AQA A-Level Chemistry Tuition | Mastery and Excellence
A small-group programme for Year 12 and Year 13 students on the AQA specification, taught by a PhD Chemist and Examiner who knows exactly where marks are won and lost.
Cohorts capped at 6 students · Places confirmed after a short diagnostic and consultation call
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The 10 Mark Scheme Traps That Cost A-Level Students Grades (And How to Avoid Them)
Most students don't lose their grade in the content. They lose it in the wording.
A student who genuinely understands chemical equilibrium can still walk out of Paper 2 with a B, not because they didn't know the material, but because their answer wasn't shaped the way the mark scheme awards points. AQA examiners aren't marking understanding in the abstract. They're matching specific phrases, sequences and reasoning chains against a scheme. That gap between "I get it" and "I can prove I get it, exactly how AQA wants it proven" is where grades are actually won and lost.
- A calculation with the right method but the wrong number of significant figures
- A mechanism drawn with the curly arrow starting in the wrong place
- An observation described accurately, but not in AQA's expected terms
- An answer that's roughly right but missing the specific reasoning chain examiners are trained to look for
If your child is aiming for Medicine, Oxbridge, or another top-tier course: most UK medical schools require a grade A in Chemistry specifically, and increasingly ask for A* alongside it. A predicted grade that's one mark boundary short can close doors before the final exam is even sat.
One programme. Two sessions a week. Six students.
Built for Year 12 students working toward the predicted grade universities ask for, and Year 13 students who need to convert a current B or C, or protect an existing A, into the final result.
Programme Details
- Two live 60-minute sessions every week, in a group of no more than six
- Weekly homework with written, actionable feedback
- Full access to session recordings
- Monthly progress check-in with parent and student
- Taught to an A/A* standard for every student, every session
Why twice a week rather than one longer session: A-Level Chemistry doesn't reward one long weekly sitting. Two shorter sessions allow for progress between lessons which is how the material actually consolidates. It also means a student who gets stuck waits days, not a week.
What you can expect from me
STANDARD
Every student is taught to an A / A* standard
Every student I take on is taught as if they're aiming for an A or A*. That's the standard behind every lesson, every piece of feedback, and every plan, whether your child is starting from a B or from a U.
The same standard in every session, for every student. Six to a group means nobody is anonymous and nobody coasts.
A diagnostic before we start, weekly written feedback on homework, and a monthly check-in with you, so you know where things stand throughout the three months, not just at the end.
Real feedback on what's working, what isn't, and what we're doing about it. If something isn't landing, you'll hear it from me before you hear it from a mock result.
What Students say
Three steps before your child starts a single session.
Application & diagnostic
A short form covering year group, current and target grade, followed by a diagnostic task that reveals exactly where the gaps are, before any teaching begins.
1-to-1 consultation
Dr John reviews the diagnostic with you and your child directly, and talks through what a realistic path forward actually looks like for their specific starting point.
Enrolment & cohort placement
Your child is placed in a small group of up to 6 students at a similar level, and the programme begins.
Frequently asked questions
Why AQA only, and not OCR or Edexcel too?
Because depth beats breadth. Every AQA paper has its own patterns: the exact way it phrases command words, the specific mark points its examiners look for, the topics it favours in its harder questions. Teaching across three boards means teaching to the lowest common denominator. Teaching AQA exclusively means every lesson is built around exactly the paper your child will sit.
Why two sessions a week?
Because one long weekly session doesn't produce the work cycle that A-Level Chemistry needs. Two sessions mean something is set, attempted and marked inside the same week, every week. It also halves how long a stuck student stays stuck.
My child is currently at a B or C. Is A/A* realistic?
Often, yes, and the diagnostic is how we find out rather than guess. Most students sitting at a B or C understand more chemistry than their marks suggest; what's missing is the wording, the structure and the sequencing that AQA's mark schemes reward. That's learnable, and it's most of what the programme does. The consultation call is where I tell you honestly what I think is achievable from where your child actually is.
What if my child is already at an A and just wants to be sure?
Also common, especially in Year 13. The focus shifts from building understanding to protecting the grade under exam pressure: precision, timing, and eliminating the small errors that turn an A into a B on a bad day.
What happens if my child misses a session?
Every live session is recorded and available to watch within 24 hours, so missing one occasionally doesn't mean falling behind.
Is there a minimum commitment?
The programme runs for an initial 3 months. Most students continue beyond the first three months to consolidate their progress
Secure your child's place for September
Cohorts are capped at six students, and every place is confirmed after a short diagnostic and a one-to-one consultation. Two live sessions a week, AQA only, Minimum Three Month Commitment.