Finding AS Levels difficult...

OzZie · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:30

Hi all,

I'm in my first year of 6th form at my school, and i'm finding the work increasingly difficult.

Even what i thought were pritty strong subjects (English and IT) have proven such a huge leap over GCSE. I am constantly getting pressured by my parents to work harder and get my head down, but i don't seem to have any motivation like i did when i started the year.

I've missed quite a few lessons purely on the basis that i haven't completed work. This is the wrong attitude i know, but i don't feel like the teachers have really warmed to me, even though i've known them all for about 3 years (on and off)

Is anyone else finding it hard to keep up? Any advice that you can give me in order to motivate me?

Thanks.

Andelusion · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:31

It is harder, just stick with it as it'll be over before you know it. I'm in my second year and will be at Uni before long

*Waits for 'Wait until you start a degree!' posts*

Carzy · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:32

"I've missed quite a few lessons purely on the basis that i haven't completed work."

Go to lessons, complete the work...?

"but i don't feel like the teachers have really warmed to me, even though i've known them all for about 3 years (on and off)"

So what?

And if you're struggling with AS Levels, you won't like next year. AS Levels should be fairly straightforward, as they are a small jump up from GCSE (especially in stuff like Physics).

Zefan · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:33

I slacked in AS levels and ended up with a B and two D's (One in general studies

). I'm paying for it now, as I have to work my ass off to even think of uni (Mainly because I've slacked this year so far too). To keep up, try to think of uni and how you plan to get there (I presume you do).

Blackstar · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:33

Im doing similar to you but the Scottish version. I think the best way to motivate yourself is to remind yoursellf why you went to sixth form and what you want to achieve. Talk to your parents, don't let them butt in sit them down and tell them that you are finding it hard and you need support not pressure. Talking to your teachers about the problems you are having means they know how to help.

Zefan · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:34

Carzy said:
Go to lessons, complete the work...?

He means he doesn't want to go to the lessons as he'll get murdered for not having a 8 page essay everyone else has done. I had this exact problem hence quitting English.

Tesla · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:36

I found it harder and harder and just stuck at it.

I wish I didn't now as I kinda feel like I wasted my time a little. I could have done much more productive things outside of schooling.

the_brainaic · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:40

AS and A levels are NOT a waste of time. They are almost compulsory if you want to end up with a decent career. Keep going, put the effort in and do the work that you need to do. Organise your time so that you have times where you will work and times where you can do whatever else you wish.
I'm doing my AS levels now, I see them as a natural progression from GCSEs, and A levels as a continuation of my education.

Psyk · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:40

OzZie said:
Even what i thought were pritty strong subjects (English and IT)

Now I'm not normally this pedantic, but I just had to point that out

If you want to go to uni just remember that you have to do well to get into a uni that isn't a ****hole. And to do well it sounds like you'll have to work hard.

It seems unfair because some people can pretty much breeze through A-levels and do the bare minimum of work. It sounds like you don't have that luxury, but that's life.

If you think you have picked the wrong subjects and you're not motivated in them maybe you could redo year 12 with subjects you prefer. But you will probably still have to do ok this year for your school/college to let you stay.

reflex · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:49

Im not finding them difficult, im doing 4 subjects and hopefully i can get 3 C's and 1 B (if not better) at the end of the year. GCSE for me was harding becuase of courseworks in each lesson, full time table and a massive range of subjects. At least at A Levels u can focus your attention a lot more on a few subjects.

Luseac · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:53

I'm also finding them quite a step up, all I can say is just think about the future and the doors that having AS/A levels open.

Psyk · 5 Mar 2006 at 17:59

reflex said:
Im not finding them difficult, im doing 4 subjects and hopefully i can get 3 C's and 1 B (if not better) at the end of the year. GCSE for me was harding becuase of courseworks in each lesson, full time table and a massive range of subjects. At least at A Levels u can focus your attention a lot more on a few subjects.

