Are you struggling with how to get ready for A level study this September? Well, don’t worry. Study Dog has prepared our top tips for new and returning students to get ready for A Level lessons, and make this year your best.
Known for being one of the most academically demanding stages of education, A Levels often come with a heavy workload, intense revision schedules, and mounting pressure to perform well. For students, it can be a stressful and overwhelming time, while for parents and guardians, supporting their loved one through it can feel just as challenging.
Whether you’re heading into Year 12 or helping someone who is, here are our expert-backed tips to get ready for A Level study and increase your chances of success. From managing your free time to reading around your subjects.
Get your work organised
The first thing to consider when you get ready for A Level study is that, moving from GCSEs to A Levels, you may be going from roughly ten subjects down to three or four. However, you will still need to keep organised as your workload will increase for each subject.
Instead of having a folder or book for each subject, you may need a folder or book for topics within each subject. The best thing to do is ask your teacher for advice on how to keep your work organised so you can refer back during later revision sessions.
Prepare to read around your subjects
Many subjects, such as Economics, Politics and Geography, require additional reading and research to add nuance to your work and build a library of case studies to rely on. These are vital in helping to differentiate your essays and reach the top marking bands. In order to get ready for A Level study, this is a habit to get into quickly.
Make sure you are ready with the resources you need to build up this library of additional work, and dedicate time to this each week to ensure you gain consistency. Many of Study Dog’s team were guilty of starting the year strongly, but tapering off as the year went by. Use your free periods in school to read around the subject, making use of library and online resources.
Use your free time wisely
Many schools and colleges offer free time or study periods where younger students have a full timetable. This isn’t the time to catch up on your sleep or watch a movie; you need to be ready with work for these study periods to make the most of the precious time you have available.
Perhaps create a weekly timetable of your free time to dedicate to your subjects, or carry out some research for opportunities outside of the classroom to build up your personal profile. This will help to add to your essays, develop your interest in your subjects and perhaps open opportunities for work experience to add to personal statements.
Be on the lookout for next-step opportunities
Whilst A-level studies are just beginning, it’s always important to keep your next steps in the back of your mind. In a year’s time, you’ll be writing and finalising UCAS or job applications, so you need to use this time to look into any volunteering, work experience or skillset requirements that these career paths require.
Using resources like UCAS or Indeed can help to see what might be required from you to take the next steps.
Explore online learning opportunities
Since the turn of the decade and the days of online learning through the pandemic, a number of online learning platforms have emerged to help students stay organised and engaged with their studies.
Study Dog is an online learning platform built for students to help them get ready for A Level study. We have resources for Geography, PE, Politics and Sociology students in a wide range of multimedia formats. You can get started with a membership today to help you get ready for A Level studies.
