Your child gets the theory in class, then the moles questions in Paper 1 and the six-mark answers in Paper 2 come back with half the marks missing. We match them with a tutor who knows AQA 8462 inside out.
A 40-minute consultation about AQA GCSE Chemistry. Joe calls you back within one working day, then sends two or three tutors with free trial calls.
Separate Chemistry is two papers, sat at the end of Year 11, each worth half the grade. Here is what sits in each one, and where the marks are really won and lost.
Paper 1 · Topics 1 to 5
1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks, half the GCSE. Atomic structure and the periodic table, bonding and structure, quantitative chemistry, chemical changes and energy changes. This is the paper where the moles and reacting-mass calculations live, so it is where careful working earns or loses the marks.
Paper 2 · Topics 6 to 10
1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks, the other half. The rate and extent of chemical change, organic chemistry, chemical analysis, the chemistry of the atmosphere and using resources. More extended writing here, and the six-mark answers examiners grade by levels.
Eight required practicals
AQA can ask about any of the eight separate-science practicals in either paper, from making a soluble salt and titration to electrolysis, rates, chromatography and testing for ions. The questions are about method and results, so a tutor drills what the examiner wants written, not just what happened on the bench.
Question styles and tiers
Foundation covers grades 1 to 5, Higher covers 4 to 9, and both mix multiple choice, short structured answers and longer open response. A tutor makes sure your child is sitting the right tier and knows how each question type is marked.
Where the marks are
Moles, relative formula mass, reacting masses, concentration and percentage yield are where AQA hides the maths, and where bright students quietly leak marks. A tutor works the calculation inside the chemistry, step by step, until the working itself earns the marks the answer deserves.
AQA grades its longer answers in bands, and a full-looking answer can still land in the bottom band if it misses the linked reasoning. A tutor shows your child how these are marked and drills the structure, the right technical words and the state symbols that push an answer up a level.
AQA can test any of the eight separate-science practicals in either paper. A tutor goes through the method, the variables and the expected results for each, so a question on titration, electrolysis or testing for ions reads as familiar rather than a surprise.
From enquiry to first session
When you get in touch, co-founder Joe calls you back within one working day to fix a time. The call is a proper conversation about your child's AQA Chemistry, the predicted grade, the mock that came back low and the topics the class moved past too fast. From there he starts building a shortlist.
Joe sends two or three tutors he thinks fit your child, and each offers a free trial call. You watch how they explain a tricky bit of chemistry, and you see who your child actually clicks with. No card details, no pressure, no obligation after.
You pick the tutor who feels right, and weekly sessions start on Lessonspace, our shared online whiteboard. You pay per session, there are no contracts, and if it ever stops working, you stop.
Verified Google reviews
Every review here is verified on Google and left in the family's own words. None of them names Chemistry, so we have not relabelled any as a Chemistry story. What they point to is the thing an AQA Chemistry parent is really after: the grade moving, and a child who stops dreading the paper.
The support given to my son by The Degree Gap's tutors was fabulous and he passed all his GCSE subjects. They provided experienced and organised tutors. Tutors provided resources targeting specific areas of difficulty. The website is easy to use and tutors were polite and on time.
Very good tutoring for my daughter and good communication with parents. My daughter passed both English and Maths GCSE.
I was really pleased to discover the Degree Gap when my daughter needed help getting the grades she needed for GCSEs. The team offer a really personalised service and I felt really well looked after from the start. There are lots of tutors to choose from and all subjects are catered for, with great flexibility on timings. Highly recommend.
He will call you back within one working day to set up a 40-minute consultation. He will ask about the tier, the predicted grade and the topics slipping, whether that is the moles calculations or the six-mark answers, then send two or three tutors with free trial calls. If he does not think tutoring is the right move for now, he will say so.
Separate GCSE Chemistry is AQA 8462, sat as two papers. Paper 1 covers topics 1 to 5 and Paper 2 covers topics 6 to 10, each 1 hour 45 minutes and worth 100 marks. If your child does Combined Science instead, that is AQA Trilogy 8464, where chemistry is a smaller share. Not sure which one? Joe works it out with you on the first call.
More than most parents expect, and it is often the real problem under a Chemistry grade. Moles, relative formula mass, reacting masses, concentration and percentage yield are all calculation, and most of them sit in Paper 1. If rearranging a formula or converting units never quite clicked, that gap shows up here. A tutor works the maths inside the chemistry so the numbers stop costing marks.
This is the most common thing we hear about AQA Chemistry. The knowledge is there, but the exam wants it written a precise way. State symbols in the ionic equation. Working shown on every line of a moles calculation. The linked reasoning AQA needs before a six-mark answer moves up a level. A tutor marks past papers the way an AQA examiner does and drills the phrasing until the answer earns what your child already knows.
Yes. AQA can ask about any of the eight separate-science required practicals in either paper, and the questions are about method, variables and results rather than just recall. A tutor goes through each one, from titration and electrolysis to chromatography and testing for ions, so a practical question reads as familiar.
Foundation covers grades 1 to 5 and Higher covers grades 4 to 9, and the right tier depends on the predicted grade and where your child is now. It is one of the first things Joe and the tutor look at, because sitting the wrong tier caps a grade before the exam even starts. There is no single right answer, and we talk it through with you honestly.
Yes. Every session runs on Lessonspace, our shared whiteboard, and it suits chemistry better than people expect. The tutor can work a moles calculation line by line on screen, draw a displayed formula and balance an equation with your child watching every step. Most students focus better one-to-one online than in a class of thirty. We do not do in person.
One free 40-minute call with Joe. Trial two or three tutors before you pay a penny.
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