That's quite similar to me. I found GCSE harder than A-levels and even harder than uni at the moment. At A-level and even more so at uni you can do subjects you have motivation in. At GCSE I really disliked english and I just didn't have much motivation for it so I found it harder than other subjects. At A-level maths, physics and computing were all easy to me. ICT was harder because I didn't like it.

PMKeates · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:02

Carzy said:
And if you're struggling with AS Levels, you won't like next year. AS Levels should be fairly straightforward, as they are a small jump up from GCSE (especially in stuff like Physics).

I found almost the opposite. I did twice as good in my A2's as I did in my AS's. I found the jump from GCSE to AS level huge and challenging - it felt like my mind wasn't mature enough to cope. After the AS-to-A2 summer holiday, I came back and found it all very easy in comparison.

So don't give up yet OzZie!

Nitefly · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:28

Bah just wait till you start a degree!

Just kidding

Or am I?

Anyway, the jump from GCSE to AS is significantly smaller than the jump from AS to A2 in general, but this is subject dependant. For example in Geography AS level was almost on par with GCSE, but at A2 it went hardcore! However in History, I hear that the AS part is far harder than the A2.

I slacked at AS level and got three C's and an E. Not trying to put others down if thats an achievement, but it was well below my target. I worked my arse off at A2 and came out with 3 A grades. Im not trying to blow my own trumpet, I'm just showing recoveries are possible!

Mackass · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:31

Just keep on going mate and get stuck in. Maybe the subject isn't right for you? Discuss it with your teachers. Just remember, the benefits which you'll reap from doing your A-Levels, you're going to have more career options avaible, and you can go on to Uni and succeed even more.

I'm in a similar position with you, I'm in Y12 and I'm doing Business, Maths and ICT. I also picked Physics to do for an AS, as I got 'AA' for Science in GCSE, and Physics was the only subject I could do from a list of total boring stuff. But ever since the start of the year, I've struggled with it, but I kept going. It wasn't until last week when I totally gave it up, I spoke to my teachers and they recommended me dropping it, and so I did. I'm planning on doing an AS next year to make up for this year, maybe you can do something similar?

DiG · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:36

I'm enjoying my AS levels because for the most part I'm doing subjects I WANT to do and I WANT to be there, plus the increased freedom is great! Just gotta get that balence between work and being in the common room with friends!

Nitefly · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:39

Mackass said:
I'm planning on doing an AS next year to make up for this year, maybe you can do something similar?

Unless you are a brainbox, I would seriously advise going against that. I would say doing 3 A2s requires the work of 5 ASs, so be careful!

Carzy · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:40

PMKeates said:
I found almost the opposite. I did twice as good in my A2's as I did in my AS's. I found the jump from GCSE to AS level huge and challenging - it felt like my mind wasn't mature enough to cope. After the AS-to-A2 summer holiday, I came back and found it all very easy in comparison.

So don't give up yet OzZie!

In my case it might have something to do with being constantly pushed above the syllabus. So, we covered GCSE very quickly, and then spent the remainder of the time (before we took the exam), doing Pure 1 stuff IIRC, and then sat Pure 1 a year early. Physics is seriously a joke at AS Level though, even without doing extra work.

Carzy · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:41

Zefan said:
He means he doesn't want to go to the lessons as he'll get murdered for not having a 8 page essay everyone else has done. I had this exact problem hence quitting English.

So he'll get murdered for not doing the required work? I'll try to sound surprised, but it's going to be quite difficult.

Nitefly said:
However in History, I hear that the AS part is far harder than the A2.

I did Medieval History and didn't find that that was the case. As you move from AS to A2 you are required to have a wider and deeper knowledge of whatever subject you might be covering, which equals more learning.

SaBBz · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:45

I found AS levels quite difficult because I didn't bother doing any work and just smoked weed all the time (I ended up with BBBcd at A level and AS). Now I've cleaned up my act and am on course for a first in Physics at Nottingham university. Use your free time wisely, I really wish I'd done more work at GCSE and A level now, because some doors are already closed to me due to my poor results compared to others at the same university as me.