Hi/Kia ora,

I am currently an NCEA Level 1 student, but I will be switching to Cambridge AS Level next year at a different school since my parents think NCEA is no longer suitable for me.

I have researched very carefully my course options and what I will be doing in these course choices in the course booklet supplied by my future school. My interests are Business and Computer Science, so I intend to take AS Mathematics, AS Economics, AS Business, AS Computer Science, and AS English Language.

My plan would work straightforward if there weren’t this problem: English Language, Mathematics and Computer Science have pre-requisites to enter. I need to have completed the IGCSE syllabuses for these subjects and my grades need to be higher or equal to C in order to be approved to enter, or I have to talk with the Faculty Heads if I do not satisfy these. I know that since I am not doing IGCSE, it is impossible I may satisfy those pre-requisites, and therefore it is certain I will have to discuss these options with the Heads next year.

I also have already had a look at those IGCSE syllabuses and concluded that the contents between these two curricula are very much the same - however, IGCSE consists of some wider and harder contents, especially in Mathematics and English Language, in comparison with NCEA Level 1 Mathematics and English. For example, we have not yet studied about Logarithms, which is what that has been taught in IGCSE. Logarithms are studied in Level 2 Mathematics in the NCEA curriculum.

I am currently planning to study these two subjects over my summer holiday in order to have the same knowledge in these as those who have taken IGCSE so that I will not find it very difficult to adapt to the new curriculum.

It will be very hard for me, I have started to freak out! I would therefore love to hear you sharing about your experience with A Level, changing the curriculum, other recommendation, textbooks, etc, so please help me out!!

Cheers (nga mihi)!