How much to revise for A-level retakes?

OP

Original post by Ayahateschool

I think that setting an actual number of hours may be slightly encouraging but also may set you up for procastination, if you are retaking without being in fulltime lessons and stuff id say 8 hours is good if not more, during year 13 as i had school i managed an average of 6 hours. Also flora is a good app to track how much time youve revising per day/week. Good luck

I fear that too, also i dont know if i could focus for 8 hours each day, i was thinking to try and work up to 7, 4 for chem, 3 for bio, would that be fine, cause ik if i added extra hours but wanst focusing there would be no point and im afraid of possibly procastinating, and yes im doing them independently, using resources ia lready have and that are online.....

Reply 3

OP

Original post by Ayahateschool

I think that setting an actual number of hours may be slightly encouraging but also may set you up for procastination, if you are retaking without being in fulltime lessons and stuff id say 8 hours is good if not more, during year 13 as i had school i managed an average of 6 hours. Also flora is a good app to track how much time youve revising per day/week. Good luck

thanks for responding so whats your advise for me, also i got forest...

Reply 4

Ayahateschool

8

Original post by Anonymous

thanks for responding so whats your advise for me, also i got forest...

I suppose if you do efficient revision its better than longer hours, for more efficient revision make sure you understand how to achieve certain skills, for example for topics that you need to memorise make sure you know which method works for you, for me i use flashcards to memorise. And for topics that are application based i did an abundance of pp questions and watched loads of videos to deepen my understanding of that specific topic. For organic chemistry i loved mindmaps.

Reply 5

Ayahateschool

8

Original post by Anonymous

thanks for responding so whats your advise for me, also i got forest...

Try to isolate which topics require which skill, its usually clear from the type of question since you are taking these exams independantly you should have decent time to take it slow and break down the syllabus to begin with. After that start with the topics you are most afriad of and use pomodoro techniques to squash procastination. If you do OCR A biology i could send you my link to my biology spec notes, i didnt do it for chemsitry but i achieved an A in both, which isnt what your striving for but may perhaps give you a boost

Reply 6

OP

Original post by Ayahateschool

Try to isolate which topics require which skill, its usually clear from the type of question since you are taking these exams independantly you should have decent time to take it slow and break down the syllabus to begin with. After that start with the topics you are most afriad of and use pomodoro techniques to squash procastination. If you do OCR A biology i could send you my link to my biology spec notes, i didnt do it for chemsitry but i achieved an A in both, which isnt what your striving for but may perhaps give you a boost

Thank you so much, i am doing aqa ...i think the hardest thing will be keeping the topics i learn, which will increase as i go along fresh, whilst doing newer topics, i agree with you in terms of starting off with the harder topics.

Reply 7

Original post by Anonymous

How many hours of revision should I do daily of A-level chemistry and a-level biology in order to get an A star from D/E grade? This is for 2025 exams

It's not just about the amount of time you spend revising; it's about how effectively you approach your studies and truly understand the material. This year, I resat both subjects along with a few classmates, and I saw the biggest improvement—I went from CD to AB—because I changed the way I revised. If you're currently getting D/E grades, it might be because you haven't fully grasped the concepts, so focus on understanding them first.
Start with the CGP books for chemistry and combine them with resources like ChemRevise and Chemguide. You can also use ChatGPT to explain difficult concepts in simpler terms, which can help you understand them faster. Drawing diagrams by hand is really helpful too, especially for both subjects.
Lastly, believe that things will start to make sense eventually. I know it sounds cliché, but your mindset is crucial. It may seem overwhelming at first, but keep pushing through, and eventually, it will click. I was stuck on D's for most of the year until I really pushed myself, and then it became fun. I started to enjoy both subjects, and that was reflected in my grades this year.

Reply 8

OP

Original post by dach46

It's not just about the amount of time you spend revising; it's about how effectively you approach your studies and truly understand the material. This year, I resat both subjects along with a few classmates, and I saw the biggest improvement—I went from CD to AB—because I changed the way I revised. If you're currently getting D/E grades, it might be because you haven't fully grasped the concepts, so focus on understanding them first.
Start with the CGP books for chemistry and combine them with resources like ChemRevise and Chemguide. You can also use ChatGPT to explain difficult concepts in simpler terms, which can help you understand them faster. Drawing diagrams by hand is really helpful too, especially for both subjects.
Lastly, believe that things will start to make sense eventually. I know it sounds cliché, but your mindset is crucial. It may seem overwhelming at first, but keep pushing through, and eventually, it will click. I was stuck on D's for most of the year until I really pushed myself, and then it became fun. I started to enjoy both subjects, and that was reflected in my grades this year.

I have gotten the cgp workbooks and i completely agree with u that its a mindset but trying to come out of a toxic mindset which only strengthened over 2 years is hard.It does seem overwhelming but its hopeful to me that others have been in the same position and done it, i know i have to be patient becuase change wont coem rigth away. do you have any advise for focusing, because i find myself menatlly wondering very often during my learning sessions and although time doesnt matter whta do u think is a relaistic daily time...

Reply 9

Original post by Anonymous

I have gotten the cgp workbooks and i completely agree with u that its a mindset but trying to come out of a toxic mindset which only strengthened over 2 years is hard.It does seem overwhelming but its hopeful to me that others have been in the same position and done it, i know i have to be patient becuase change wont coem rigth away. do you have any advise for focusing, because i find myself menatlly wondering very often during my learning sessions and although time doesnt matter whta do u think is a relaistic daily time...

The desperation and realisation that its your last chance is going to kick in soon and you're going to forget about those mental barriers holding you back, chemistry and biology are not difficult necessarily you just need to make it easier for yourself. Once youve done each topic watch an allery chemistry video and do question banks, try and complete all of them and then go over them daily till your exams (this is for the last month before exams) . In the meantime just start getting everything together, dont try and brute force studying it just wont work, make sure you're healthy drinking lots of water getting your nutrients from good food and stuff and yeah.

Reply 10

Original post by Anonymous

I have gotten the cgp workbooks and i completely agree with u that its a mindset but trying to come out of a toxic mindset which only strengthened over 2 years is hard.It does seem overwhelming but its hopeful to me that others have been in the same position and done it, i know i have to be patient becuase change wont coem rigth away. do you have any advise for focusing, because i find myself menatlly wondering very often during my learning sessions and although time doesnt matter whta do u think is a relaistic daily time...

Focus was a big issue for me too but me personally once I realised what was at stake with exams approaching I started doing work every single day, but i would do 1-2 hours of work and then take a 30 min break between it, any distractions i.e phone i just put away tbh, I used headphones and white noise in noisy areas. If you're interested in topics your brain will be less likely to wander imo, so look for areas in the topic that are not on the spec but interest you, this will benefit you in the exam and they will increase your interest cause you're learning about something you care about.

Reply 11

OP

Original post by dach46

Focus was a big issue for me too but me personally once I realised what was at stake with exams approaching I started doing work every single day, but i would do 1-2 hours of work and then take a 30 min break between it, any distractions i.e phone i just put away tbh, I used headphones and white noise in noisy areas. If you're interested in topics your brain will be less likely to wander imo, so look for areas in the topic that are not on the spec but interest you, this will benefit you in the exam and they will increase your interest cause you're learning about something you care about.

Thanks tahts a great tip, any interesting bio or chem channels u aware of, and def it would be useful as for bio AQA u need to inlcude beyond the spec material for the 25 mark essay. But do u think 2 hrs of bio and 2hrs for chem daily is enough, like of proper work.

Reply 12