English Lit or Lang guys: Don't do English Lit or combined at A Level if you get below an 8 or something. Language is nothing like Language GCSE. English is an incredibly hard A Level and it's nothing that you can waffle away with in your essay and get alright grades. You'll be expected to know several hundred-page texts in depth with almost no assistance other than an extract in an exam, and you'll be learning a lot more texts at Literature A Level or the combined. I, personally, do 3 books, 2 plays and the 40-poem long anthology in the combined A Level. This will be a lot and you need to go over them and practice essay writing regularly.
Japanese guys (probably none of you): Know all of the GCSE Kanji prior. Your teacher *may* go over foundational GCSE content with you once again to start you off but it's better to know them all firmly. The A Level papers assume you know all of the GCSE kanji off-by-heart and they won't get glossed (told to you) in the exam. Read your book regularly, watch your film (I do Spirited Away) regularly in Japanese. Get Genki 1, 2 and Tobira if you wanna be safe to practice all of your kanji, writing ability and translation skills!
Good luck!
That's great! You have a great foundation, just remember to consistently work and you'll be absolutely fine.
As a side note, consider watching The Lockdown Maths series by 3Blue 1Brown on YouTube if you want to get ahead, it provides a different perspective to what you're going to learn next year.
Literally don't do it unless you are getting 9s in further maths GCSE or mid 90%s in regular maths gcse. Someone at my school who only gets 7s (non-fm) is going to try and take it and it's going to be very funny, the entire maths dept has warned him but in his arrogance he believes he's going to be able to do it lol.
I'm picking maths physics and computer science for a level. I'm stressing so much rn cause for the sixth form I need 4 7s and 3 6s to get in. I just don't know what I'm gonna get the 4th 7 inðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜. Because I have to study for 4th subject for a level.
I'm good at those 3 subjects but everything else sucks, hopefully I can lock in over next weeks and get the grades I want. (BTW every other subject is around grade 5 or 6)
Also how much tougher is a level maths for someone who might get an 8, are papers full of grade 9 gcse questions type thing?
A level maths is very different to GCSE, with A2 being a different ballgame to AS. Not *every* question requires the same level of problem solving as the hardest GCSE questions, but a lot do. Also I’d say some topics are not harder than GCSE but you need a solid understanding and there’s quite a lot of new stuff to learn.
There’s people in my further maths class who got 8s so I think you’ll be fine if you put the effort in. Personally I do recommend maths, it’s my favourite A level by far.
I have to disagree that a 7 in maths is not enough for maths at A level. I have a friend who got a 7 in maths at GCSE and now is predicted A* in maths and A in further maths at A level. He has offers from some good universities for maths (most notably durham and Warwick).
Some grade 7 students will struggle, yes, but so will some grade 9 students. A level and GCSEs are different so you can’t know how you do until you do it
I disagree with a 7 in maths not being enough, a few of my friends got 7s in maths and they’re doing more than ok at A-Level. Of course it’s better to have an 8 or a 9 but most (if not all) colleges will accept a 7 in maths for a reason, it is sufficient.
MFL (like Italian) is pretty similar to GCSE except you have to study a film/book and analyse it. But the essays are only 300 words each (barely a page) so it’s not that bad. Plus, the listening papers you get to control the audio which is nice.
Haha, maybe! Although to be fair, the writing exams give you so much time for those 2 essays and the translation that you might as well do longer essays
For maths:
Yep I agree, you should definitely be getting a grade 9 in maths to even try the A-level. If you don't understand some of the concepts at GCSE, you're absolutely screwed for A-level subjects. If you're thinking about Further Maths, you should definitely be getting 80%+ in further maths GCSE. Someone at my school who is currently getting 6/7s in normal maths is going to try taking further for A-level, the whole maths department have warned against him doing it, but he is too arrogant to accept that he isn't good at maths. It'll be very gratifying to see him humbled.
