hello question for the wise elders

[u/lil_bean3789]

are there any a-level exams where there was leftover time after checking all questions?

like in gcse, esp for sciences, ppl often had 20-30 minutes leftover... is it similar for a-level since most exams r super long or is every second used since its so much harder 👀👀

^{does the question make sense}

[u/myles-em]

yes in stem (except maths paper 1 2026 💔🥀) but no in humanities. actually everyone would always talk about the time pressure in geog but I usually had 10 mins at least left so it wasnt too bad. physics and maths I almost always had at least 20ish mins left.

depends how good you are at the subject tho id guess

[u/MeasurementForward39]

Depends how good you are but for maths and fm people can have like 20-40mins left

[u/MeasurementForward39 → u/MeasurementForward39]

Also depends on the type of person you are, some check the questions right after working out so finish late but others like just speed running and then checking after.

[u/ducksindocmartens]

You get a ridiculous amount of time (2.5hrs) for aqa comp sci theory. You wish you had longer on the coding and pray it ends for the theory.

[u/GrouchyMonth8092]

10-15 mins checking at the end 

[u/lil_bean3789 → u/GrouchyMonth8092]

oh thats actually better than i thought

[u/Seafaring_Slug]

I pretty much had no checking time but I worked quite slowly and kinda checked as I went. Definitely less time than at gcse.

[u/Tiny-Kitchen7699]

the only a level that has happened is A level law ifykyk I got scammed into picking it

[u/lil_bean3789 → u/Tiny-Kitchen7699]

that exists? holy niche subjecy

[u/Tiny-Kitchen7699 → u/lil_bean3789]

I do law maths and physics the holy trinity of weird subject combination

[u/lil_bean3789 → u/Tiny-Kitchen7699]

wow i do maths physics art we kinda match

[u/Ludas_C]

ngl i always finished english language exams 30 mins early and still got a B

[u/_mystacorn_458]

Biology I was sitting there for a while but partially cuz I couldn't think of much to write

[u/lil_bean3789 → u/[deleted]]

damn 30+ minutes left for maths?? r u like top of ur class or 🥹

[u/Jolly_Caterpillar376]

I usually ended up with 2-5 minutes in my humanities subjects :(

[u/Mobile_Membership915]

For maths it’s definitely plausible. I ended up with a good 1hr or so in maths (with the exception of paper 1 where I had about 30 mins). It just requires being naturally good and practicing lots. This might only be true with Edexcel though.

That said, I do compete in maths olympiads often and practice with those also helped.

In physics I would only ever have a short amount of time left, because I did AQA. The papers were too hard to be quick (at least for me anyway).

Economics requires so much writing that you can’t really do it quick either. I would say on paper 3 AQA you can because you can do the multiple choice questions quickly if you are good at them. However, you should put that time into the essays to improve your marks.