GCSE Results Day 2026!
Congratulations to the Year 11 students collecting their GCSE Results today! If you were in Year 11 and were taught by me, I’d love to know how you got on.
GCSEs are a stepping stone to greater things. Many students will choose to study their favourite subjects at A-Level. There are some things you need to know:
1. A-Levels include significantly more content
It is wonderful that A-Levels explore the subjects far more broadly than GCSEs. A lot of the most interesting content has to be left out at GCSE level because there simply isn’t the time to teach it.
Schools usually double the teaching time for A-Levels compared to GCSEs, so there’s more time to get into the interesting parts of the subject. In Physics, we can include quantum mechanics, particle physics, and maybe even relativity! These are the exciting parts of physics where the subject really comes alive.
2. A-Level content is significantly more advanced
There is a satisfaction that comes from mastering your subject so you can apply the fundamental principles to any situation. At A-Level, nothing is off-limits. Because of this, mathematical complexity ratchets up a notch. Remember the binomial series in GCSE Mathematics? We use that to derive the kinetic energy equation from special relativity in A-Level Physics. Did you do further mathematics GCSE? We use calculus to derive physics equations in mechanics, fields, and radioactivity.
This synopticism makes A-Levels far more advanced than GCSEs. With GCSEs, topics tended to be discrete, easy-to-revise chunks. At A-Level, you just have to know all things at all times to succeed.
Actually, most of A-Level Physics just builds on the GCSE content, but the syncretism of the content is what makes it more advanced… and more fulfilling!
3. Even the best students can find the transition to A-Level challenging
Even the best designed curriculum delivered over a generous helping of lesson times will leave many students feeling rushed. There is so much to cover and in such depth that students missing the odd lesson or a student who does not fully grasp one particular aspect of the course will quickly find themselves confused and behind.
Even the most talented students can suffer from this. Perhaps they get hung up on trying to understand some small detail and it takes just a little longer to do so, but while they’re working on that the course continues to progress. Before they know it, they’re feeling like they don’t understand the subject. This is true for all A-Levels, not just Physics.
Of course, with a little bit of support, students can keep up and even flourish. Everybody needs a bit of support from time to time.
Weekly tuition sessions
If you’ve decided to study A-Level Physics from September, consider enrolling on my weekly tuition sessions. Each week I alternate between nominally Year 12 content and Year 13 content (but schools are free to teach the curriculum in any order so there is no perfect ‘one size fits all’ plan).
Year 12 A-Level students benefit from again looking at the content they’re studying in a safe and friendly environment. In my tuition sessions they can ask questions and also receive feedback as they attempt questions themselves. This interactive tuition can strengthen students’ long-term memory of the content, and allow them to practice the necessary skills so they can master them.
Year 12 students will also get to see the nominally Year 13 content before it’s taught to them in school. They will see how it fits into what they already know and be in a stronger position in Year 13 having already practiced the necessary skills and knowledge.
This approach has helped hundreds of A-Level Physics students over the years, and it can help you too.
Enrolling in the tuition sessions also grants access to the resource library full of question generators and interactive learning tools, and to the video library where professional educational videos can be watched. Enrolled tutees can participate in the friendly community forum, asking questions at any time and getting help from me and from their peers. They can also see recordings of past tuition sessions in case they ever miss one.
Spaces on the participation tier for my tuition sessions are limited; in order to support students I need to be able to watch them answer questions, and I’m limited to how many people I can watch simultaneously. If you want to secure a participation space on the Saturday morning tuition sessions, your best chance is to be on the waiting list so you’ll get the enrolment link two days before it goes public.
People on the waiting list will be sent the enrolment link on 27th August (with a discount code so that they don’t get changed until the week the sessions start). Enrolment for everyone else opens on 29th August. The first tuition session of the new academic year is on 12th September.
If you would like to learn more about my weekly tuition sessions, you can watch this introductory video: https://youtu.be/y1a-2S6zXxI.
To secure your priority enrolment, join the waiting list here: https://physicswithkeith.com/september-2026-waiting-list/
