So you’re right on the threshold of an important milestone in your life: the A Levels. Congratulations on making it this far (in an education system that hinges so heavily on standardised testing)! But we’re not quite there yet. There’s still one more—arguably the most formidable—mountain to climb.
If you’re feeling lost, you’re not alone! Starting JC can be overwhelming in itself. With the ominous presence of the A Levels constantly lurking in the background—and looming ever closer—things can get really overwhelming.
So I’ve put together a post detailing all you need to know to conquer the A Levels, plus useful resources all linked for you. Read on!
Understanding what the A Levels are
The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-Level) examination is an annual national examination that is taken by school and private candidates, in Singapore.
You can find all the information you’ll ever need on the SEAB website. The 2020 Examination Timetable is already out.
Your school will also likely run through details with you during exam briefings and through your civics tutors (CTs). Therefore, most of the information on the SEAB website will be made clear to you in a timely manner without you having to scour through the site.
The only page you may wish to refer to is the one containing the SEAB syllabus documents for each examinable subject:
- A-Level Syllabuses Examined in 2020 (if you’re JC2 this year)
- A-Level Syllabuses Examined in 2021 (if you’re JC1 this year)
In these documents, the Learning Outcomes (i.e. the content knowledge you need to acquire) and details about the exam format are of value. (Your subject tutors may run through these with you as well.) You can ignore the rest.
Key changes made to the A Levels this year due to COVID-19
Here’s a summary of the changes that have been announced as a result of the coronavirus outbreak:
- Revised academic calendar:
- 5 May to 1 June: School holidays
- 2 June: Start of term 3
- 20 to 26 July: Mid-term break
- 6 September: End of term 3
- Common last topics removed from A Level papers
- For example, Introduction to the Chemistry of Transition Elements for H2 chemistry (lucky you!)
- A Level MTL papers rescheduled
- H1 MTL papers 1 and 2 rescheduled from 1 June to 18 June
- MTL B papers 1 and 2 rescheduled from 2 June to 19 June
- MTL and MTL B listening comprehension rescheduled from 22 July to 27 July
Important details about the A Levels that no one tells you about
You’ll find yourself with quite a lot of time in the month or so before your A Levels. After Prelims, most schools will do away with the normal timetable completely. We were not required to go to school except for scheduled sessions to review our Prelim papers i.e. only for the subjects that we take.
The rest of the time can be spent fruitfully on your continued revision for the A Levels. Reviewing the mistakes in the Prelim papers and identifying gaps in your knowledge can be very neatly incorporated into your revision in the post-Prelim period.
This eases you into the routine of not going to school and studying on your own. The “post-Prelim period” lasts for about two (or three) weeks. It usually ends in the second week of October (11 October was the last day for me—check out my detailed JC timeline). After which, you spend every single day at home (or at the library). No more lectures, tutorials or any kind of lessons in school. You go to school only to take your A Level papers.
The A Level papers are spread out over an incredibly long period of 1.5 months. My first paper was on 16 October, and my last on 2 December. Granted, I took H3 so I ended nearly a week later than everyone else. (Imagine everyone celebrating and ripping up their notes in joy while you hurry home to spend the next five days mugging intensely for the toughest paper yet.) But most people’s A Level timetables will look something like that. It will be a month-long endeavour—a marathon, not a sprint.
With this in mind, be prepared to be in full study mode for the long haul. It should become your default state. While some people revel in the additional time to revise, I personally detested this arrangement. I couldn’t wait to get it over and done with. I’m the kind of person that would rather have all papers scheduled back-to-back in an intensive one- or two-week period.
But of course the A Level planning committee (or whoever sets the A Level timetable) doesn’t care in the slightest about your personal preferences. You simply have to learn to work with this stretched-out timetable, and keep up the steam from the first paper all the way to your very last.
