Bob Foster - Science and Maths tuition in Bristol and on the internet.
Confidence building, motivation, exam practice, time management for teenagers: advice for parents on how to help.
t: 0117 230 5090 m: 07989412319; email     [New - online tuition & support]

How to succeed

Science at GCSE can seem very complex, with different exam boards and syllabuses, modules and practical exams. And 'life' on top. Here is a check-list that I hope will help.

1. Know what you're studying
2. Buy the best books
3. Get a large collection of specimen and past exam papers
4. Find out the dates for exams and practical assessments
5. Know where to get help

1. Know exactly which course you are studying this year.

That means knowing the exam board, the specification and the level. Ask you teacher and/or head of science.

Which exam board?
This may change from year 10 to 11.
AQA, Edexcel, OCR or WJEC in England.

Which specification?
Entry Level Certificate (for those not quite ready to take on GCSEs)
Core science (usually taken in year 10)
Additional Science (year 11 - the 'normal' follow-on from Core Science.
Additional Applied Science. Another option for year 11 for those wanting a more vocational approach.
Separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). Taken throughout years 10 and 11. Covers the material for core and additional plus extra modules.
Applied Science (a two year course for those wanting a more vocational approach)
Exam boards may also offer BTEC and GNVQ.

Which level?
Foundation or higher. The foundation level offers grades up to C.

2. Buy the best books.

Text books.
Every course has one or more recommended text books. Your school should provide you with one, but often won't allow you to take it home. This is CRAZY! I strongly suggest that, for only around £17, you buy yourself a copy. Either buy the one you use at school or choose another one that the exam boards recommends. With a good, up-to-date, text book you know that you've got all the information that you need to succeed.

Revise guides.
These are big business, as you can tell when you look around WH Smiths and other book shops. They are not a good substitute for a text book. Some are better than others. Some are written for particular specifications and some are not. There is absolutely no point in getting a 'generic' guide that covers more than one syllabus. It will contain material that you don't need to know and will not reflect your course structure. However, for the price, they are quite handy for quick revision and checking key facts. You should be able to buy the guides published by CGP from school. However, I do like the revise guides published by Letts and Lonsdale - much more readable, and they have better descriptions of the 'How science works' part of the specification.

3. Exam-style questions

Your textbook is a good source of practice questions; here are some more:

Workbooks from CGP.
The CGP publishing company produce comprehensive collections of questions in their workbooks. You can usually order these through school at a reduced price, but they are not expensive to order direct.

Past exam papers and specimen papers.
You should be given plenty of these from school. If you're not, you can usually get some from the exam board's website. You'll find links to these online papers on this site. Make sure you have a complete set. You can also order 'exam style' question papers from CGP.

4. Dates for exams and other assessments.

Your school should give you an exam timetable at the beginning of the year, but many don't hand them out until close to the exams, which is not much use for long-term planning. Some exams, such as the individual modules, can be taken at more than one time in the year - and you can retake most of them. This is particularly important in core science in year 10 when you will probably be taking modular exams two or three times during the year. Your teacher may not know at first what order you will be taking the modules, although he or she should. There may be module exams in November, January, March and/or June. Practical assessments can be made at any time - up to the teacher. I've done my best at giving you the correct dates for the upcoming year throughout this site.

5. Getting help.

Make sure you know the names of all the teachers - in science you may have more than one teacher. Also, know the name of the head of science. Get to talk to them as early as possible and ask them about the course details as I've suggested above. Find out what their email addresses are and their direct phone-line. Ask them which they'd prefer you used if you needed to contact them. Ask them when is the best time to contact them. Go to all the parents evenings. If you have specific questions, write them down. You could even email them beforehand.
Find out who the examinations officer is. They will know what exams you've been entered for and when they are - as long as your teacher has told them! They are a key contact for you as they are generally much more availabe than the teacher.

Of course, you can call me - I may be able to help.