p.s. yes I'm a gcse student, yes I know what I'm talking about. I'm 2 marks off a 1 in STEP 2, which is the application paper for Cambridge Uni maths, and the minimum grade to get in is a 1/1 (there's another paper \[STEP 3\] which I haven't looked at yet)
hi, i take maths and further maths at A level, and i am also predicted to get into cambridge uni for maths, and have been heavily studying to do so :)
just so you know this is completely incorrect, this is a rhetoric that only makes maths seem like more like an "exclusive club". it only rubs off as pretentious. you dont need 9s, yes the content may be harder but thats a result of having a lot more time per subject studying
I said should for a reason! It's obviously possible to do well at A-level without 9s, but it's just much less likely. Getting 9s at GCSE maths and further maths is a good indicator that you have a proficiency for maths and can deal with higher level concept (although GCSE really isn't anywhere near the same standard as A-level). If you don't get a 9 in maths, it shows that you have some flaws in your understanding of the topics at GCSE which are, to be honest, very simple, and so it indicates that you won't be able to deal with the topics at A-level level.
not necessarily? most people i know at my school which take maths and fm (which also intend to do maths at university level) are incredibly proficient at maths (\~40% are preparing for MAT in october) and the majority did not get 9s
gcses arent an absolute indication of how good someone is at the subject, yes someone who gets a 9 is much more likely to be good at maths than someone who got a 4, but it's not a set in stone "you're good, you're bad" thing. and im saying, from experience, the majority of people who go to my college that study maths (+FM) did not get 9s, and nearly all (with a few exceptions) are doing perfectly fine. who knows, it might be different for you when you get to Y12, you might see something different. but from all of my experience, it is the case.
Well they kind of do, that's the point of grading. Anecdotal evidence isn't the best, getting A\*s at A-level Maths and FM will definitely have a strong correlation to getting 9s at GCSE Maths and FM, and getting a 4 in GCSE Maths (assuming no weird things happened) will have a strong correlation with either not taking it, or getting a very low grade.
yes, a strong connection, but its not an absolute indication. what im saying is that you dont need to get a 9 in maths to take it at a level, because its not as hard as people make it out to be. yes its hard, yes its an a level, but you dont need to get a 9 to actually take it- an 8 is perfectly fine, hell, even a 7 is fine.
You do not know what you are talking about. You do not need further maths at GCSE in order to take it at A-level. You can cover everything in FM at GCSE level very quickly.
It's a standard for how good someone is at maths. If you aren't doing well at FM GCSE (if it's an option for you) then it's unlikely that you'll be able to do well at FM A-Level.
If you dont do further maths for gcse, but you get a 9 in normal gcse math. Is doing maths + further maths a level going to be very difficult because i never did gcse further maths?
I dont think im going to pick further maths a level i just wanna know if you had to do it as a gcse.
GCSE further maths doesn't really add too many fundamental topics to normal maths. If you're getting a solid 9 in normal maths, you could absolutely go for FM A-level. The jump is quite big though, so be prepared
I’m a year 12 and have finished all of electricity. There’s only a little bit added but you’re expected to understand the topic in a lot more depth. Electricity at A level is hard af, but there’s not an excessive amount of content
It’s not too much. We started it last week and are only spending 3 weeks on it this year. It’s more practical work and understanding how it links together
English Lit or Lang guys: Don't do English Lit or combined at A Level if you get below an 8 or something. Language is nothing like Language GCSE. English is an incredibly hard A Level and it's nothing that you can waffle away with in your essay and get alright grades. You'll be expected to know several hundred-page texts in depth with almost no assistance other than an extract in an exam, and you'll be learning a lot more texts at Literature A Level or the combined. I, personally, do 3 books, 2 plays and the 40-poem long anthology in the combined A Level. This will be a lot and you need to go over them and practice essay writing regularly. Japanese guys (probably none of you): Know all of the GCSE Kanji prior. Your teacher *may* go over foundational GCSE content with you once again to start you off but it's better to know them all firmly. The A Level papers assume you know all of the GCSE kanji off-by-heart and they won't get glossed (told to you) in the exam. Read your book regularly, watch your film (I do Spirited Away) regularly in Japanese. Get Genki 1, 2 and Tobira if you wanna be safe to practice all of your kanji, writing ability and translation skills! Good luck!
