A-levels and GCSEs are a very important part of your education whether you want to use them to carry on at university, go for an apprenticeship, or make your way directly into the workforce.
However, they are also one of the most challenging parts of your educational journey, and knowing how to properly prepare for them is key to success.
That means not only knowing the course content, but also knowing how the exam will be structured, as well as when you need to be prepared by.
What are the hardest A-levels?
To those looking to choose their A-levels 2023 and onwards, there are several reasons you might want to know what is the hardest A-level. Since the hardest ones are also the most respected, you may wish to study them for that reason.
Alternatively, if you are less academically inclined, you may wish to be more cautious in your choice.
In general, some of the hardest and most respected A level subjects are as follows:
- Further maths and maths
- The three major sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics)
- The practical humanities (politics, economics, business, and history)
Of course, every A level poses its own unique challenges, so there’s no such thing as an ‘easy’ A level, but these ones are the ones that tend to universally command the most respect when completed. As such, preparing for them properly is of vital importance if you want to set yourself up for success.
How do I prepare for further maths A level?
As any student who has studied A-levels in the last decade will tell you, now more than ever the secret to these things is to be intimately familiar with the past papers. Further maths past papers are as close as you can get to an accurate simulation of the actual exam, after all.
Whether you are studying CCEA maths, AQA maths, or any other exam board, all further maths A-level past papers will be useful to you. A-level further maths past papers all follow a relatively similar formula in terms of the types of questions and exam structure.
Learning this formula is arguably just as important as learning the actual maths involved!
For students preparing for GCSE maths, the same theory applies. Familiarity with the exam format will get you a long way. Pretty much all the AQA further maths past papers GCSE students have access to online are going to be helpful in this regard.
Oxford maths past papers can also be a good source of hard GCSE maths questions, for students looking to push even further.
How do I prepare for A level physics?
A level physics is one of the most respected generalist A-levels after further maths.
The preparation method is much the same though, with Edexcel A level physics and AQA A-level physics past papers both being reasonably similar. Both exam boards have a wealth of past papers that provide a good range of questions and many examples of the format. Other exam boards also have past papers available, but CCEA physics past papers for instance are still similar to the other two.
Therefore, you can easily mix and match papers from these three and others, although it is always worth noting that there may be some differences between the curriculums of scientific subjects, while this is less common in maths.
How do I prepare for the other two sciences?
The approach for chemistry and biology A-levels will be much the same as with physics. CCEA biology and CCEA chemistry past papers are easy to come by, as they are from every other exam board.
Preparing for an Edexcel A-level chemistry exam for instance is no different to any other science-type exam, where simply working through as many past papers as possible is far and away the best way to prepare.
Chemistry A-level past papers will, as with all science subjects, contain the closest thing you can get to the actual exam answers, after all.
What is the best way to prepare for humanities A-levels?
The key difference between a maths or science A-level and a humanities one is that while the former often has a simple correct answer, the latter requires you to defend a point or opinion. However, as with scientific subjects, the method remains much the same when it comes to practise.
Familiarity with the exam structure, and just bashing out as many papers as you can to get comfortable with what the exam will be like, is invaluable.
How do I prepare for a business A level?
Edexcel and AQA A level business have become two of the most popular qualifications among students in recent years, and as such there is a huge array of content to help you prepare for these exams. With that being said, it’s hard to beat the tried and true technique, even if said technique isn’t always the most fun.
Aside from these subjects being some of the ones that reward being taught properly the most, the same principle applies as with any other subject: past paper familiarity. Edexcel A-level business past papers are some of the most consistent in terms of format of question, and as such are often favoured.
Business A-level Edexcel past papers also share a lot in common with AQA business AS level past papers in terms of fundamentals, making them a great resource for students of both exam boards.
How do I prepare for an economics A level?
As with business, economics exams tend to have a relatively consistent structure which asks you to write eloquently as well as understanding key concepts well. These are both things that are best trained through practise.
AQA A-level economics may be known as one of the courses that evolves the most rapidly (along with courses like politics) but the format of the exam is not one of the things that changes.
Edexcel economics A-level past papers are much the same as AQA economics A-level past papers in this regard, and both are invaluable for students seeking to be best prepared for either exam board.
Does this preparation method work for other humanities?
Although the majority of the other humanities tend to be even more opinion and argument based, which means that raw familiarity with the exam questions of previous years is less important, it still helps.
AQA history A-level and Edexcel A-level history both recommend extensive use of past papers to get used to writing in the style that is asked of students in the exam.
The same is true of other humanities, with geography A-level past papers being especially notable due to the wide range of topics the exam can cover.
This makes having a wide breadth of familiarity with the subject invaluable. AQA geography A-level past papers are of less relevance to geography A-level Edexcel students, and vice versa, due to differences in course material.
However, this just means knowing the past papers from your exam board inside and out is an even more important part of exam prep.
How should you prepare for a languages exam?
The key difference with a language exam compared to a science or humanity is that the exam is considerably more focused on your ability to speak and understand the language, which is not something a past paper can teach you if you don’t already know it.
AQA A-level Spanish past papers are useless if you can’t speak Spanish, as you simply won’t be able to answer at all.
However, if you already have a good comprehension of the vocabulary and grammar, AQA Spanish A-level past papers suddenly become far more valuable.
To take another example, this is even more true of something like Edexcel GCSE Spanish, as GCSE language exams focus even more on vocabulary and grammar.
When do A-levels start 2023/24?
The AQA exam dates 2023/24 period are spread over a month and a half, starting on the 13th of May 2024 and finishing on the 28th of June 2024.
These dates fall pretty much in line with the other four major exam boards as well, although not perfectly.
However, this period is the most commonly used, and for the 2023/24 exam season almost every exam from every exam board will fall within this month and a half window.
Of course, beyond all of this, the value of being properly taught your course cannot be overstated. Past papers can get you so far, but a true robust understanding of the exam material comes from learning direct from a human, not a markscheme.
Superprof is a service that can offer exactly this, an invaluable tool for those who want to take their learning up a level. Tutoring has been proven over and over again by countless studies to be by far the most effective way to pass any exam or attain any qualification.
Superprof lets you find the tutoring you need to guarantee you will find the results you need in a timely and efficient manner, letting you finally unleash your academic potential and get the results you deserve.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
