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Asked by watermelon to Alex on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by student123.
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Alex Lyness answered on 16 Jun 2014:
Hey watermelon,
I agree that it may look a little strange. The truth is that GCSEs and A-Levels have slightly different purposes and that a lot happens in your life outside school between 14-18.
I found that GCSEs were really good for getting a broad knowledge about many different subjects. A-Levels allowed me to focus on the ones I really enjoyed and that would get me onto the degree I wanted to do.
I started 4 AS Levels and the dropped Chemistry as I went into upper sixth form, which is quite a common thing to do. Also during sixth form there are other distractions that make studying harder like learning to drive, having a job (I worked in Sainsbury’s) and also when I was 17-18 I was playing a very high level of rugby which took up a lot of my time.
I wouldn’t ever advise doing 17 GCSEs by the way, if I had my time again 9-11 is more than enough!
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Comments
jediknight123 commented on :
i love rugby too
haras commented on :
Doesn’t that mean you might have even better in your exams if you had to focus on less GCSEs? Also do you think your GCSEs have to be have to all be related to the work you’ll be doing in future?
Alex commented on :
Yes Haras, I might have got all A’s if I had taken less GCSEs instead of a mix of A’s and B’s. Your GCSEs don’t really need to be related to what you want to do when you’re older. A-Levels are important for that. Getting good GCSEs in Maths, Science and English provides a good foundation.