How do I get an A* in A-level Physics?

Are you on the new spec? I'm on OCR A. The practicals are separate and you either get a pass or a fail. But from the limited number of past exam questions I've seen, there are usually a couple of 5/6 mark questions about describing a method for determining or showing something, usually a practical which could be done in lesson, or else a very similar one is described in the textbook. I'm defo not going to get an A* in physics, we've only done 1 mock and looked at one other past paper and we all failed the mock (though our teacher used his own grade boundaries, so actually 3 of us got Bs and Cs). I need to start some hardcore revision, but with 1 physics teacher in the school I'm not quite sure what he has planned for us as he said he's going to make time to print off stuff for us this half term. So stressful

Don't be discouraged by 1 mock. I was in a similar/worst situation to you last year. In my Maths and Further maths mock, I achieved an A in C1 and a U in every other module. In the real thing, I achieved 94 UMS in C1 and 100 in every other module. The reason I achieved those grades was because I work really hard throughout the year.

In regards to Physics, are you saying that the pass/fail has no impact on your final grade? So, if I failed the practical, I could still achieve an A*?

Thats true. However most uni's also ask for a pass in the practical element in their offer, so if you fail that you have missed your offer.

Don't be discouraged by 1 mock. I was in a similar/worst situation to you last year. In my Maths and Further maths mock, I achieved an A in C1 and a U in every other module. In the real thing, I achieved 94 UMS in C1 and 100 in every other module. The reason I achieved those grades was because I work really hard throughout the year.

In regards to Physics, are you saying that the pass/fail has no impact on your final grade? So, if I failed the practical, I could still achieve an A*?

Yes, that's true! Though from the 2 unis I've got offers from so far (Warwick and Leeds), they've specified that they want a pass in the practical exams.

And thank you, I'm just not feeling confident about physics at all considering we were taught half of it by a chemistry teacher who didn't know most of the physics, so he just told us to read the textbook and watch physics youtube videos haha! But hard work does pay off, and you've done really well!! I just need to get my butt in-gear and do more independent stuff (I have a quizlet page of physics chapters and we have to do essays as independent study). Now I need to tackle more exam questions!

Haha! I'm in exactly the same situation as you. One of my Physics teachers is a Chemistry teacher and has a degree in Chemistry. Mine doesn't have a clue what he's doing either, so we are in the same boat. I've found the official textbooks quite helpful though, the summary questions do sometimes provide a good challenge.

My actual physics teacher never uses the textbooks in our lessons as he says they're awful, so he uses his own powerpoints instead. Though when I've looked back through the book in my own time, it makes a lot more sense haha. He's kinda teaching us the knowledge, but none of us know how to approach any questions or apply that knowledge. It's going to be a fun year!

So are you on OCR A?

Yes, I am!