Our A Level syllabus (Edexcel) builds on many of the themes established at GCSE level and our teaching focuses on building on this foundation of knowledge and skills. You will have access to a set of recommended resources, in the summer prior to commencing your A Level studies.

Throughout your course, daily subject surgeries offer access to extra teaching support, as and when you need it.

A Level content

• Paper 1 Advanced physics I: This unit involves the study of mechanics, electric circuits, further mechanics (momentum and circular motion), electric and magnetic fields, and nuclear and particle physics.
• Paper 2 Advanced physics II: This unit involves the study of materials, waves and particle nature of light, thermodynamics, space, nuclear radiation, gravitational fields and oscillations.
• Paper 3 General and practical principles in physics: Questions in this paper may draw on any of the topics in the specification, and they may be of a synoptic nature (i.e. drawn from two or more topics). The paper will include questions that assess conceptual and theoretical understanding of experimental methods (indirect practical skills) that will draw on students’ experiences of the core practicals.
• Science practical endorsement: There is no coursework or Controlled Assessment. You will learn to use relevant apparatus and develop practical techniques by completing a set of core practical activities in lesson time. Practical competency will be assessed as pass/fail internally.

AS Level content

• Paper 1 Core Physics I: This unit involves the study of mechanics (motion, forces, energy, power), electric circuits, errors and measurement.
• Paper 2 Core Physics II: This unit involves the study of materials (flow of liquids, viscosity, Stokes’ Law, Young’s modulus, strain energy), waves, the particle nature of light, errors and measurement.
• Practical work: There is no coursework or Controlled Assessment. However, students will complete a set of core practicals during their lessons which are relevant to the topic they are studying at the time.

Content of A Level

• Paper 1 Advanced Physics I: Written examination paper of 1 hour and 45 minutes, which consists of multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculations and extended writing questions. (30% of total mark)
• Paper 2 Advanced Physics II: Written examination paper of 1 hour and 45 minutes, which consists of multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculations and extended writing questions. (30% of total mark)
• Paper 3 General and practical principles in Physics: Written examination paper of 2 hours and 30 minutes, including questions that assess conceptual and theoretical understanding of experimental methods (indirect practical skills) that will draw on students’ experiences of the core practicals. It may include multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculations and extended writing questions. (40% of total mark)
• Science practical endorsement: Practical competency will be assessed as pass/fail internally. The content of the core practicals will be assessed in the examination papers (15% of the marks). Practical work records will be used as evidence for internal assessment against a set of exam board standards. This is in addition to the A Level qualification.

AS Level assessment

• Paper 1 Core Physics I: Written examination paper of 1 hour and 30 minutes, which consists of multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculations and extended writing questions. (50% of total mark)
• Paper 2 Core Physics II: Written examination paper of 1 hour and 30 minutes, which consists of multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculations and extended writing questions. (50% of total mark)
• Practical work: The content of the core practicals will be assessed in the examination papers (15% of the marks). Practical competency will be assessed as pass/fail internally. This is in addition to the A Level qualification.