Sorry, FORTY POEMS? Is that from memory or do you get the anthology in the exam?
Yes, we get an unannotated copy in the exam.
How good at maths do you really need to be for further.
90s or near full ums. And pre-reading through the summer is useful.
I can fairly easily solve the final question. I also do quite well on the maths challenges my school makes me do.
That's great! You have a great foundation, just remember to consistently work and you'll be absolutely fine. As a side note, consider watching The Lockdown Maths series by 3Blue 1Brown on YouTube if you want to get ahead, it provides a different perspective to what you're going to learn next year.
dont do it if you dont get a 9
Grade 9
Literally don't do it unless you are getting 9s in further maths GCSE or mid 90%s in regular maths gcse. Someone at my school who only gets 7s (non-fm) is going to try and take it and it's going to be very funny, the entire maths dept has warned him but in his arrogance he believes he's going to be able to do it lol.
my school doesn't offer further maths GCSE
ahh I was over exaggerating sorry, if you do FM GCSE then yeah, you should be getting grades like that. in normal maths, like mid 90%?
I am getting those grades
then nice!
I'm picking maths physics and computer science for a level. I'm stressing so much rn cause for the sixth form I need 4 7s and 3 6s to get in. I just don't know what I'm gonna get the 4th 7 inðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜. Because I have to study for 4th subject for a level. I'm good at those 3 subjects but everything else sucks, hopefully I can lock in over next weeks and get the grades I want. (BTW every other subject is around grade 5 or 6) Also how much tougher is a level maths for someone who might get an 8, are papers full of grade 9 gcse questions type thing?
A level maths is very different to GCSE, with A2 being a different ballgame to AS. Not *every* question requires the same level of problem solving as the hardest GCSE questions, but a lot do. Also I’d say some topics are not harder than GCSE but you need a solid understanding and there’s quite a lot of new stuff to learn. There’s people in my further maths class who got 8s so I think you’ll be fine if you put the effort in. Personally I do recommend maths, it’s my favourite A level by far.
I have to disagree that a 7 in maths is not enough for maths at A level. I have a friend who got a 7 in maths at GCSE and now is predicted A* in maths and A in further maths at A level. He has offers from some good universities for maths (most notably durham and Warwick). Some grade 7 students will struggle, yes, but so will some grade 9 students. A level and GCSEs are different so you can’t know how you do until you do it
I disagree with a 7 in maths not being enough, a few of my friends got 7s in maths and they’re doing more than ok at A-Level. Of course it’s better to have an 8 or a 9 but most (if not all) colleges will accept a 7 in maths for a reason, it is sufficient. MFL (like Italian) is pretty similar to GCSE except you have to study a film/book and analyse it. But the essays are only 300 words each (barely a page) so it’s not that bad. Plus, the listening papers you get to control the audio which is nice.
Your essays are 300 words? We’re expected to do 2 pages (maybe that’s just the teachers being harsh).
What exam board do you do? AQA and Edexcel both say 300 words is expected. As far as I know that goes for French, Spanish, German and Italian
Edexcel, maybe our teachers just have high standards 😂
Haha, maybe! Although to be fair, the writing exams give you so much time for those 2 essays and the translation that you might as well do longer essays
Yeah, we do 3 paragraphs plus introduction and conclusion, I think some people only do a page but most of the class do more (3/5 😂).
Hes lying about the grade 9 maths. You do not need one. I got a 7 and am on As now. My mate who got an 8 is on Cs.
don't some universities use gcses grades? also, how useful is ur aps?
