How to get an A or above in A level maths, physics and chemistry?

I'm starting AS in September and I'm doing all three sciences and maths (don't know if I want to do psychology yet). But yes I understand AS is a big step from GCSE and I was wondering if anyone could give me a few tips on how to get an A or above in these subjects because I've realised how much I want to go on to do chemical engineering at university and I want to achieve the best grades in order to make this happen.

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Maths - Practice, practice and more practice, do every question in the textbook and all the past papers multiple times, move onto other exam boards too, the questions are all the same irrelevant of exam board.

Chemistry - Make sure you understand it. http://www.a-levelchemistry.co.uk/ is a fantastic website and should handle all your chemistry needs. Ask the teacher if you're not sure.

Physics - Half memory half understanding. It is a big help if you're good at Maths too, most things are just essay questions so remember key points and understand the physics behind it (sounds obvious but it's true).

The best thing to do is keep on top of the work. Do all your homework as soon as it is set, so you have time to go to lunchtime workshops/ see your teacher if you are struggling. Do any 'optional' homework tasks/ finish all class exercises in your own time. If you find that you are struggling on one particular topic, spend some extra time going over it - do more textbook exercises, look up alternative explanations online (particularly useful if your textbook/ teacher is a bit rubbish), and don't be afraid to ask your teacher to go over the topic with you for a few minutes at lunch/ after the lesson.
Start revising early for exams, do all the past papers, re-do textbook exercises on topics you struggle with, go to any revision sessions organised by your school and make good revision notes (generally revision guides are not good enough to get you the top marks on their own - just memorising their content may only get you a B/C unalike at GCSE).
Outside of your studies you may find it interesting to read additional books on your A level subjects, although these may not directly help you in lessons they can put ideas into more of a context and are good to mention on your UCAS form.
In terms of getting into university, try to organise some work experience, apply to loads of summer schools (the requirements for these often vary, so you may be really likely to get into those prioritising students with good academic ability but could struggle to get into those prioritising students from low-income backgrounds, for example. Therefore, just apply for them all. You may also be interested in the Nuffield Bursary scheme - google it. I really wish someone had told me about it last year!).

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I'm starting AS in September and I'm doing all three sciences and maths (don't know if I want to do psychology yet). But yes I understand AS is a big step from GCSE and I was wondering if anyone could give me a few tips on how to get an A or above in these subjects because I've realised how much I want to go on to do chemical engineering at university and I want to achieve the best grades in order to make this happen.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Revise the topics you've covered every week and dont leave it all until a few weeks or months before the exam.

You can beat http://www.examsolutions.net for A-Level Maths, most of the past paper solutions are for the Edexcel papers, but most of the tutorial videos will apply to all syllabuses.

Thank you and for the work experience should I apply for something related to the degree and what would you recommend?

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You don't know how much I'm actually considering that, I procrastinate so much.

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Yes, something related to the degree is a good idea - a good place to look first is on the Chemical Engineering pages of local universities. Some will offer work experience placements for a week or two during your holidays. Another option is any local companies you know that do anything related to chemical engineering/ chemistry/ physics - for example a power plant, pharmaceutical company, chemical plant producing fertilisers etc. You could also do work experience in a slightly less related environment - for example I did work experience at the Science Museum. One thing you may be interested in is the Year in Industry Scheme if you are considering a gap year (http://www.etrust.org.uk/year_in_industry.cfm).

Can you do the Nuffield Bursary scheme as an older student who is a private candidate?

I don't think so, but it's best to check with them - their contact details should be somewhere on the website.

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