A Level Chemistry
exam board: cambridge international (cie) – 9701
A two-year course developing deep chemical knowledge, advanced practical skills, and analytical thinking across physical, inorganic and organic chemistry — from the structure of the atom to the synthesis and analysis of complex molecules.
We use an active-learning approach encouraging students to think like chemists, using models of atomic structure and bonding to explain and predict how substances behave, and building the recurring theme that patterns in the Periodic Table and in functional groups make chemistry a subject of prediction rather than memory. The course spans thirty-seven syllabus topics across three strands — physical, inorganic and organic — with practical, mathematical and analytical skills woven throughout. Students sit the three AS papers at the end of Year 12, then move on to the A2 content, sitting Papers 4 and 5 at the end of Year 13. Every paper includes questions on practical techniques.
Year 12 — AS Level
| Term | topic knowledge & skills | |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn |
Atoms, Moles & Bonding The foundations of chemistry. Work explores atomic structure, electron configuration and ionisation energies, the mole and stoichiometric calculations, and ionic, covalent and metallic bonding — shapes of molecules, intermolecular forces, and how bonding explains the physical properties of the states of matter. |
Organic Chemistry & Hydrocarbons Carbon’s chemistry begins. Work explores formulae, functional groups and nomenclature, isomerism, and the reaction mechanisms of free-radical substitution in alkanes and electrophilic addition in alkenes — alongside the chemistry of halogen compounds and nucleophilic substitution. |
| Spring | Energetics, Equilibria & Kinetics
Why reactions happen, and how fast. Work explores enthalpy changes and Hess’s Law, dynamic equilibrium, Le Chatelier’s principle and Kc and Kp, Brønsted–Lowry acids and bases, and reaction kinetics — the Boltzmann distribution, activation energy and catalysis — with a first look at redox and electrochemistry. |
Periodicity & Inorganic Chemistry
Patterns in the Periodic Table. Work explores periodic trends across Period 3 in structure, bonding and reactivity, the chemistry of the Group 2 metals and Group 17 halogens, and the industrial and environmental chemistry of nitrogen and sulfur — from the Haber process to acid rain. |
| Summer | AS Revision & Exams
Completing the AS picture. Work explores alcohols, carbonyl compounds, carboxylic acids and esters, addition polymerisation, multi-step organic synthesis and the analytical techniques of infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry — before the AS topics are revisited, practical skills for Paper 3 sharpened, and students sit Papers 1, 2 and 3. |
Energetics & Electrochemistry
Straight into A2. After the AS exams, work begins on lattice energy and Born–Haber cycles, enthalpies of solution and hydration, entropy and Gibbs free energy — and on standard electrode potentials, electrochemical cells and the Nernst equation. |
Year 13 — A2
| Term | topic knowledge & skills | |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn |
Equilibria & Reaction Kinetics Chemistry, quantified. Work explores pH, Ka, Kw and buffer solutions, titration curves and indicators, solubility products and partition coefficients — then rate equations, orders of reaction, the rate-determining step, half-lives and how catalysts alter reaction pathways. |
Arenes & Phenols
Aromatic chemistry. Work explores the delocalised structure of benzene and the mechanism of electrophilic substitution, the effect of substituents on reactivity, the acidity and reactions of phenols, and the chemistry of halogenoarenes — alongside chirality and optical isomerism. |
| Spring | Transition Elements & Group 2
The chemistry of colour. Work explores the properties of the transition elements, variable oxidation states and redox titrations, complex ions and ligand exchange, stability constants, the splitting of d-orbitals that gives rise to colour — and the thermal decomposition and solubility trends of Group 2 compounds. |
Organic Synthesis & Analysis
Building and identifying molecules. Work explores acyl chlorides and esters, amines, amides and amino acids, condensation polymerisation and the structure of proteins and nylon, multi-step organic synthesis — and the analytical techniques of chromatography, carbon-13 and proton NMR spectroscopy. |
| Summer | Revision & A Level Exams
The final stretch. Revision is active: the A2 topics revisited, the planning, analysis and evaluation skills of Paper 5 sharpened, structured-answer technique practised, and past papers worked through before students sit Papers 4 and 5 — turning two years of chemistry into confident, exam-ready understanding. |
All candidates sit five externally assessed papers. Papers 1–3 assess the AS content and are sat at the end of Year 12; Papers 4–5 assess the A Level content and are sat at the end of Year 13. Every paper includes questions on relevant practical skills.
Paper 1 — Multiple Choice
AS Topics 1–22
Forty multiple-choice questions covering the AS syllabus.
Paper 2 — AS Structured Questions
AS Topics 1–22
Structured questions covering the AS syllabus.
Paper 3 — Advanced Practical Skills
AS practical work
A timetabled laboratory examination testing manipulation, observation, recording and presentation of results, and their analysis and evaluation — typically a quantitative task such as a titration or rate experiment, and a qualitative analysis of unknown substances.
Paper 4 — A Level Structured Questions
Topics 23–37, drawing on 1–22
Structured questions covering the A Level syllabus, assuming knowledge of the AS content.
Paper 5 — Planning, Analysis & Evaluation
Practical skills, whole course
A written paper testing the ability to plan an investigation and to analyse, interpret and evaluate experimental data, including graphical work and the treatment of errors.