Our chemistry lessons are led by our founder, Joseph Harper. Joseph completed his master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Bristol in 2018. Over the past four years he has been tutoring a variety of students from KS3 to degree level and is passionate about instilling his passion for chemistry in his students.
“Chemistry is one of the hardest A level subjects because it demands a high level of understanding and can’t simply be memorised. In chemistry it is crucial to have a deep understanding of the theory behind each topic before building to exam questions. I structure my lessons to allow for this and ensure that I am patient and encouraging at all times”
A Level Chemistry
We focus on understanding, not memorising.
In chemistry, it is very important to fully understand the basic principles before building towards the more complicated topics. Over the first week we will spend the first few lessons ensuring that all students are comfortable with the foundations of chemistry including topics such as periodicity and bonding. At this point of students learning, it is very important to fully understand these basic principles and not simply remember the outcomes.
Once students have a deep understanding of the basics, we will work through the A level syllabus focusing on one topic at a time and gradually building their understanding of the syllabus.
We like to give students lots of opportunities to test their knowledge so we believe in doing a lot of past paper questions throughout their learning. Not only does this help to asses where students are and if they fully comprehend the subject matter but it gives the students an appreciation of where they need to be by the time the exam comes and a familiarity of how each topic can be assessed.
GCSE Chemistry
Chemistry sits in the middle of Biology and physics and thus occupies a broad spectrum of topics. This can often be overwhelming for students when preparing for their GCSE exams. The important thing is to understand how you are assessed in GCSE chemistry:
The GCSE chemistry exams are structured in a way that tests one topic in each section. This is how we would recommend revising and preparing for exams. It is best to focus on one topic at a time and complete multiple past paper questions on each topic ensuring that it is fully understood. We would also recommend that you use and learn from the mark schemes of past papers. GCSE exam questions are fairly similar from year to year and lots can be learnt by studying the mark schemes.
– Practice, practice, practise! Focus on one topic at a time and practice multiple exam style questions on the same topic. Use the mark schemes after having a proper attempt at the questions. Don’t worry about what mark you get in a past paper but use it as an opportunity to learn from the mark scheme and ask yourself: How can I improve my answer next time?
– Getting an A* in A-Level chemistry is very difficult but is certainly possible. In order to achieve the top marks in A-Level chemistry you need a very deep and thorough understanding of the syllabus. The A* standard questions will require you to use your knowledge of the syllabus to approach a new and unseen problem. In order to do this you need to be able to use the your knowledge and apply that in a different way.
– As tutors our main job is to help students with their understanding of the subject material and ensure that our students are as prepared as possible for their exams. We also help students to structure their revision, set and mark homework and help students with their university applications. It is important to understand that tutors are facilitators. We will do everything in our power to help students to achieve their academic goals but we can’t do the exam for you!