Succeed with A levels

In this article, John Southworth, former Principal of MPW London, reflects on decades of preparing students A level with practical ways for students to maximise their chances of success

What goes around comes around…

In the last few years of my time in headship, A levels completed the change from 'modular' to a ‘linear’ format. This meant that we have in effect gone full circle and A levels have returned to being similar to those your parents and I once took! Once more, almost all A levels are examined with terminal exams at the end of a two-year course of study. I say almost all  as there are some exceptions, such as international A levels such as those offered by CIE which still have the AS/A2 format where the AS results are carried forward and contribute to the final A level grade.  In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, students can of course take an AS exam at the end of their lower-sixth year, but the resulting AS qualification is a standalone one and does not contribute to the A level result.

There are a number of things that students can do to succeed with linear A levels and these include:

• Choosing the right subjects
• Taking an EPQ
• Don't leave it all until upper sixth!
• Getting ahead
• Reflect on your studies
• Starting early on your UCAS personal statement

Choosing the right subjects

The key to dealing with A levels has always been to choose the right subjects and the right combination of subjects. A good combination is one that you will enjoy studying (and therefore work hard at), that you can do well in, and that will facilitate your future plans, which for most students will mean choosing subjects that will meet university entry requirements.

There are plenty of subjects to choose from: in my time as a Principal, we offered 47 different A levels. That gives a great deal of flexibility (described in more detail in choosing the right A level subjects).

If your GCSE grades and your college's sixth form allows it (see FAQs about A-level choice), you might start with four subjects; this gives you the opportunity to drop one if you need to, but will also give you greater breadth of subject coverage. If you are choosing new subjects that you have not studied before, then having the fourth subject may be a good backup if you find you have made a poor choice in another one.

Ensure you read the subject specifications very carefully and seek advice when choosing your A levels. You might find our Guide to individual A-level subjects helpful

Taking an EPQ

If you are studying three subjects in your first year, do explore the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ); this qualification is highly regarded by universities, as it requires evidence of proper research and the production of a final and substantial piece of original work.

Don't leave it all until upper sixth!

My next piece of advice is based on seeing so many sixth-formers make this mistake! There's a real a temptation to think you can relax in the lower sixth and cover everything in the second year. This was the commonest mistake students made when A levels were linear many years ago. They took it easy for the first three terms then discovered there was just too much to do to catch up. At most colleges, students are not required to take a standalone AS but there will be formal internal exams to ensure that students have understood the material and are ready to progress to the second year of study. The results of those Year 12 exams inevitably influence the grade predictions that colleges make for UCAS, and can even affect the programme that students are allowed to follow in the second year.

It is therefore important to get into the right work ethic from day one. You should look at the course holistically, as a two-year programme of study. Revise as you go along, not just as exams approach, ensuring topics are understood as they are covered rather than ‘glossing over’ any problems and having to sort them out at the end of upper sixth when you come to the realisation that you did not understand everything in the first place!

And do remember that your UCAS predictions are made early in the second year and are strongly coloured by your performance in lower sixth. You can't expect your teachers to predict top A-level grades if you've not been doing the work and already demonstrating top grade ability.

Get ahead

Cover as much material as you can in your lower sixth to take some pressure off the upper-sixth year and to allow more time for exam practice and revision. Practice past exam papers as much as you can; coursework has been removed from most subjects, so perfecting exam technique is critically important. Practise answering questions, develop better time management on questions, and get used to working under pressure even if you are not doing exactly what you would be in the actual exam. Many colleges do this through regular Exam Practice sessions under exam conditions.

Reflect on your studies

For some students, the lower sixth year just does not go well. The key here is not to sleepwalk into the upper sixth without having looked carefully at other options. If you feel that you could have done better, use the gap between the lower sixth and upper sixth to make an educational change, either changing your work ethic or taking the bigger step of moving to an educational environment in which you feel more likely to achieve to your ability.

Most cife colleges offer a range of one-year A level courses and often take students who transfer at the end of their lower-sixth year. Also use your internal end of lower-sixth exam results to inform future decisions, in the same way that students studying the old modular A levels would have used AS results to decide if plans for the upper sixth needed to be adjusted.

Starting early on your UCAS personal statement

Finally, there is the question of your UCAS personal statement. With linear A levels, and relatively fewer students taking the AS qualification many students have no official post-GCSE exam results to demonstrate potential to prospective universities. Therefore, my advice is to build on your personal statements in other ways by including things such as relevant work experience and worthwhile co-curricular activities, which all add weight and substance to a well-written personal statement.

In conclusion

Whatever the current educational philosophy and model of examinations, students should not feel nervous about doing their best and achieving good results. Do not panic – there is always help and support at hand, so you should never feel alone or out of your depth and remember that all students are in a similar position to you, so you are not at a disadvantage. If you work hard and follow advice from your teachers and school, you have every chance of success.