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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

DD wants to drop Chemistry A level, should she?

23 replies

runaroundstartsnow · 31/10/2011 21:21

DD got an A (was 2marks off A* at GCSE) in Chem but is finding the Alevel difficult.She just doesn't understand the teacher. She tries really hard and is really stressing about it, she got a C in a test recently and cried all evening. She did an extra class with another tutor and understood him better but is still struggling.
Her other subjects are a breeze, Art Textiles/History and Eng Lit.
Before she started A levels , Chem was her great love.Now she doesn't know if she wants to continue but is worried she has missed any chance to change subject.
I don't know how to help her. Have advised her to talk to her personal tutor about her options. She could struggle on and not do well which would be a waste,or she could suddenly click with a different teacher. Am worried that its too late now to swap subjects and a series of poor results in this subject will ruin her time at 6th form. She has started saying she is "stupid" and " no doubt the rest of my results will go downhill too"
Help.

OP posts:

Acandlelitshadow · 31/10/2011 21:35

GCSE to A level can be quite a big jump in difficulty even if they've found the GCSE a breeze. Ds1 switched subjects a couple of years back when he realised he'd made a mistake and wasn't coping with his maths course.

Personally I reckoned half a term was enough to get a feel for how things are going but we didn't go down the tutor route so I don't know if that would have made a difference.

The school allowed a switch up to the first half term of the course but no later so she needs to act very soon if she does decide to switch.

Good luck!

mummytime · 31/10/2011 22:08

A'level Chemistry is a big jump. Personally I would continue at least to the end of AS and then re-think whether to continue. She obviously wasn't going to take it much further than A'level anyway given her subject choices.
Reassure her that Chemistry is a hard subject, and her effort in trying a hard subject will be recognised.

Original poster

runaroundstartsnow · 31/10/2011 22:11

She wanted to do mixed arts/science degree at UCL, hence mass stress about getting a C.She needs an A in Chem to do degree.

OP posts:

Loshad · 31/10/2011 22:14

we wouldn't let a student switch at this stage - they've missed too much. I would encourage her at least to keep going now until she gets reults from the jan module, and to get her head down now and keep working at it - buy her a revision guide, get her on t'internet and get her to keep talking to her teachers if she is stuck.

mummytime · 31/10/2011 22:23

I would say doing A'level Chemistry without A'level Maths, and preferably A'level Physics or Biology is very very hard.

stealthsquiggle · 31/10/2011 22:24

What would she do instead? She shouldn't just drop it - she will limit her options. If she is just tired and defeated, it could well pick up - but definitely talk to her personal tutor. Is there a possibility to switch to the tutor that she does understand?

Original poster

runaroundstartsnow · 31/10/2011 23:07

Im hoping for some extension classes for her with the other teacher. She is a very determined girl and i am hoping that 6th form will have some ideas to help her. She already has a revision guide and spends at least an hour a night trying to get to grips with Chemistry.She says she wished she had done Biology as she has looked at her friends course work and that makes sense.
I dont want her to lose her Science subject, maybe its just this module she has a block on and it will get easier?

OP posts:

mumeeee · 01/11/2011 08:59

Getting a C in a recent test doesn't mean she won't be able to get an A in her exams. A C at this stage is good. An A level C is like a GCSE A. There is a big step up from GCSE to A level. DD1 got C's in her AS January modules in Physics and Biology but she ended up getting A's in her final exams.

crazymum53 · 01/11/2011 16:49

I know it's disappointing to get a grade C when you are used to As but agree with mumeeee that this is OK for this stage in the course. What you need to remember is that nearly all A level Chemistry students have obtained A grades at GCSE.
Which exam board is she studying? On some specifications the first A level module is very Mathematical and this puts some students off. The later modules tend to be more interesting.

Original poster

runaroundstartsnow · 01/11/2011 18:39

Its OCR and it is very maths based, i agree that she might be happier with the rest of the modules.
Thankyou for saying a C is good at this stage, i will tell her and she may feel better about it.

OP posts:

stealthsquiggle · 01/11/2011 18:53

If she is struggling with the maths, definitely get her some help if you can - it will get in the way of understanding the rest - and once it "clicks" she will wonder what she was finding so hard.

jkklpu · 01/11/2011 18:58

If she's interested in mixed arts/sciences, chemistry is a good science to keep up, though, as others say, without maths, she'll need to keep working hard on it. Is there any way she could take some extra maths from another tutor, specifically to support her chemistry? It sounds as though she is already determined and hardworking and that's what counts.

LittleWaveyLines · 01/11/2011 19:57

I teach OCR A level chemistry. If she did separate sciences at GCSE then this first module should be fairly easy as it repeats a lot of what is in single science chemistry.

