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Original poster

AS level chat at school

72 replies

alypaly · 15/09/2009 01:33

Just had the formal AS level chat just with parents this evening.
The pressure these youngsters are under today to achieve good enough grades to get to their uni of choice is immense.
Where do their childhoods go?
The school says ...oh we want them to have an equal balance of acedemia to social lives.... please tell me at what point they can socialise with soooo much homework?....

OP posts:

lazymumofteenagesons · 16/09/2009 12:15

Also, I know a few who dropped the 4th subject after the offer came in.

minimu · 16/09/2009 12:59

I just can seen no reason for any student needing to take 5 AS Levels. No university offers on 4 A levels and 5 A levels. It is much better to do 4 AS and then 3 A levels to get good marks.

minimu · 16/09/2009 13:00

Sorry I mean 4 A levels and 5 AS Levels

mumoverseas · 16/09/2009 13:18

alypaly thats really interesting ref the points for AS level, I'd never realised that I shall now go and nag DS by email/msn and get him to pull his finger out this year

Am trying to understand why DS and a few of his peers are doing 5 subjects then if it seems that they'd be better off doing 4?

bluebump · 16/09/2009 13:29

UCAS this year brought in something called 'adjustment' so if someone got better grades than expected they could hold their confirmed place but also apply for a 'better' place that they previously couldn't have applied for on their predicted grades (if that makes sense!) Providing a place is available on the 'better' course they can apply within a certain time scale without losing a place elsewhere. I don't know if that helps anyone?

snorkie · 16/09/2009 13:40

Alypaly, while the AS does indeed give you up to 300/600 points for the full A level, to get an A* you have to achieve 90% in each of your A2 modules as well as getting an A overall. That is why it's different from getting an A, because a lot of the marks (at least 270) MUST be achieved at A2 and not AS.

To give an example: If you work really hard in yr12 and achieve the full 300 AS points, then to achieve an A overall you 'only' need to gain a further 180 points in your A2 modules, but if you want an A you need to gain at* least 270 points in your A2 modules. (I say at least because the rule is you must pass every module with 90%, so 100% in one and 80% in the other won't do it even though that is still 270 points).

On the other hand if you take it easy in year12 and gain 210/300 AS points, then the same 270 (or more depending how distributed) A2 score will bring your total up to 480/600 which will give you an A*.

So for anyone in the range 210-300 UMS at AS it is equally difficult at A2 to achieve an A*, but it is still much easier for those with the higher AS results to achieve an A.

Does this make sense? There are slight differences in the rules for maths by the way, but the principle is the same.

snorkie · 16/09/2009 13:50

minimu, one reason to do more is love of the subjects - if you really want to study them and can't bear to give any of them up and can manage the work then why not?

Another reason is to keep options open. For example if you might want to study maths at university then you need further maths, but if you might also want to study medicine some universities don't actually count f. maths as a separate subject so you would need another as well. (A bit of an unlikely example I agree, but you get the idea..)

Also, although universities don't make offers on 4 (actually, I think they do sometimes if you are sitting them) if you have two candidates completely equal in every way except one is also doing a fourth A level then who are you going to make an offer to?

Original poster

alypaly · 16/09/2009 13:51

yes we have been told all this about the A stars so DS has decided he wants as higher mark as poss this year so it takes a bit of the pressure off next year. He is doing maths. Thanks anyway

OP posts:

snorkie · 16/09/2009 13:54

but it won't take the pressure off. If he's aiming for A he still needs 90% at C3 and C4. It only takes the pressure off for getting the A grade (so is of course still a good plan). If he's going for A he'll have the same pressure however he does at AS, unless he does so badly he doesn't have a realistic chance of A* to start with.

Milliways · 16/09/2009 16:40

When DD started AS year, she was told she was expected to do 1 hour at home for every hour in lessons.

Doing 5 AS levels gave her NO free periods (when her friends did homework) and no free time on weekday evenings - especially as she had a job for 2 evenings a week + a Saturday. She ended up reducing her shifts.

It IS awful as I remember that Year as being great fun. O Levels done and a year to A levels.

However, I would say this. She has just lectured DS (younger brother just starting GCSE's) to make the utter most of AS year and get the best possible grades in EVERY paper, piece o coursework, as it really reduced the pressure on final A2s knowing you already had an E, D or even C grade at A2 before sitting the final paper.

mumoverseas · 16/09/2009 17:25

really helpful information on here, thank you ladies.
Milliways the hard work your DD put in was obviously worth it, didn't I read on another thread she'd got into Cambridge? You must be so proud

Milliways · 16/09/2009 17:39

Yes we are , and extra so because she has always been a "grafter", never one who just casually produced the A grades.

Thank You, and good luck to all those going through this now

Original poster

alypaly · 16/09/2009 18:04

Milliways ...DS2's schoolhave said 4 ish hours plus a week for each subject and they have advised that they give up part time jobs completely in order to study at weekends...

OP posts:

Milliways · 16/09/2009 18:09

Giving up a job completely is a bit much - especially those with no EMA.

DD dropped to 1 evening + Saturday, then just Saturdays in A2 year, and with working in the summer has saved £6500 towards Uni.

Lilymaid · 16/09/2009 19:36

Agree that giving up a one day a week weekend job or similar is not necessary. Both my DSs have continued their weekend jobs through the A2 year with no problems (DS1 got all As etc, DS2 didn't but he was never going to get As whether or not he worked on Saturdays!).
Organisation is the key. There is plenty of time to do sufficient homework. DS1 was at a noted academic school and the head wasn't at all bothered if they had weekend jobs - his main objection was to weekday partying.

(Oh, just remembered that I too had a Saturday job back in the 20th Century in the days when A Levels were supposed to be harder, and I managed!)

Original poster

alypaly · 16/09/2009 20:47

yes me too....but i dont remember all this homework or did i just skim through it. Its so long ago,i cant remember

OP posts:

mumoverseas · 17/09/2009 06:14

might be having a dumb blonde moment here, but what is EMA?

Original poster

alypaly · 17/09/2009 10:53

education maintainance allowance. It gives the child. It is a means tested allowance which gives the child,into his or her personal bank account up to £30 a week. As long as their weekly attendance is fine it is sent weekly to their bank, til their final year at school. Just for 6th formers,not below

OP posts:

mumoverseas · 17/09/2009 11:12

might look into that as DS is in L6. Wonder if they take into account just my income or his step-fathers too?

Original poster

alypaly · 17/09/2009 11:17

its normally the person or people who they reside with.
i am a single mum, so it is on my income alone

OP posts:

gerontius · 17/09/2009 23:07

It's not just Cambridge that are using A for offers this year. UCL and Imperial are as well, especially for popular courses like Maths and ESPS. Craziest offer I saw was at Imperial for Maths/Computer Science where they wanted As in Maths and Further MAths and an A in physics.

gerontius · 17/09/2009 23:07

sorry, Cambridge that is

Original poster

alypaly · 18/09/2009 09:47

grammar missus

OP posts:

mumoverseas · 18/09/2009 10:18

must be being a bit thick this morning but what is ESPS?

Original poster

alypaly · 18/09/2009 10:48

me too i dont know what that is short for either[derrrrrrrrrrr]

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