The Student Room Group

Should I buy premium Seneca, Snap Revise or textbooks + Revision guides for A levels?

Hi guys !

I'm planning on doing Biology, Chemistry and Maths at A level.

I have heard a lot about Seneca Premium and have seen some of the Snap Revise videos from GCSE which seemed helpful.

I am contemplating whether I should purchase either programs, or just revise through textbooks and CGP revision guides. I do fear that the textbooks will be waffly and that the premium Seneca and Snap Revise may not be detailed enough for me to get A*A*A*.

So this has left me in a predicament of what I should choose to complete my A levels with.

Has anyone had experience relevant to any of the options ? I'd be so grateful if you could share with me !

Thanks , Lewis.
I got A*A*A* (maths, further maths, chemistry) at A level, and an A in AS biology, and a Distinction in Pre-U physics. I've never even heard about these "Seneca Premium" or "Snap Revise". I had 1 or 2 CGP books but never really used them. I feel like the key to success is to make sure you know what's on the syllabus and learn those properly, plus lots of practice. Also, the only thing I can recommend is Anki, or any other "spaced repetition" app.
I think revision books and past papers should be enough tbh but if you think you need the other stuff then get them
i used the premium trial of seneca for A levels but tbh the normal version is completely fine, i wouldn't pay extra - especially as the primarily focus on GCSE.

id advise sticking to past papers, revision guides, practice questions, because they really help to solidify your knowledge, practice exam skills and help you to see what you're not understanding. then use seneca etc as top up revision, i used it as a kinda of 'lazy' passive revision, or as a way to warm up by brain for 'proper' revision
Reply 4
Original post by sophielouiseok
i used the premium trial of seneca for A levels but tbh the normal version is completely fine, i wouldn't pay extra - especially as the primarily focus on GCSE.

id advise sticking to past papers, revision guides, practice questions, because they really help to solidify your knowledge, practice exam skills and help you to see what you're not understanding. then use seneca etc as top up revision, i used it as a kinda of 'lazy' passive revision, or as a way to warm up by brain for 'proper' revision

Do the revision guides have all of the information required ? Apparently neither the textbooks or the revision guides are sufficient on their own..
Original post by lhh2003
Do the revision guides have all of the information required ? Apparently neither the textbooks or the revision guides are sufficient on their own..

typically yes, when you combine them with your own notes i found them to be sufficient.
theres no harm in buying multiple revision guides either, i found cgp were good but didnt always explain how i needed to understand, so i purchased a different brand off amazon for a few pounds.
at the end of the day, if AQA or whoever produce a textbook or say 'this is the one we recommend' its going to be good enough, its how you learn the content and how you apply it that really matters
personally, i found seneca didn't help my understanding, i just learnt to give the answer they were expecting and got distracted because i was on my laptop, whereas making mind maps from a textbook or revision guide meant i was fully focused on the task.
i would dedicate myself fully to seneca etc, revision guides and textbooks teach you how to answer the questions and how to deal with the information in a way that was needed.
Reply 6
Original post by lawlieto
I got A*A*A* (maths, further maths, chemistry) at A level, and an A in AS biology, and a Distinction in Pre-U physics. I've never even heard about these "Seneca Premium" or "Snap Revise". I had 1 or 2 CGP books but never really used them. I feel like the key to success is to make sure you know what's on the syllabus and learn those properly, plus lots of practice. Also, the only thing I can recommend is Anki, or any other "spaced repetition" app.


I’m taking Biology; Chemistry and History at A Level and I’m in year 12 this September. I’m going to use spaced repetition for biology, making question flashcards (on A7 flashcards) and keep testing myself and moving them into the different coordinated piles, to regularly work on my weaknesses. How long did it take for you to make these flashcards for biology (and/or chemistry) on the Anki App (which would roughly be the same amount of time if I did them on A7 flashcards). It is the best way and how many flashcards did you have. Pls could you give me advice. I would really appreciate it
Anki is the best tool for biology. Loads of free practice papers for chemistry, look up alevelchem Madasmaths for maths (edexcel).
Reply 8
Original post by sophielouiseok
typically yes, when you combine them with your own notes i found them to be sufficient.
theres no harm in buying multiple revision guides either, i found cgp were good but didnt always explain how i needed to understand, so i purchased a different brand off amazon for a few pounds.
at the end of the day, if AQA or whoever produce a textbook or say 'this is the one we recommend' its going to be good enough, its how you learn the content and how you apply it that really matters
personally, i found seneca didn't help my understanding, i just learnt to give the answer they were expecting and got distracted because i was on my laptop, whereas making mind maps from a textbook or revision guide meant i was fully focused on the task.
i would dedicate myself fully to seneca etc, revision guides and textbooks teach you how to answer the questions and how to deal with the information in a way that was needed.

Thank you !!
Original post by AHB54321
I’m taking Biology; Chemistry and History at A Level and I’m in year 12 this September. I’m going to use spaced repetition for biology, making question flashcards (on A7 flashcards) and keep testing myself and moving them into the different coordinated piles, to regularly work on my weaknesses. How long did it take for you to make these flashcards for biology (and/or chemistry) on the Anki App (which would roughly be the same amount of time if I did them on A7 flashcards). It is the best way and how many flashcards did you have. Pls could you give me advice. I would really appreciate it

So what I did was a bit lazy: I take written notes while learning things because it helps organise my thoughts. Then I just take pictures with Anki XD If you go super lazy, you could even take pictures from a book, but I think it's better to have your own written notes.
When you finish a topic in class or as you go through a topic start collating the key ideas from the topic into a mindmap.
This way you could read from the mindmap and when you feel that you are confident with that topic start doing topic based questions.
Alternatively you could attempt to jot down the ideas from the mindmap from memory onto a blank sheet of paper. Then you could check if you missed any ideas and jot them down in a different colour so when you revisit your notes on that topic you will know that this was the concept you struggled with.
I am studying aqa psychology a-level. Is Seneca Learning(the free version) better than CGP textbook?