DC - A level biology but not so strong on other two sciences.

[Threebagsfullxyz]

Dc enjoys biology and is good at the subject (year 10 - GCSE's in May) but is not so strong in other two sciences particularly physics, having taken combined science and not triple science. How likely is it that dc can do A level biology, given that it goes on overall score? Now dc is feeling disheartened and considering a different A level but would have liked to have taken biology to keep options open.

I suggested dc somehow sit biology on a private basis (not entirely sure if this is possible but home-schooled children must enter exams on a private basis). But DC (who may possibly have adhd - yet to be diagnosed) became all anxious at the prospect of having to do extra study.

Forget biology altogether? I know it is down to dc at the end of the day but I want to help where I can and it is a subject dc enjoys. Having a difficult time at the moment. DC is bright but doesn't seem to put maximum effort in to revise. Could this be ADHD related? Forgive me if not the case as I know little about the condition. This makes studying for less enjoyable subjects more difficult and dc seems to under-estimate their ability/lacks confidence in general.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

What other subjects is your dc likely to do and what do they want to do after?
It’s fine to do as an only science.
Are you wondering whether double science is an adequate grounding for A Level?

What are their predicted grades for combined science?

A level biology is really really hard. I'm in a similar position, dd wants to do it, she's also doing combined. She's not bad, last grading was 7s in each science but she's in one of the bottoms sets.

If it was me I would want to go over each of the physics and chemistry papers to see where she can gain more marks to increase her overall combined science grade.

As she has year 10 mock papers these should be accessible through school and they should be able to provide a mark scheme so she can see what she should have written to get the marks.

At Ds2's school they do this in class, you add to your own work to show what you should have written rather than it just being an exercise to get a grade, it is a revision tool later on.

For Ds1 they needed a 6 to do a science for A level.

Which exam board is it? There are some excellent YouTube science channels for GCSE but which one depends on which board.

@Bryonyshcmyony

A level biology is really really hard. I'm in a similar position, dd wants to do it, she's also doing combined. She's not bad, last grading was 7s in each science but she's in one of the bottoms sets.

She’s getting A equivalents and is in the bottom set?

OP what are his predicted grades?

Dd did combined science (8,8) then did A-level biology and no other sciences.

Just to warn you that there is chemistry involved in biology (biochemistry) but there's no physics so don't worry about that.

It is a hard A-level but if it ties into her future plans I see why she might want to choose it

@TheMarzipanDildo she's not the bottom set but there are three other sets doing combined and they are all the same apparently although dd says she's in set 5 (out of 6) the top two sets are insanely clever (selective)

My DD did combined science in Y10, starting her A levels in September picked Biology, Chemistry and Psychology- it is not a disadvantage to study combined for GCSE it is just they take the average of three subject grades

Did she do extra work before starting the A level?

Ds did combined science, achieved 9,9. He went on to do physics A level. Most of the students in the class had done the combined sciences not the triple. Not all schools offer it. He didn't struggle at all with the content and achieved A* for A level. He didn't do any extra work for physics between GCSE and A level.

If she is only y10 then she may well find her Chemistry & Physics improves next year.
If she is going on to do A levels in her own school, you may find they are flexible if she gets good grades in the Biology exams (are they still given a per paper breakdown at GCSEs under the new system?). Worth asking.
Definitely go over any test papers she does to see where she loses marks - there is quite a bit of test technique eg the difference between 'describe what you see' v 'explain what occurs'.
Tassomai is often recommended on here for science, and Seneca is good too.

I really wouldn't think doing biology privately would be a good idea, as that would mean 4 A levels which is a massive load.

Other thing is that other schools/colleges may have lower requirements on grades for science, so worth hunting around in the circumstances.

I think the OPS question was really around the fact that chemistry and physics are likely to be poorer grades and thus bring the combined grades down. Many 6th forms require at keast a 6 or 7 or even 8 to continue on to do A levels so I assume the worry is if she only gets say a 6,6 and the 6th form requires a 7 will she be allowed to do it.

It may be worth getting evidence from reports or school exams to show she is performing high enough in the biology elements tk be able to cope with A level biology or to have the conversation with potential 6th forms about their policy surrounding this type of scenario

How is her maths? 10 percent of the final A level exam is higher GCSE maths content - in a normal year that many marks is two grade boundary differences.

All the local post 16 centres near us say they have to have at least a 6 in maths and biology/combined for this reason.

Often I find students who are mathematically able do ok in GCSE physics as it is 30% maths - if she is mathematically strong focussing on how to answer the maths type questions could pull up the physics grade at GCSE quite well, alongside learning the basic facts.

A level biology is hard - a lot harder than GCSE chemistry and physics, it has the biggest step up to A level of the three sciences. So much new vocabulary, the maths side, the biochemistry and then just the concepts covered. My students are surprised every year after finding GCSE biology the easiest science. But I love it - so interesting.

@ImpatientAnn

How is her maths? 10 percent of the final A level exam is higher GCSE maths content - in a normal year that many marks is two grade boundary differences.

All the local post 16 centres near us say they have to have at least a 6 in maths and biology/combined for this reason.

Often I find students who are mathematically able do ok in GCSE physics as it is 30% maths - if she is mathematically strong focussing on how to answer the maths type questions could pull up the physics grade at GCSE quite well, alongside learning the basic facts.

A level biology is hard - a lot harder than GCSE chemistry and physics, it has the biggest step up to A level of the three sciences. So much new vocabulary, the maths side, the biochemistry and then just the concepts covered. My students are surprised every year after finding GCSE biology the easiest science. But I love it - so interesting.

Would you say A level biology is harder than A level Chemistry?

Thanks for all the useful feedback.

Maths is not a strong point (more so the humanities + English + art). Extra tutoring going on at the moment for maths, so hope this helps. DC lack confidence so hoping the tutoring will go some way to helping. Just going to see how it plays out now...

I did A level biology and a degree in it

I didn’t do chemistry or physics beyond combined science because I hated them and never really understood it

Biology is totally different you don’t need other science to do well

Back in the day it was my favourite subject.
I knew I wanted to teach so did it with History and English Lit.

I would look up what your local 6th form require for A level biology, ours is 7.7 in combined or 7 in biology and maybe discuss with science teacher. Then either work on bringing physics and chemistry up or do biology privately as a gcse if she is ok with that later. But a lot can change in a year, children change their minds many times sometimes so I would not worry about it now.

Not harder than A level chemistry no, but a much bigger jump in difficulty from GCSE to A level. GCSE chemistry is already hard so students expect it to be more difficult, they expect biology to be easy and are unpleasantly surprised.