Chemistry A level is HARD. A "C" in Chemistry is a very well respected grade so she shouldn't get disheartened by that. However, if she really is struggling to understand all the content, then she should consider just doing AS. In my school it is too late to change choices by this time of the year.

By the way, if it is just the titration/moles stuff she is struggling with, it often tends to just "click" with students all of a sudden .

I would also advise that she takes a look at the Knockhardy website as my students find it very helpful.

HTH

kritur · 01/11/2011 20:19

I agree that the jump from GCSE to AS is really big and it is not unusual for students to struggle, especially if their GCSE made no mention of the concept of a mole which then seems to come out of the blue at AS! I teach AQA but the content is very similar. I am guessing it is the titration calculations that are causing her problems, these should click if she's got a reasonable GCSE maths grade. I would say she needs to stick with it for a bit longer, at least until the january module is out of the way. A-levels are hard and GCSEs no longer provide decent preparation. It might be worth getting her abit of tuition to go through the calculations, it's not unusual for girls to struggle with this early on.

IceCreamCastles · 01/11/2011 20:32

A level chemistry is bloody hard. I was a straight a* / a student at gcse and got the shock of my life at a level. It made my life a misery and I still ( over 10 years on) regret taking it. I would advise her to persevere for this year for the AS but not doing the full a level unless it starts to click.

Would she have the option of doing an AS in biology next year? I'm
Not sure how the system works now-sorry. She has my sympathies though!

alemci · 01/11/2011 20:37

I think she is doing really well to get a C. the jump up is really hard. Both my dd's do A level chemistry, one A2 and the other AS. Could she persevere and maybe you could get a tutor.

also could she just do AS and continue with the other 3. My dd's also do maths.

I laugh as they don't inherit love of science from me. give me history or English any day.

gettingalifenow · 02/11/2011 09:30

Do I read it right runaround that she is doing 5 A levels? You also list Art Textiles History and Eng Lit?

There are those who think 5 A levels is too much and maybe she is overloaded?

And if she wants to go to UCL you might check which subject combinations they're happy with as it may be that Textiles would be the one to drop. If UCL is a goal, you need to think this through to the end game - she will need at least an A in Chemistry and probably an A* so you might need to rethink her current portfolio to give her that best chance.

An0therName · 02/11/2011 09:45

I wonder if she needs some more maths many students will be doing AS maths as well as chemistry - and I have seen this book recommended - might help

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0582411270/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Original poster

runaroundstartsnow · 02/11/2011 14:52

She is only doing 4 gettingalifenow, Art textiles is one subject. Well today she had a meeting with her tutor so im waiting for her to come home and give me the lowdown.
We can then decide how to proceed

OP posts:

Original poster

runaroundstartsnow · 02/11/2011 16:46

Ok she is having probs with the calculations.Everything else she understands, it seems to be what calculations to use for working out? She has another meeting tomorrow.

OP posts:

stealthsquiggle · 02/11/2011 17:58

She sounds really committed and hard-working, OP. If it is just calculations, then once someone explains it to her in a way which works for her (and it sounds as though she won't give up until they do) then she will be off and running, IMO.

Original poster

runaroundstartsnow · 04/11/2011 21:48

Well, she has a plan from teacher now ,plus extra maths and catch up classes even a list of websites etc.
Todays lesson went really well too, she got it all and tutor was pleased.She came home with a big smile...long may it continue Thanks for the support and suggestions everyone, so kind of you.

OP posts:

knockhardy · 07/11/2011 08:56

As this is not an site I usually follow, I was quite touched to have my site quoted as being useful. I hope I am not too late to join the thread.

Having retired last year from teaching Chemistry at sixth form level for 35 years I have known many students who find the subject challenging. In the days before modules, many students would not 'get' chemistry until the Spring term in the second year. It was only then that the various strands of the subject interlocked and students became aware of common themes. On the other hand, it could have been that they had actually done some revision for their 'mock' exams!

My top tips are...
a) make sure you know which specification you are doing and see waht you need to cover and at what level (know, appreciate, understand all mean different things to an examiner).
b) look at as many past papers as you can. Your tutor should be going through them but papers and mark schemes are available on line. The only problem here is that new specs came in for 2008 so there are not many recent papers available. However, the style and content hasn't changed that much so go back further. I did OCR and their past papers can be downloade from the OCR website.
c) Do ask as soon as possible. I often get emails from students via my wensite saying that they don't understand something despite endless help from well-meaning staff. Sometimes an alternative point of view works wonders.

Finally, don't give up. You are not alone.

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