the bullet point in the question (e.g. Solidarność), but you still have to mention oddziaływanie Kościoła and życie codzienne w PRL in your essay. I recommend doing three paragraphs: one with the summarised source given in the exam (plus anything else relevant), and two others based entirely on your own knowledge covering the remaining bullet points. You can almost use the same introduction every time if you craft it well, but you’ll need to adapt the last sentence so that it answers the specific question — otherwise you’ll be marked down.
For the film and the book, I recommend the study guides from Czytam i Mówię po Polsku, because they are really good for analysing both the film and the novel, and each one costs only about £15. Make sure you read Tango once or twice and focus on the descriptions of the disordered room, the katafalk, the wózek dziecięcy, the character descriptions, and a few key quotes that highlight the theme of anarchy. For Katyń, watch it a few times and keep in mind the key scenes and topics. Remember that it focuses more on the women’s stories than on the crime of Katyń itself, but like I said, the guides explain everything quite well.
Hope this helped, and is reasonably clear. I can give more advice if you need.

Woah thank you so so so much! This will deffo be useful , is there anyway I can contact you for any further questions or advice (if you want ofc!). We could exchange emails if that’s ok?

Yeah no worries, if that’s what you prefer. Just send me your email and I’ll message you, so you have me saved for when you need me or want to ask me anything.

hey, what resources did you use for other parts of the exam? do you still have the books or any revision material such as notes/flashcards etc - I’d gladly buy it from you if you still have them and like to sell it .(I sent u a dm )

I also sent u a dm because I wanted to switch to email because it easier but it doesn't seem to have sent and I haven't received your dm either. Unfortunately I don't have any of the books I used because I already sold them but I still have my mind maps on communism ( Kościół i życie codzienne)I hand written and kept and a Google doc with the Solidarność key dates and info if that would be helpful. For the book and film I have some notes I made but I would have to see if they are any good without the guides that I sold. The last exam is probably the easiest providing your fully fluent because u don't need any knowledge just knowing how to speak polish properly is enough ( and essay writing on a unknown topic). There are some strategies for the true and flase and the summaries that I recived from my friends and hopefully if we get to exchange emails or something then we can talk more in detail

I also sent u a dm because I wanted to switch to email because it easier but it doesn't seem to have sent and I haven't received your dm either. Unfortunately I don't have any of the books I used because I already sold them but I still have my mind maps on communism ( Kościół i życie codzienne)I hand written and kept and a Google doc with the Solidarność key dates and info if that would be helpful. For the book and film I have some notes I made but I would have to see if they are any good without the guides that I sold. The last exam is probably the easiest providing your fully fluent because u don't need any knowledge just knowing how to speak polish properly is enough ( and essay writing on a unknown topic). There are some strategies for the true and flase and the summaries that I recived from my friends and hopefully if we get to exchange emails or something then we can talk more in detail

Hey, I dont think my dm's have gone through. Since you said that you were selling your mindmaps for communism, maybe we can try to contact through your shop?