Yr9 best way to practice science

[Bourbons99999]

Which is the best way to practice science for Year 9?
DD is fine at biology, needs practice at physics and especially chemistry.
I really want her to do single science and the decision is based on Yr 9 exams in a few months but I don't know the Mose effective way to practice or revise.
She's not even being set homework for chemistry at the moment so I want her to start to do something but I don't know what! I can't really afford a tutor. I know how I revised at uni but don't think she has the patience for writing things out over and over again. I looked at Seneca but didn't think it was that good really,
Help! Thanks

Seneca took my DD from a 6/7 in double science to an 9/9 and was chemistry which was holding her back.
The one subscription access all subjects and although Dd was good a history she struggled with the format to present facts also true of English - 8s in both English and history.
DD had a severe visual processing disorder and she found everything really accessible.
It was a Mumsnet recommendation and worth every penny.

@Lonecatwithkitten

Seneca took my DD from a 6/7 in double science to an 9/9 and was chemistry which was holding her back. The one subscription access all subjects and although Dd was good a history she struggled with the format to present facts also true of English - 8s in both English and history. DD had a severe visual processing disorder and she found everything really accessible. It was a Mumsnet recommendation and worth every penny.

Thanks for that and well done to your daughter. My DD has started on it tonight 👏

I would definitely recommend mygcsesciene. You pay for the year and I dont remember it being that expensive. My DS also found chemistry and physics hard and ended up with an 9/8 for those two.

I've signed up for chemsheets too (her teacher uses these a lot)
Chemsheets is designed for the AQA syllabus and she is taking OCR. There are many points in common, but there are some differences.

@catndogslife

I've signed up for chemsheets too (her teacher uses these a lot) Chemsheets is designed for the AQA syllabus and she is taking OCR. There are many points in common, but there are some differences.

Good to know, thanks

@estherfrewen

I would definitely recommend mygcsesciene. You pay for the year and I dont remember it being that expensive. My DS also found chemistry and physics hard and ended up with an 9/8 for those two.

Thanks I'll have another look at things today

Primrose kitten and uk science guy - both youtube.

They teach the topics to the students so search for the topic you’re struggling with.

My last set of students who actually did exams 2 years ago used to really like them both.

For chemistry learn the basics - structure of the atom, parts of the periodic table etc.

Is she being taught GCSE content in year 9?

Re I didn't know that some schools only offer combined science, I'm sure the teachers will make the right call at the end of the year for her

I suppose it would depend on whether you think her grades are as much a success as a school does. Most schools publish their X% got 5 GCSEs grade 9-4 including English and Maths which is one of their measurements. However that could mean that all of those children got grade 4s or more than half got grade 9s. There is no way of knowing and that is one hell of a difference in outcomes. If you drill down into the school statistics it will say how many got a grade 5 in English and Maths but that isn't the banner headline the school chooses.

Ds1 was in a mixed ability History class, some were on for 4s some were on for 9s. They are still passes at GCSE. Luckily his school push the higher grades rather than focusing entirely on bringing the grade 3s up to a passing grade 4.

Ds1 was meant to do the triple but they just accelerate the learning in year 9, it isn't an option block choice. Due to not being accelerated by mistake none of the class did the triple but instead ended up doing the combined which meant they cover slightly less than the triple and he got a 9,9. Grades can only be the same 8,8 or only one lower so 8,7. You cannot get 7,5. He now does Physics A level and the 9 means he hasn't struggled at all, he is predicted A*/A for it.

By all means get your DD to work on her science but also make sure school are doing the best thing for your DD and not their statistics.

@JiggedSpanner schools are not really judged on % of grades any more - they are judged on the progress a child makes from Ks2 SATs so if they are high ability a grade 4 will not be enough for the school to look good so it isn’t really the case that they won’t push them beyond the 4.

The progress score is how you know whether the grades at 4-9 were all 4s or all 9s.

@ImpatientAnn so how do I work that out? Are we looking at Progress 8? Whole cohort? Disadvantaged?

All the local schools to me have the "X% of our pupils achieved 5 GCSEs etc" as their home page banner as soon as GCSE results are out and up until admissions are closed. Yes, if you then look at the school's performance then it lists how many got grade 5 in English and Maths but unless I go onto the .gov website and look at low/middle/high attainers etc how do I know which children pushed up their Progress 8 score?

Of course high attainers are not the ones getting the grade 4s as a whole. I am talking about state schools, not selectives. If I look at my own son's GCSE achievement he absolutely blew through his SATs "flight path" but that isn't reflected as an individual, it is added into the whole. His 2019 cohort results are on the school website. It states +0.72 for Progress 8 where individually Ds was +3 in both Maths and English.

@ImpatientAnn

Primrose kitten and uk science guy - both youtube.

They teach the topics to the students so search for the topic you’re struggling with.

My last set of students who actually did exams 2 years ago used to really like them both.

For chemistry learn the basics - structure of the atom, parts of the periodic table etc.

Is she being taught GCSE content in year 9?

Hi, yes it's GCSE she started at the beginning of Year 9.