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Choosing your A-level subjects is crucial because it determines what you will study for your university degree. The subjects must be aligned with your interests and future goals because you do not want to attend further classes unprepared and completely unaware of the core concepts.
As soon as students are expected to make a decision, many are confused because there is a wide range of options to choose from. However, no need to worry because I am here to narrow down your search a little bit.
As a part of the education sector for quite some time, I can say that when you have absolutely no clue what to select, you can look at the pass rate and popular reviews of students regarding that subject.
These statistics will help you jot down subjects that are widely termed as hard or easy. After you have picked your core subjects regarding your future plans and interests, you can see the blog below to make an informed decision.
Read on to check which subjects are usually considered the hardest for A-levels.
Many people think that Further Maths is the hardest A-Level course, and they're not wrong. This subject is more advanced than normal math and covers many difficult topics, such as advanced calculus, differential equations, and abstract algebra. That is why the number of students taking Further Mathematics is pretty low.
Stats
Only 13,700 students took the test in 2019. A pretty large percentage of them (about 24%) got an A* grade. The number of students getting an A* in Further Maths rose to 39.7% in 2022. Also, about 30% of students on average, get an A grade. That means that, in 2021, over 70% of students got an A or A* grade.
However, don't just use these numbers to decide whether to go to Further Maths the decision should be based on your interest. For starters, grades were skewed in 2021 because COVID-19 cancelled exams. More importantly, most students taking Further Maths are already studying Math and are generally on track to get an A or A*. There is a big difference between these students and the rest of the community when it comes to math skills. Even though Further Maths is hard, you might be able to get great grades if you look into getting an A-Level Further Maths teacher!
Physics really is one of the hardest classes you can take. Theoretical physics is hard to understand because of the complicated ideas it covers. The tests are very difficult, and there is much more information to learn. But it can be very interesting if you're interested in the mechanics of things, like how the universe and the mysteries of it work.
For this A-Level, you'll have to study tough subjects like Further Mechanics, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Thermodynamics, Nuclear Radiation, and Oscillations. If you barely got a passing grade in GCSE, this subject might be especially hard for you. If you have trouble with maths in GCSE, this will be an especially difficult A-Level because some of the questions will be at or above the level of maths you learned in GCSE.
Stats
There were 36,000 students who took the Physics test in 2019, but only 8.5% got an A*. In 2022, this number rose to 16.4%, and between 20 and 25% of students got an A in Physics. Still, this is a very hard subject, and the low rate of A*s may turn some students off.
No one needs to be told that A-level chemistry is really tough. It is strongly suggested that you do not take Chemistry at A Level if you couldn’t understand it in GCSE. Because once you move forward, it covers advanced areas.
You'll have two tests for AQA Chemistry. These are divided into three groups: inorganic, biological, and physical. Organic and inorganic chemistry are only in one paper each, but physical chemistry is in both. You have to learn many different things in chemistry, and each area has a long list of things that you must remember including the equations and structures of molecules.
Stats
The Chemistry test was taken by over 54,000 students in 2019, making it the fifth most popular A Level topic. But only 7.2% of those who took it got an A* grade in 2019, making it one of the hardest A Level courses. The good news is that about 25% of students get A's in Chemistry. A little more than 20% of students in 2022 got a D or E grade. Many students choose to hire A-level chemistry teachers to help them study for their tests because the subject seems off-putting at first.
Biology is another subject with a big jump from GCSE to A Level in terms of knowledge, which can be scary for some students. At A Level, you have to learn a lot of new words and information. You will study mycosis, mitosis, glycogen, and glycogenesis, among the photosynthesis and respiration process descriptions.
This part of A-Level Biology will be hard for you if you have trouble with language and spelling because some words are identical. If you don't understand a subject, go back and prepare enough to understand it as you will have a hard time studying for your tests without a solid foundation. So, you should review what you already know right before the test, not learn it all over again!
Stats
There were over 63,600 students who took the Biology test in 2019, but only 6.6% got an A*. Even though this went up to 12.8% in 2022, it is still a very hard subject to get the best grade in. But about 20% of students got an A, B, or C, meaning about two-thirds of candidates got an A, B, or C. Because of these problems, getting an A-Level Biology tutor can be a smart way to improve your knowledge and performance.
