Biology AS

[Ryukie]

So last year the entire group [in the year above me] that took AS biology failed. Our group have just sat a Mock and we all got a U [ungraded]. I know it's only a term in but we shouldn't be failing as badly as we are. I put a solid amount of work into revising for that mock as did close friends who got the same or worse than me.

What really worries me is that my teachers are only concerned with getting us up to an E. In all my other subjects I'm predicted and A or B so this is far below my average.

If I continue this subject then I really feel I'm going to under achieve compared to my others and this subject already gets a lot more of my time than others.

I've been to my head of 6th form about it previously and he's not really able to do much more than he's doing, and this isn't GCSE-we can't teach ourselves.

Any advice is more than welcome (:

[Love.Hate]

I think you can only do your best, revise lots and go over things with the teacher.

Its not your fault if you havent been taught the syllabus correctly, so you cannot expect to do well if you dont know the content..

Try talking to other people taking the subject and get help from them?

[Ryukie]

We've been for extra help and have tried to help each other (:, sadly it didn't pay off

I'm just clueless about what else I can do, because I have most of the revision guides, I go for extra help and put a lot of work in outside of lessons :/

Bit of a mess really XD

[FullyAlive]

I don't do biology personally, but although you say its not self teachable I don't agree with you entirely. In gcse you could just memorise a textbook and get an A* and whilst I agree the same wouldn't apply exactly here in theory even if you didn't understand anything at all but just memorised the content you should still be getting a C.

You could see about a tutor although those are expensive. You could also look at past papers getting to know the style and phrasing of questions will be useful.

The first biology module can be thought of as more difficult than the other sciences as there is a lot more information.

However again if you literally learn the textbook you should bring your grade to at least a C and then from there do practice papers and exam style questions to teach yourself the appliance of what you have learnt.

If all else fails, go to your head teacher with a mature letter explaining the problems you are having hey the other students to sign it and then use it to make an official complaint about the standard of teaching you are receiving.

[Ryukie]

So it's been ages since I posted about this. I hate to say but the issue hasn't gotten any better, we sent in an official complaint and a friend has had a meeting with him and her parents. Rather worryingly, my other biology teacher, a far more competent teacher, is leaving at Easter....

There is a slight improvement in that although I'm getting U's and the occasional E, the actual score is improving, and I'm doing kinda well in the class that's getting taught properly (: