What do you wish you'd known before your child started A-levels?

[ainawatson]

My child is starting A-levels soon, and I'm starting to realise how different it all seems from GCSEs.
For those who have been through it with their children, what do you wish you'd known beforehand?
Was the workload more of a shock than expected? Did they need to become much more independent? Were there particular subjects that turned out to be far harder than they expected?
Or is there something you wish you'd done differently as a parent at the start?
Would love to hear what surprised you most.

They need to stay on top of the work from the beginning because it can easily get away from them. They aren't spoon fed like at GCSE, they will need to do the reading off their own back.

The step up in complexity is brutal, even if they've gotten 8/9s at GCSE. This is espcielaly true in year 13 maths. Not for the faint of heart.

What subjects is your DC doing?

Yeh what subjects is your DC doing @ainawatson? bc on the other thread you don't seem sure – but surely they have started by now or are about to start on Monday at the latest.

FWIW the jump from GCSE level to A level is big and it is a lot; the other thing is that, yes, there is a big expectation of independent study in free time.

I agree - my son did maths and further maths A level and it’s brutal- I fought to keep him in college for the two years - it’s such a step up. He’s off to uni next week after a year off working!

Plan their independent learning - there’s always something to do whether it’s wider reading or consolidating revision notes.

if they choose to use all their ‘frees’ socialising they need to make up that time at home or they’ll fall behind

When my DS did A levels I didn't have any involvement at all in their work. It was over 15 years ago maybe things have changed now. I would have thought they would be doing things more independently at that age.

Mostly that A level Maths is NOTHING like actual Maths! I warned my son, I really tried, but the shock of it, particularly the second year, was massive!

He got a B, which I think even surprised him!

That year 12 is just as important as year 13, if not more so, in terms of university applications. Most schools decide your predicted grades based on your year 12 performance (especially if you're applying early for Oxbridge/medicine etc), so you really need to hit the ground running. A lot of my son's friends were caught out by this and are now having to work extra hard for their year 13 November mocks to try to convince teachers to up their predictions.

that A-level art would be so time consuming such that my autistic and anxious daughter completely went to pieces and bombed the course with the pressure.

Exactly. It’s baffling to me how much involvement parents have in their kids education these days. In my time, it was once a year parents evening and end of year report cards. No help with anything else.

Does everyone find A level maths this hard? My dd has just romped through GCSE - not found any of it even vaguely challenging. She’s been predicted “9+” at gcse by her maths teacher who is so confident in her ability and told it would be a crime against education if she doesn’t do A level.

I wonder if she’ll be freaking out in y12…

No, I didn't (and I know the syllabus hasn't got much harder since). Your daughter will enjoy it. I hope she's taking further maths too!

Sorry if I sound nit-picking but I'm not sure what you mean? What is actual maths? Do you mean, doing sums? Yeah it's not that.

The jump from GCSEs to A level is massive!! Work hard, keep work up to date and hand in work on time. The moment you get behind, you’ll be swamped trying to catch up! My dd college said 3 a levels are 30 hrs a week( 13 hrs in college, 2hrs tutor time and 15 hrs of homework!) College advised students not to get a part time job over 8hrs! My DD did struggle with her a level law- so her homework easily tallied up 20/25hrs a week! She didn’t get a job, only took a Saturday “off” college work and she came out with a A*, C, C. They have to work hard from the off! Good luck 🤞 x

Not necessarily. My dd did maths and fm (along with physics and FM);and while they weren’t exactly easy, she was happier doing these 4 subjects at a higher level rather than having to spend a lot of time on all the gcse subjects especially the ones she didn’t like/didn’t have the same aptitude for (German and English lit in particular).

No, it’s more that A level maths begins to be more interesting actual maths and less dull arithmetic.

Nothing I wish I'd known but I've noted kids may find they don't like a subject half as much at A level. DC didn't really enjoy Music at A-level, for example.

Eh?!?! It’s algebra, calculus, trigonometry mainly !

To answer the original question - be prepared that the jump from GCSE to A’level is massive! If they choose Maths & the sciences they will have to work hard to keep on top of things, even people who got 8s and 9s.

Ask for help at the earliest opportunity as problems don’t go away!

I wish more parents knew to support their kids to research widening participation schemes earlier in sixth form - a good amount need an application in term 1 of Y12 and it’s always a shame when students miss out because they didn’t understand the timeline required

As I found the O Level (!) - A Level transition the most difficult of all my education transitions, I was alert on the sidelines, noticing how much time my DD devoted to studying at home. She had moved school to the independent sector because of a music scholarship.

French was one of her A level choices. It came as a surprise to both of us just how much more thoroughly French GCSE was taught at her new school and confirmed the view that state schools 'teach to the test', despite her comprehensive having been a recent Sunday Times Comprehensive of the Year. To fill in the obvious knowledge gaps, I had spent time with her in Y10 and Y11 on conjugation, sequence of tenses and conditional sentences, all of which I had been taught at O level and then consolidated at A level. In Y12, she continued to make minor errors in spelling and grammar and asked me to review her writing, which I was happy to do. These were issues I hadn't fully anticipated.

Typo

I'm not sure the leap is as large as some people suggest. I think it is subject and child specific.

My one bit of advice is to make sure your DC makes the most of free periods and uses them for school work. My DS did far less 'homework' for his A levels then he did for GCSEs as there was far more free lessons than for GCSE which he used.

Make sure they understand what the "A" stands for. A surprising number of my students don't!

Make the most of open days, go visit some unis now in the Autumn just to get a feel for how large/small/campus/city unis differ. And go sign up for some of the subject talks based around your A level choices. You may surprise yourself with a new degree choice.
DS1 was convinced he would study maths at uni, but also went to an engineering maths, and an aerospace engineering talk. Came home knowing he wanted to study engineering.
Also, ignore this if your DC has other post 18 plans!

My son and two stepdaughters all went through it. Please above all let them pick subjects that they are genuinely interested in. Maths in particular is a huge step up - my stepdaughter had a 9 at GCSE and still needed a tutor in year 13. All of ours did work while doing A-Levels, but it has to be only a few hours either an evening or a day at the weekend. Don't underestimate art subjects - Drama for example is actually very demanding and hard.

@Iloveeverycat and @FreddoBRIDGE I think it depends on the child and expectations. I didn’t have to do anything with my DD other than cook her meals and listen to her doubts and offer reassurance. She put enough pressure on herself and was very self sufficient in terms of revising. If my son had done A levels he would have needed a lot more supervision (well, there’s a reason he didn’t do them)!
I think the exam system is awful and not fit for purpose - the stress and anxiety it causes is ridiculous and applying to uni with only predicted grades? Other countries manage to get it done why can’t they tweak the system here?

I'd have encouraged DD to think carefully about her subject choices, getting her to consider subjects that she's really good at, not just because they sound impressive. Even after getting all 8s and 9s at GCSE,
A level is a big jump.
Thanks to her college championing Welsh Baccalaureate as a 4th subject (and thankfully not taking then up on the offer of a 4th A level on top), and her first choice of university accepting WB as an equivalent meant getting her first choice. Otherwise it could have been a very different story.
The disappointment on results day, and the realisation that she'd only just squeaked onto her course was definitely a life lesson.
Fortunately her choice of degree is far, far better suited to her talents.