Our A level course has a heavy practical emphasis with state of the art laboratory facilities allowing you to carry out a wide range of practical activities from distillation to spectroscopy, titrations to electrochemistry: you will have abundant opportunities to do hands-on chemistry.
The course will give you a comprehensive introduction to organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. As you develop a more detailed understanding of atomic structure and chemical bonding, you will be able to demonstrate a range of competencies allowing you to, for example, devise complicated multi-step syntheses, precisely control the rate of chemical reactions or develop a buffer solution for controlling the pH of an acid.
The chemical sciences have a major significance in our everyday lives. You will gain an appreciation of the diverse roles chemistry plays in areas such as agriculture, the petrochemical industry, photographic materials, cosmetics, pharmaceutics, textiles, computer chips and many more. Studying chemistry alongside maths at CMS will give you a fantastic spring board to studying chemistry at university and contribute to future developments in the subject.
We follow the OCR A Chemistry (H432) specification.
Content is split into six teaching modules
- Module 1: Development of practical skills in chemistry
- Module 2: Foundations of chemistry
- Module 3: Periodic Table and Energy
- Module 4: Core Organic Chemistry
- Module 5: Physical Chemistry and Transition Elements
- Module 6: Organic Chemistry and Analysis
At CMS Module 1 is covered throughout the course. At the beginning of Y12 students will cover Module 2 during the first term. Students will then go on to Module 3 and 4 content with their two teachers for the spring term. Module 5 and 6 content begins during the summer term of year 12 prior to the summer assessment.
In year 13, students will work on developing more quantitative understanding of Physical Chemistry with one teacher working through unit 5, and gain a thorough understanding of organic pathways in unit 6 with the other, before completing the course by studying organic analysis and spectroscopy.
Assessment
In June of Y13 students will sit 3 examinations in Chemistry.
- Paper 1: Periodic table, Elements and Physical Chemistry (Module 1,2,3 and 5), 2 hours 15 minutes (37% of total A level)
- Paper 2: Synthesis and Analytical Techniques (Module 1,2,4 and 6), 2 hours 15 mins (37% of total A level)
- Paper 3: Unified Chemistry (All Modules), 1 hour 30 minutes (26% of total A level)
The A level course also requires students to pass a Practical Endorsement in Chemistry which is assessed by their teacher through a series of practical experiments. Students pass the endorsement by correctly demonstrating a variety of skills throughout the two-year course.
Super- Curricular Offer
Students will have the option of engaging with chemistry beyond the curriculum with a variety of competitions including the RSC Chemistry Olympiad, the RSC Schools’ Analyst competition, the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge and the Chemistry Race.
