Question 1

Which exam board do you cover for physics?

Accepted Answer

All three of the major boards: AQA, Edexcel and OCR. The shared content is largely the same; the differences are in question style, the way required-practical questions are phrased, and how each board uses the equation sheet in the back of the paper. Once we know your child's school board, every plan, every past-paper drill and every revision pack we point them at is the right one for that board.

Question 2

My child can do the maths but freezes on physics. Why?

Accepted Answer

Almost always: it's equation rearrangement, not the underlying physics. The exam gives your child a formula sheet for many — but not all — of the equations, and assumes they can rearrange a formula like v² = u² + 2as for any of the four variables under exam pressure. That's a maths skill applied in a physics context, and it's the single biggest gap we see. We drill it explicitly — pick the equation, identify the unknown, isolate it, substitute the numbers, then check the units — until the process is automatic.

Question 3

How do you cover the required practicals without a lab?

Accepted Answer

We don't pretend the lesson is a lab. We do what the exam actually asks for: describe the method, identify the variables, explain the source of error, suggest the standard improvement, interpret the results table. Every required practical on the AQA, Edexcel and OCR specifications is walked through as a written-up procedure, then drilled against past-paper practical questions from the right board until the answer pattern is automatic.

Question 4

Should my child sit Combined or Separate Sciences for physics?

Accepted Answer

Depends on what they want to do at A level. Combined Science (Trilogy) covers biology, chemistry and physics across two GCSEs. Separate Sciences (Triple) gives three full GCSEs and includes extra physics content — most notably the space topic, plus deeper material on electromagnetism and on the particle model. If A level physics at a competitive sixth form is the goal, Separate is usually expected. We cover both routes with the same care.

Question 5

What does the trial lesson actually cover?

Accepted Answer

Forty-five minutes, online, 1-to-1 with a matched specialist physics tutor. The tutor works through a real GCSE physics topic — usually equation rearrangement, forces, or whichever area the parent has flagged — and within 24 hours sends a short written summary: what your child handled well, the specific gaps they spotted, and a recommended starting point. No card needed, no commitment, no follow-up sales call.

Question 6

Higher tier or foundation tier — how do you choose for physics?

Accepted Answer

We look at where your child sits on the harder content — the equations they have to recall (rather than the ones supplied on the sheet), the harder forces and electricity questions, the standard model questions — and tell you honestly whether higher tier is realistic. The school's prediction is one input. The trial, plus a written diagnostic if you take it, is the other and tends to be the more candid one. A confident foundation grade is more valuable than a stretched higher one.

Question 7

Can we switch tutors if it's not the right fit?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Free rematch, no awkward conversation. The first tutor is our best matched guess from the trial form; if the chemistry isn't right or the teaching style doesn't land, you tell us and we pair your child with a different specialist. We'd rather take an extra week to find the right person than push you into months of weekly lessons with the wrong one.

GCSE Physics tutoring.

What your child gets — every week.

A specialist physics tutor — not a general scientist.

Equation rearrangement, taught explicitly.

Required practicals as written-up methods.

Forces, energy, waves, electricity, magnetism, particle model, atomic structure (and space, on Separate).

The misconception we see most often: students treating the equation sheet as a list to memorise instead of a toolkit to choose from.

What revision actually looks like with us — and why it's not just past papers.

GCSE physics tutoring — frequently asked.

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