Uplearn for Y13 Physics

[Everythingsgroovy]

Has anyone found this useful?

DS is on track with maths and further maths but finds Physics more difficult (maybe due to dyslexia).

They are B/C but would like a solid B.

I’ve read a couple of old threads that seem to suggest people’s DC didn’t really use it as it’s time consuming but I suppose that’s how it helps people to achieve.

What about PMT or savemyexams or Isaac physics?

My son used it intensively after his January mocks in which he got a low A in paper 1 and a mid C in paper 2 (AQA). This was entirely due to lack of effective revision throughout the course. He did all his homework and didn't miss lessons.

It is extremely time consuming but it works, so it depends how committed your YP is and how much they want the grade. My son did it every evening for four months (sometimes an hour, sometimes more)

He didn't finish the whole thing as there just wasn't time so he concentrated on paper 2 and then his trickier areas of P1 and then close to exams used it to practice P3.

He was two marks of an A* on results day.

If you have longer to get through it, it will be more manageable - it does work. It isn't just videos, it's the active recall, spaced learning etc that makes it stick.

@SilverBlue4 this is so helpful- thank you. It’s what I thought- there’s no magic wand and I suppose some people would find the rigidity of it too much but ultimately you’ve got to learn it one way or another and this gives a structure.

@Muu9- thank you- I’ll ask DS to have a look at those.

Could also your DS do much timed question practice, with lots of review of the marking scheme, learning how the board prefers questions to be answered. Also check the board specification to ensure that he has revised everything and not just what is in his own notes.

For some reason, my son was motivated by the 'streak' function which tells you how many days in a row you've done. And also that if he skipped it, the spaced learning built up and made it much more taxing the next time he logged in.

He also found reviewing mark schemes so incredibly dull after spending all that time on a paper. The papers in uplearn guide you through that in an easier way so it felt less awful.

I'm not going to say it was fun but it worked for him.

In hindsight I would have bought it at the beginning of Y12 but it costs so much more for a longer time and I didn't know he needed it then.

I work in tutoring, so bear that in mind. Before paying for a platform, it is worth pinning down where the marks are actually going. With a dyslexic student who is strong in maths and further maths, the physics problem is often not the physics: it is the reading load of long, multi-step worded questions and the explain questions that need specific phrasing for the mark. Take two recent past papers, mark them against the examiner’s mark scheme and sort every dropped mark into three piles: did not understand the physics; misread or missed part of the question; knew it but did not write what the mark scheme wanted. If most of the marks sit in the second and third piles, a content platform will not fix that, and a routine of underlining the quantities and command words before answering, then writing in mark-scheme language, tends to move a B/C to a solid B faster than more videos. If the first pile dominates, a structured course such as the one you mention earns its time. Happy to answer anything else here.

I would say it also helps with pile 3 type errors as my son made these as well as not having understood some of the more complex topics
Doing the past papers on uplearn with their heavily scaffolded marking helped with this problem more than just looking at mark schemes on their own

P.S. I don't work for them 🤪

@SilverBlue4 @Edify123
Thank you both for your advice. I’ll show your ideas to DS 😊