Chemistry

Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.marie curie

The Chemistry curriculum has been designed and modified over many years by a team of extremely dedicated and highly qualified chemistry teachers in order to give students a deep knowledge and love of the subject.

The A Level course is run over two years and builds on the work started at GCSE.

We follow the AQA A Level syllabus (course coded: 7405). We cover topics in Physical, Inorganic and Organic chemistry and we offer a comprehensive suite of practical activities to reinforce learning. While students are required by the exam board to complete a minimum number of practicals over the two-year course, at St. Mary’s we supplement these with many additional, relevant experiments.

Practical skills are assessed at the end of the two-year course as part of the final examinations.

In Year 12, Some GCSE Topics are re-visited - such as atomic structure, thermodynamics, crude oil and amounts of substance.New topics are reintroduced, including redox chemistry and periodicity. The depth and detail of the work is much greater than at GCSE.

In Year 13, we explore entirely new areas of chemistry, such as transition metal chemistry, the chemistry of colour and advanced organic reactions. The course is inherently very challenging and requires a dedicated approach from the very first lesson. Chemistry calculations are typically GCSE Level 6 in difficulty, which is why we include this as part our entry requirements.

Stick with Chemistry though, and you will be rewarded. It is a fantastic subject which gives real insight into how the world works. A Chemistry A Level is a highly regarded qualification by all universities and can facilitate entry onto a wide range of degree courses.

The Exams

At the end of Year 12, students will do a mock exam using the official AS paper. This provided valuable insight into how they are progressing. 

Students will proceed to  Year 13 and A Level Chemistry. They will sit 3 exam papers and will be examined on content from the whole 2 year course.

Exam Board: AQA

For furthur details, please visit: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/chemistry/a-level/chemistry-7405/specification