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GCSE Separate Science Revision Guides

Hello,

I am wondering what the best revision guide is for someone who has taken Separate Science and is aiming for A*.

We get Collins New AQA GCSE Chemistry/Biology/Physics revision guides provided by the school. Although they are helpful at recapping notes, they are also very basic, and give little detail in their brief bullet points. As I am aiming for A* in every subject, I'm finding it awfully difficult to be able to apply this basic detail to higher level questions.

My two main options are CGP revision guides and AQA Science, Additional and Separate revision guides (pictures attached).

I have CGP guides for Maths and Geography, and find them helpful and provide great notes on key areas. My worry is that they will be too similar to the Collins ones I already have for science, and give only minute detail in each topic.

The AQA ones are obviously written by the exam board, which is a massive plus, and I've also heard they go into more detail, and are more suited to higher level students.

However, there are also two types of AQA revision guides: those categorised into 'Science', 'Additional' and 'Separate' and also ones which are 'Biology', 'Chemistry' and 'Physics' (I've attached pictures of these too). The Science, Additional etc, are more expensive and have more pages.

I am still unsure of which to buy though, and would massively appreciate some assistance from people with experiences of both books.

Thanks!
Reply 1
The third science book in the pic is the best from what i know. I have that very one im using now and it is really awesome and really easy to understand and follow, ive tried using the last three but they seem complicated and too wordy and it just gets boring! stick with the first three! Good Luck
Reply 2
Original post by HumaTahir
The third science book in the pic is the best from what i know. I have that very one im using now and it is really awesome and really easy to understand and follow, ive tried using the last three but they seem complicated and too wordy and it just gets boring! stick with the first three! Good Luck

Do they have more detailed information though or are they just long winded?
Upon looking at the amount of pages, I see that there are about 40 pages for B#, P#, C# on average, whereas my revision guide has about 10 on each section! Could you show me the insides of both revision guides?
Reply 3
Yes they are very detailed books and also they include questions on each topic on every page, the wording is simple and easy to understand its also colour coded making it easier to understand each science subject. I looked through the other ones you were talking about and i particularly didn't like them as much so i recommend the aqa additional science book from the rest. Good Luck
Reply 4
Have to provide an update on this, although it is not something I typically do.

I ordered the AQA revision guides, the separate Physics, Biology and Chemistry ones. Although the new editions are in black and white, they are the ultimate science revision guides. They provide specific detail on each topic and are excellently written to suit the specification of AQA.

They don't overcomplicate information or become too 'long-winded'. They are a mix between a revision guide and student book, as they also slightly reteach the basics of the topic.

Since using these I've got no less than an A* and if you're willing to spend time making notes on them and working through, then you'll be pleasantly surprised with your results!

Good luck!

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