Many people say that maths is one of the hardest subjects to study for A-Level. You will study three main areas: pure maths, mechanics, and statistics. This can make you feel like you're studying three things at once, which can be tough to handle. So, if you want to take this class, you must have at least a 6 in GCSE Math.
Sometimes you'll just get the question or answer for an A-Level maths question without any background. There are no hints or clues like there were at GCSE, so it's just you and the information you've (hopefully) learned against a test question.
Stats
The most popular A-Level in 2021 was Mathematics, which was taken by 85,000 pupils. In 2019, 16.3% of students got an A* grade. By 2022, that number had risen to 22.8%. About the same number of kids got an A. Of the 1000 students polled, more than 20% paid an A-level maths tutor to help them with their work.
English Literature is very different from the other A-Levels we've discussed so far, and each student will find writing English essays at a different level tough. No matter how well you can read and write, English Literature will ask you to think critically and analyze literary material. Students must have a deep understanding of literary methods and themes because the class covers many different types of texts, such as novels, plays, and poetry.
Stats
There were 37,000 students who took the English Literature test in 2019, but only 8.6% got an A*. A B grade has been the best grade for most students since 2017, with about 30% of students getting this score every year.
History is such a tough A-level subject because you not only have to learn a lot of information, but you also have to learn how to organize it for a test.
There are three divisions in the A-Level History exam: Paper 1, Paper 2, and Paper 3 (only for A2). Edexcel, for example, has a lot of different ways to teach Level History. One common choice is to study Russia from 1918 to 1991 (Lenin to Yeltsin) and then communist states for Paper 2 (for example, Mao's China from 1949 to 1976). You can choose a 20% homework paper for paper 3, such as Poverty, Public Health, and The State in Britain (1780–1939).
History is a Humanities subject, but it can be a lot more like Science than Arts which makes it hard if you want to study it because you will have to write essays along with applying critical thinking to your answers.
Stats
Over 47,000 students took the History test in 2019, making it one of the five most popular tests. In 2019, only 4.9% of students got an A* grade, which was the lowest number since at least 2008. This went up to about 12% in 2022, but it's still a small percentage compared to other fields. The average grade for History students is a B. In 2022, over 30% of students got this score.
A-Level Economics is a tough course that needs a lot of maths skills and the ability to think critically. Micro, macro, and econometrics are some of the areas that are covered in this class.
Stats
Economics was taken by 29,800 students in 2019, which is less than Art and Design, Sociology, Geography, and Business Studies. In 2019, only 6.5% of students got an A*. By 2022, that number had risen to 13.5%. On the other hand, about 25% more students get A and B grades than get C marks.
A-Level Modern Foreign Languages is one of the hardest because you are graded on so many different aspects. In the case of Spanish A Level, being able to write in Spanish isn't enough; you'll also be graded on how well you talk and pronounce words.
This test has three parts that you need to do well on. Paper 1 is a listening and writing paper that lasts two hours and thirty minutes; Paper 2 is a written paper that lasts two hours; and Paper 3 is a speaking paper. You will have to give a public presentation on your own research project, which could be about a certain part of Hispanic culture. If your brain isn't naturally logical, learning grammar can also be very hard. It can also really throw you off, even if you're good at remembering new words.
Stats
With 7,900 candidates, Spanish was the most popular language in 2019. French came in second with 7,600, and German came in third with 2,900. The most A*s are usually found in German, then Spanish, and finally French.
The field of geography is hard because it covers topics like people, places, and things in the environment. Some students may find it hard to keep up with this subject because it covers a lot of different areas and requires them to connect complicated ideas and use a lot of different theoretical methods.
Stats
There were 31,800 students who took Geography at A-Level in 2019, but only 5.2% got an A*. In 2022, this went up to 11.0%. Most geography students receive a grade of B, with marks of A and C given to about 22% of students.
With the list I have shared above, you must have gotten a better idea of how the grading system of these subjects works. Based on that, you can make up your mind if that particular subject is easy for you or not.
Remember, do not just make a choice based on the popular pass rate of subjects; rather, think about the subjects that pique your interest. Even the hardest subjects can become easy if you are willing to put in the effort. So, stop sulking and start your A-level preparation today!
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