...to think that the amount of AS prep work DD has been given is too much?

[UneBelleCerise]

DD starts her AS levels in September. She's doing maths, biology, chemistry and German.

She has absolutely tonnes of prep work.

Maths: self teach chapters 1 and 3 of C1 with notes, worked examples, and at least half of practice questions completed. Test in first week back.

Biology: complete preparation booklet (has 6 A4 pages with a total of 36 questions) and a poster about a biology topic of your choice.

Chemistry: look over all GCSE work for a test in first week back.

German: revise all GCSE grammar for a test in first lesson back. Learn 60 verbs in 4 tenses. Watch a German film.

She's now slogging it out in the week before school...I did tell her to get some done throughout the holidays but naturally she didn't. Though in her defence she really deserves a break after doing so much work. Was it really necessary to give so much work?

[Sirzy]

How long ago was she given the work?

If it was spread over the summer then it sounds a reasonable amount to make sure they can hit the ground running and not waste time going over old ground because too much has been forgotten over summer.

[jacks365]

Yes besides she most likely like my dd has had a 3 month holiday which is more than enough time to do all that and relax

[SchrodingersFanny]

A lot of subjects do it now to weed out the ones who aren't committed, and to give them a realistic idea of what is expected. The jump from GCSE to AS is massive and many expect the same level of support (or even spoon feeding) that they had at GCSE.

Not saying your dd is one of those, but therefore they give it to all students. I know our maths dept do.

[Fancies40Winks]

A Levels are hard, the prep work is reasonable and this will be a good lesson for her when it comes to planning her (much greater) workload, sorry.

[EndoplasmicReticulum]

She is going to find AS levels a huge jump from GCSE. A large amount of work will be required if she is going to get good grades. I often find it's those who can coast GCSEs without too much bother who really get a shock when they start AS.

Doing a bit of preparation sounds very sensible. She's had long enough since GCSEs finished. Perhaps "not leaving everything until the last minute" will also be an important lesson for the next couple of years, particularly now the retake options are limited.

[UneBelleCerise]

So it seems this is normal. I shall make DD read this so she stops whinging. She's the eldest child so I wasn't sure if this was normal or too much.

She was given this in July so am very unimpressed - she didn't make a start until last week.

[Spikeytree]

I'd love it if we could do this at our school, but unfortunately they only chose their subjects last week.

Our department deliberately make the first two weeks of both GCSE and AS Level extra hard to weed out those who will suck all of our teaching/support time without putting in any effort themselves.

[BuskersCat]

That sounds about right! She will have an enormous shock when she goes to university if she thinks that is a lot, over six weeks.

[Sirzy]

So she will now realise if she wants to do well she has to manage her time well and not leave everything until the last minute! Hopefully a very valuable lesson learnt!

[Renniehorta]

GCSEs are an inadequate preparation for most AS. There is a lot to be done in the short time on all AS courses.

Setting work to be done in advance is a good way of judging who is going to work hard. A quick test near the beginning of the course gives a chance to weed out the weakest students at a time when they can still get onto alternative courses.

[BrokenSunglasses]

AS levels are supposed to be worthwhile qualifications aimed at being taken by people who are pretty much adults. It's supposed to be hard!

They have so much time off after finishing GCSEs, I don't think that's unreasonable. She has had time off after her hard work earlier in the year, how much time off do you expect her to have? She's old enough that she could be working a full time job now, with only four weeks holiday a year!

YABVU.

[BabyMamaDrama]

I wish I had been given prep work between GCSE's and A-Levels or even instructed to do some! There is a big leap so the prep work will do her some good no matter how annoying it is to do now!

[UneBelleCerise]

However, she wasn't one who coasted GCSEs. She worked very hard and got very good grades.

During GCSEs she was very organised and on top of things but she let this slip over the summer.

Hopefully this shall give her the proper kick up the arse she needs to get back into gear!

[Turniptwirl]

Yabu, it's her own fault for leaving it til the last week. It's a very reasonable amount of work for a three month holiday.

She needs to learn to study on her own NOW not after failing January A2 exams like I did a levels require a lot more self motivation and hard work than gcses

[Edendance]

It really doesn't seem to bad to me to be honest. All the GCSE revision shouldn't take long, Maths A(s) level is notoriously difficult so it's likely they hit them hard at the start so that those who won't make it get filtered out early and Biology- a day at most.

She has access to all her notes and the internet for research, piece of cake! good for her getting into college and studying some useful subjects (mine weren't so useful!!)

[chickydoo]

AS are tough, and getting tougher. DD has just sat hers & not done that well. Some of her friends who were expecting 4 A's ( the type who got 10A's at GCSE) only achieved 4 D's. Most kids wing it through GCSE's and do ok. For AS you really have to slog at it.
The more work she does now the better!

[ShipwreckedAndComatose]

Even the ones who think they know how to Learn/study/revise and did this really successfully at GCSE can struggle at AS.

[Fancies40Winks]

OP it may well also be worth having a look at the thread in secondary education called something like "is it normal for a school to insist on A at gcse for a level students" to get some idea of what she can expect from that subject.

[ILiveInAPineappleCoveredInSnow]

Sounds ok. My AS students have been making a model cell, researching the development of the light and electron microscope and their structure, and also have a booklet of questions.

It's a huge jump from GCSE to A Level, certainly in biology so I assume other subjects are the same. Even A* students underestimate it year after year, and get a shock!

I tell them for every hour they spend in lessons, they should spend a minimum of an hour on self directed study, over and above any homework.

It really is heavy going at AS, especially when they are not used to actually THINKING at GCSE!

Good luck to her! But she needs to start on the right foot, and get her head down straight away.

[whois]

Looking over GCSE work is just ensuring she doesn't go backwards so totally R and the minimum she should be doing.

Watching a German film, no drama seeing as she's meant to enjoy the subject!

Learning 60 verbs - bit of work there.

The maths stuff will be simple follow on from GCSE stuff so shouldn't be too hard. Not much time required. Couple of hours over several days.

Biology booklet seems pretty minimal too.

AS is meant to be hard, and needs maturity and dedication to get good marks. She's in for a shock if she thinks this is 'too much' work.

[AuntieMaggie]

Ditto babymamadrama we weren't given any prep just dumped in at the deep end when we moved to A levels. I was saying to my dp the other day how much easier it is to study these days with all the extras students get to help.

[whois]

I tell them for every hour they spend in lessons, they should spend a minimum of an hour on self directed study, over and above any homework

I found the jump in time very hard.

For AS and A2 I would have done 2-3 hours of prep in the evenings as a minimum, plus any free periods (one or two doubles a day) which were supervised in L6 and in your study in U6. Also I worked sunday afternoons and evenings.

Tough going compared to the bare minimum I did for GCSE!

[MrsDavidBowie]

Dd got her work on gcse results day, giving only a week to do it in!