How to Survive the First Few Weeks of A-level Chemistry

In a previous post we looked at the problems students face when starting their A-level chemistry course. They have come off the back of eight weeks' holiday, have landed in a new college and have to suddenly adapt to a new style of teaching.

The most important consideration is not to fall behind early. Yes, the first few concepts may feel familiar from GCSE: the structure of the atom, electron configurations and bonding, but the additional details are subtly added in. And your teacher will expect you to know the basics. Get into a habit of reading your notes when you get home after every lesson. Check you understand everything fully and highlight the areas that you don't. These are going to be the questions you ask next time you see your teacher, or that you are going to try to research. Because the concepts are familiar, this shouldn't take long, and the number of topics that cause you difficulties should be small, but it is better to identify them now than when the workload starts to increase.

Class notes can become disordered and messy. Some teachers naturally generate beautiful works of art for their students to copy whereas others look like an explosion of ideas. This is not a reflection on the quality of the teacher. Richard Feynman, arguably one of the best science educators of all time, had a reputation for chaos. In 18 months' time, when you come to revise for that final exam, are those notes going to make sense? My advice would be to transfer your notes to a bound notebook. Loose sheets become lost easily and it can be difficult to keep track of the order. Once a week is often enough and will not take too long.

Get used to trying to find an answer for yourself. This is an excellent study habit to get into and will prepare you for university. We have provided a list of resources which you may find helpful. We also have a range of revision and study resources available here. Your teachers are there to help, but you have limited access to them. If you discover a problem on a Friday evening, you will likely forget about it by Monday morning. It is better to try to solve it yourself. If you still can't, speak to your teacher when you are next in.

The transition from GCSE to A-level Chemistry can feel difficult at first, even for very capable students. The pace increases, the detail becomes more demanding and students are expected to work far more independently than they may be used to.

However, students rarely struggle because they are “not clever enough” for A-level Chemistry. more often, they struggle because they have not yet developed the habits and systems needed to manage the course effectively.

Small routines established early: reviewing notes regularly, organising materials properly and identifying problems before they build up can make a huge difference over the course of two years. A-level Chemistry rewards consistency far more than last-minute cramming.

If you are looking for further support, feel free to get in touch or take a look at our October workshop, where we review and consolidate the key content from the first half term.