Papers for the same subject are often on different days—and sometimes spaced quite far apart. This is another inexplicable A Level arrangement that I could never understand. For instance, this was how the four Chemistry papers (2019) were scheduled:
- Paper 4: 16 October, Wednesday
- Paper 2: 8 November, Friday (more than three weeks later)
- Paper 3: 11 November, Monday (separated by a weekend)
- Paper 1: 25 November, Monday (two weeks later)
Note that (1) you will also have papers for other subjects interspersed between all of these dates, and (2) the papers do not go in order.
Papers for each subject may or may not follow the order of their numbering. Generally, this is what you can expect for each subject:
- General Paper: Paper 1 → Paper 2
- Economics: Paper 1 → Paper 2
- Mathematics: Paper 1 → Paper 2
- Chemistry, Biology, Physics: Paper 4 → Paper 2 → Paper 3 → Paper 1
- H3 subjects: Paper 1 (only 1 written paper)
You can check out the exact dates for this year’s A Level papers in the 2020 Examination Timetable.
My top tips for nailing the A Levels
Treat JC as a two-year runway to the A Levels. As I wrote in an earlier post, you should never let the A Levels govern your JC life. Nonetheless, with the knowledge that you do have this high-stakes exam at the end, it would be prudent to utilise the two years wisely.
Continually review past topics and summarise key concepts. Ever walked out of a lecture feeling like you understood nothing at all? You’re not alone. I almost never remember or completely understand something after just hearing it for the first time.
Consistent, spaced repetition is extremely important to ensure firm mastery. You’ll have subject tests and several school exams before the ‘big thing’ (i.e. the A Levels). These are great opportunities to review all the topics being tested. You can also review topics you’re weaker in at any time. Keep up this habit of consistent review, and by the time the A Levels come around, you’ll have it all in your head.
Create a revision timetable. This is absolutely essential to ensure that you get everything in check before exam day—and that you don’t miss out anything in your revision. Based on this overarching war plan, you can then set a daily schedule before each new day. If necessary, break down the revision items into smaller, specific tasks. I wrote all about how to create and effectively utilise a revision timetable in Chapter 2 of my book.
Do practice papers (especially for Math and Sciences subjects). Once you’ve gained a thorough understanding of the concepts, you have to practise with actual exam questions. There’s really no better way to gear up for the A Levels.
You simply have to familiarise yourself with the exam format and requirements for each subject. Scoring well in exams is often not just about knowing your stuff—it’s a lot on exam skills and answering techniques as well. The only way to master this? Practice. Tons of it.
Be completely ready to take on the A Levels when it comes to the Prelims. Prelims are important. In the case of admissions for overseas universities (e.g. US, UK etc), your A Level results won’t be out by the application deadline. Your Prelim results are going to be the basis upon which your school calculates your predicted grades (i.e. the grades you’re likely to get in the A Levels based on your academic performance in JC) to be sent to your prospective universities.
Beyond that, it’s also your best opportunity to simulate sitting for the A Levels—a ‘test run’ of sorts—before the actual thing. You should treat it seriously and prepare for it as if it’s the real thing. Prelims will cover all the topics you’ve learnt in JC—everything that will also be tested in the A Levels. Therefore your Prelims revision, and even taking the Prelims itself, is a very important and productive part of your revision for the A Levels.
If you’re looking for more…
These are just some of my top tips, but there are many more. I delve into these in great detail—along with other useful study strategies—in my new book, How I Study: The Secrets of a Top Student.
I’ve put all my heart into writing and creating this book. It contains so much more than I can ever fit into one blog post, accompanied by more than 100 full-colour, original images. And it consolidates all the insights I’ve gained from my own hard-won experience, to bring you—with great clarity and specific examples—the truly effective means to ace your exams.
My wish is to make it accessible to everyone (the eBook is priced at US$2.99 only). And I really hope it will help you in some way along your academic journey.
Have a question? Leave a comment below or DM me on Instagram @thelowkeymedic.