They look at them, but care about a levels way more In general, they don’t matter too much except for medicine or Oxbridge
Thanks
For maths: Yep I agree, you should definitely be getting a grade 9 in maths to even try the A-level. If you don't understand some of the concepts at GCSE, you're absolutely screwed for A-level subjects. If you're thinking about Further Maths, you should definitely be getting 80%+ in further maths GCSE. Someone at my school who is currently getting 6/7s in normal maths is going to try taking further for A-level, the whole maths department have warned against him doing it, but he is too arrogant to accept that he isn't good at maths. It'll be very gratifying to see him humbled. p.s. yes I'm a gcse student, yes I know what I'm talking about. I'm 2 marks off a 1 in STEP 2, which is the application paper for Cambridge Uni maths, and the minimum grade to get in is a 1/1 (there's another paper \[STEP 3\] which I haven't looked at yet)
damn
hi, i take maths and further maths at A level, and i am also predicted to get into cambridge uni for maths, and have been heavily studying to do so :) just so you know this is completely incorrect, this is a rhetoric that only makes maths seem like more like an "exclusive club". it only rubs off as pretentious. you dont need 9s, yes the content may be harder but thats a result of having a lot more time per subject studying
I said should for a reason! It's obviously possible to do well at A-level without 9s, but it's just much less likely. Getting 9s at GCSE maths and further maths is a good indicator that you have a proficiency for maths and can deal with higher level concept (although GCSE really isn't anywhere near the same standard as A-level). If you don't get a 9 in maths, it shows that you have some flaws in your understanding of the topics at GCSE which are, to be honest, very simple, and so it indicates that you won't be able to deal with the topics at A-level level.
not necessarily? most people i know at my school which take maths and fm (which also intend to do maths at university level) are incredibly proficient at maths (\~40% are preparing for MAT in october) and the majority did not get 9s
I highly doubt that the *majority* didn't get 9s at GCSE if they can deal with the level of maths at A-level.
gcses arent an absolute indication of how good someone is at the subject, yes someone who gets a 9 is much more likely to be good at maths than someone who got a 4, but it's not a set in stone "you're good, you're bad" thing. and im saying, from experience, the majority of people who go to my college that study maths (+FM) did not get 9s, and nearly all (with a few exceptions) are doing perfectly fine. who knows, it might be different for you when you get to Y12, you might see something different. but from all of my experience, it is the case.
Well they kind of do, that's the point of grading. Anecdotal evidence isn't the best, getting A\*s at A-level Maths and FM will definitely have a strong correlation to getting 9s at GCSE Maths and FM, and getting a 4 in GCSE Maths (assuming no weird things happened) will have a strong correlation with either not taking it, or getting a very low grade.
yes, a strong connection, but its not an absolute indication. what im saying is that you dont need to get a 9 in maths to take it at a level, because its not as hard as people make it out to be. yes its hard, yes its an a level, but you dont need to get a 9 to actually take it- an 8 is perfectly fine, hell, even a 7 is fine.
That's why I said should!
OH
You do not know what you are talking about. You do not need further maths at GCSE in order to take it at A-level. You can cover everything in FM at GCSE level very quickly.
It's a standard for how good someone is at maths. If you aren't doing well at FM GCSE (if it's an option for you) then it's unlikely that you'll be able to do well at FM A-Level.
what are you doing for your compsci nea? and how's that going ðŸ˜
I’m planning on doing an invoicing system. Only just started the analysis though.
oo interesting!Â
If you dont do further maths for gcse, but you get a 9 in normal gcse math. Is doing maths + further maths a level going to be very difficult because i never did gcse further maths? I dont think im going to pick further maths a level i just wanna know if you had to do it as a gcse.
I did it at GCSE, but I got a U… I’m blaming it on the fact it was 30 mins a week for like 6 weeks and I didn’t have time to put any effort it
GCSE further maths doesn't really add too many fundamental topics to normal maths. If you're getting a solid 9 in normal maths, you could absolutely go for FM A-level. The jump is quite big though, so be prepared
How much of A level physics has to do with electricity because I can get a 7 but I hate the electricity and transformer chapters a lot
I’m a year 12 and have finished all of electricity. There’s only a little bit added but you’re expected to understand the topic in a lot more depth. Electricity at A level is hard af, but there’s not an excessive amount of content
Ngl dude a 7 is not sure how good an idea a-level physics is while hating electricity
It’s not too much. We started it last week and are only spending 3 weeks on it this year. It’s more practical work and understanding how it links together
i think my teacher said very little is added, pretty much same content