This year, in the absence of exam season, I imagine the transition between gcses and a levels is going to be a lot harder than usual. GCSEs gave me the opportunity to make all of my study mistakes - things I look back on now and realise were completely counter-intuitive. So in view of that, here are 5 tips to make the transition from gcse to a level a little bit easier, and some things you can do to prepare!
If your school has provided work for you to do during closure then I would recommend completing it for the subjects you are thinking of doing for a level. This is not particularly due to you needing all of the content (you will cover it thoroughly in a level), but this school year will be put at a disadvantage by not doing that final hard graft towards exams. Even if it’s just a little bit, keep yourself in the habit of studying for now and enjoy a long summer off afterwards. If the subjects you’re thinking of taking at a level aren’t provided at gcse, or you don’t have a sufficient workspace at home, then don’t worry! Prioritise you before anything else. These are unprecedented circumstances and schools will do everything they can to support you when you go back. Just do what you can.
This is especially important at a level. You will receive a lot more resources than you did at gcse and they will be your responsibility to organise - do so! When it comes to exams you do not want to be sorting through mountains of paper to find what you need. Utilise dividers within your folders and organise as you go, not at the end of a topic or year. This way you will avoid using organisation as a form of procrastination later down the line. And use your planner regularly.
In my experience, making a rigid revision timetable does more harm than good. They’re hard to stick to (how long a task will take is unpredictable) and therefore can make you feel inadequate as you find yourself not completing all the subjects you planned to in a day. They can also simply be an exercise in procrastination. If they work for you then great - keep using them! But if not, I recommend using the retrospective revision timetable method. This method is a lot more flexible and therefore fitting to a level study; you will constantly have homework and deadlines coming in that don’t fit with a fixed revision timetable. Learn the difference between organisation and the appearance of it - keeping track is often more important than planning ahead!
This is the most important thing I learnt from a levels. I doesn’t mean what kind of learner you are - visual, auditory etc. (An idea I don’t actually subscribe to - most of us are a combination.) I mean finding out what works for you. For me, flashcards work well for biology because it’s content-based, but less so for chemistry as it’s understanding-based. I find active recall more efficient than note taking, and I find it most efficient to convert the textbook/class slides straight into flashcards or questions as opposed to the unnecessary intermediate of notes. It takes time to discover what works for you - it took me until the end of year 13 and I’m still adapting. Take a mental note of what worked and what didn’t during your gcse study before you go into year 12 and don’t be afraid to adapt your revision style as you progress. You will become more efficient as you go along!
Independence is the new norm.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help. In fact, it is one of the most important things to do at a level. Your support structure will be far different; teachers are there to deliver you the content as they always have been, but how well you succeed will depend on what you choose to do with it. If you don’t understand something - ask! And as soon as possible. Shy bairns get nowt. 😉
I hope that was helpful for some of you. If anyone in year 11 or 12 needs any help with anything, please just ask! I did chemistry, biology and english language at a Level and would be happy to help. Please let me know as well if there’s any other posts like this you’d be interested in seeing - other tips for specific subjects or alevels in general etc. Have a great day! 💛
