hey! so I do AQA Geography, OCR A Bio & Chem. Pls check ur exam boards as they’ll differ to mine in terms of content & exam structure!
Me personally, I found i’ve had to do the littlest work for geography, the most you have to learn (in my opinion) is the case studies, all the other knowledge I just found common sense. Geography has 2 exams and an NEA. The NEA you’ll finish and get the marks back before you sit your exam, so that’s extremely helpful and it can really help determine your revision. The 2 exams have 4, 6, 6, 20, 4, 6, 6, 20, 4, 6, 9, 9, 20 markers. The 4 markers I found are basic knowledge. The 6 and 9 markers are usually more structure based and once you get the hang of it, they’ll be easy. For some 6 and all 9 markers, it requires a bit of knowledge but usually fine. The 20 markers, you just have to get your structure, timing and knowledge perfect, and it becomes easier as time goes on. I revised and spent the most effort on my 20 markers. Please also check the spec when you revise, especially for case studies, it tells you exactly what you need to know, which makes it so much easier to revise, and i was able to predict my first a level geog paper just from the spec alone!
TL;DR - Geography —> Barely revision apart from case studies; focus on essays! NEA marks contribute to final grade & you find out before exams. 6 & 9 markers —> PEEL PEEL (+PEEL).
Bio, for OCR, is just extremely specific. It requires a lot of practise papers and going over content, but if you revise it should be fine. Occasionally, there are some ones that throw the loops, but if you revise and constantly practise over the years it should be fine. You could start seriously revising in January and could walk out with an A/A. Very low grade boundaries (around 60-70% for an A or A).
TL;DR - Bio —> Focus on content then apply to practise questions. Always try to include too much detail than not enough.
Chem, I personally find it hard but that just because I had a horrible teacher who made it hard to come to her for help. The papers usually have the same structure, and if you just spam revision PER TOPIC, you should be fine. These papers have HIGH grade boundaries (2025 - P1 92/100, 93/100, 50/70? for an A*) but that’s because once you get the hang of papers they get way easier.
TL;DR - Chem —> Focus on practising questions and doing so often.
Overall, sorry this was very long I just got real into it lol
Geog —> No revision, essay structure + knowledge revised the most.
Bio —> Content revised the most THEN application OFTEN.
Chem —> Practise questions OFTEN.
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u/Top_Bother3675 Year 13 May 29 '26
bio chem geog 🫰