Notes
Choosing A levels after a shaky GCSE
A 5 in GCSE maths does not close the door on A level maths, but it does change what August and September need to look like.
Results day conversations are rushed. This is the version with more time.
1. Find out what the gap actually is
For maths it is usually algebraic manipulation, indices and surds. For the sciences it is the maths, again. A diagnostic paper in July answers it in an hour.
2. Use the summer, not the first half term
Six weeks of two hours a week in August is worth more than double that in October, when the new content has already started arriving.
3. Be honest about three subjects versus four
Dropping to three well-taught subjects beats four carried badly, and universities are largely indifferent to the fourth.
- Book a diagnostic hour before results day if you can
- Ask the sixth form exactly which topics they assume on day one
- Plan the bridging work around the weakest of the three, not the favourite
- Reassess at October half term, in writing
Plenty of good A level students started Year 12 with a shaky 6. Very few of them started it in denial.
