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The syllabus' for GCSE Science is OCR Science A (J630), Additional Science A (J631) and Additional Applied Science A (J632). Click here
to view mark schemes and past papers for Science A, here for Additional Science and here for Additional Applied Science on the OCR website.
Year 11 students follow one of two the OCR Twenty First Century Science courses. Those students
studying Additional Science have already taken one examination in January. The other examinations
for this syllabus will take place in June. Almost every student following this course has already
purchased the Lonsdale OCR Revision Guide which we strongly recommended in the letter sent out
in November. If you still wish to purchase this revision guide please make a cheque out to John
Colet School Fund for the sum of £3.50.
Students following the Additional Applied Science course now have one opportunity to purchase the
Revision Guide for their course which we again strongly recommend. Please make a cheque out for
£3.50 to John Colet School Fund if you wish to purchase one of these.
All students would benefit from attending Science revision sessions as indicated on the revision
timetable.
Producing good quality coursework is vital for both of these courses and can make a significant
difference to the final grades awarded. For Additional Science coursework is 33% of the final
grade and for Additional Applied Science coursework is 50% of the final grade. Science coursework
workshops will be available for students to attend during this term.
Revision Tips
Split your work down into Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Next, choose one of the sciences and write down all the topics you have covered in this subject. Do this for all three sciences. It is a good idea to condense your work into smaller more memorable notes. Here are some ideas on how to do this:
- Use your original exercise books and go through them with a highlighter pen, picking out the most useful points.
- Make notes in a notebook including the important points from each section.
- Use Index Cards, these are small cards which you can write basic points on, they are easy to flick through and keep tidy.
- Record your notes by speaking them onto a tape and playing it back to yourself - It may sound stupid but some people respond better to hearing information that reading information,
how many sets of song lyrics can you remember off by heart?
- Draw mind map diagrams where you brainstorm the main ideas onto a diagram.
- Think of ten keywords from each topic and try to write your own definition for each word.
Next, use these notes as the basis of your revision. Read them through and try to understand each topic by remembering the key points and words. You must revise each topic again and again.
Don't just read them through once, it takes longer to sink in that just one reading and every time you read them more information will stick in your brain.
- Try revising with a friend, test each other by asking questions and setting questions.
- Use published revision guides, every exam board will have revision guides written by someone and they are often really brightly coloured and easy to read, ask your teacher which one they recommend.
- Use past exam papers and try to answer the questions under exam conditions. It doesn't matter if you get them wrong, you can then go and find out the right answers.
- Use pictures and diagrams as ways to remember things - think of cartoons or rhymes to memorise key points.
- Read through your notes and repeat them to yourself again and again, it will eventually go in.
It is impossible to say which way will be best for you, try some of the above until you find one which works for you.
Here are some final words of advice:
- Start early
- Break down information into small workable chunks.
- Construct your revision timetable.
- Leave yourself time to relax.
- Don't revise for too long at a time.
- Use a variety of revision methods until you find what's best for you.
- Re-visit your notes as many times as possible.
- Relax and get plenty of sleep during your revision and your exams.
Remember, don't panic and good luck.
Useful revision links and resources:
skoool.co.uk - contains explanations of various Science topics
gcse.com - explanations of Physics topics
BBC Bitesize - science notes and revision
Doc Brown's Chemistry site - lots of chemistry revision exercises and notes
s-cool.co.uk - general GCSE revision site split into topics
Creative Chemistry - great chemistry based site with quizzes and revision notes including Module 7 and Module 8 revision guides and Year 10 topics in the final exams.
   
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