What to do if you hate an A Level subject

Sometimes we end up doing stuff we really dislike. It’s a fact of life and, all things considered, rightly so: doing things we hate makes us appreciate the things we love even more.

However, when you’re sitting in a room doing something you dislike for nine hours over a fortnight, things aren’t so rosy – even in the things you do like.

A Levels in particular are insanely difficult when you don’t like the subject. You can feel your motivation slipping through your fingers like sand, you sit in the lesson and simply have no clue what you’re doing and reading the textbook is like gouging your eyes out with a spoon.

The first thing you need to do if you think you hate an A Level subject is figure out if you truly do hate it.

For example, it might be your teacher’s style that you don’t like, rather than the subject itself. It could also be the fact you find it difficult and don’t understand. If you identify with this, then it’s not the subject that should bear the brunt of your grudge.

If its your teacher who sucks the life out of the subject, get your parent or carer to call your school and see what they will do to change things. In addition to this, you can help yourself by dedicating a proportion of your time to watching interactive videos on the subject outside of the lesson or making interesting posters and mind maps out of the stuff you’re doing in lessons.

If you don’t understand the subject, your best bet is to have a conversation with your teacher. It’s A Level now – you need to make sacrifices: one of which may be giving up an hour every week after school to have some one-to-one tuition with your teacher. That way you’ll get more knowledge and a better understanding.

However, if it is truly the subject you hate, there are a number of things you can do.

If you are studying four AS Levels, your school should allow you to drop the one you’re not enjoying. If it’s beginning to have an impact on your other subjects, you need to speak to the head of your Sixth Form and discuss dropping the subject as soon as you can.

If you need to continue doing the subject for university or another reason, things aren’t going to be so easy. One thing you can do is speak to your teacher about it: ask them for extra work to make things easier or begin revising slowly for your exams. Walk yourself through the course again.

It’s not the end of the world if you don’t like a subject – everyone has something they can hardly bear at times. Good luck with your A Levels!