JakeYear 13 · A-Level Chemistry
A* at A-Level Chemistry
Problem
Dropping marks on long-answer questions whose content he genuinely understood.
What changed
Sustained past-paper work focused on what examiners credit in extended answers.
GCSE Science & A-Level Chemistry
Science tuition from a teacher who marks the exams
Specialist online tuition from a qualified teacher and practising examiner. Build genuine understanding — then learn how to turn it into the marks examiners award.
Qualified Teacher
Practising Examiner
10+ Years' Experience
Enhanced DBS
Results
Student results
Genuine outcomes from students taught by Shakib. Their full reviews are further down this page and on the results page.
SophieGCSE Biology, Chemistry & Physics
Grade 9 in all three sciences
Problem
Could revise for hours, then freeze whenever a question was worded in an unfamiliar way.
What changed
Taught how to read what a question is actually asking, and how much detail each answer needs.
Why parents choose Learn & Smash
One specialist, not a rota of tutors
The same teacher assesses your child, teaches every lesson, marks the work that comes back, and tracks what is changing. Nothing is handed over, so nothing has to be explained twice.
BiologyGCSE, Combined and Triple
ChemistryGCSE and A-Level
PhysicsGCSE, Combined and Triple
Where marks are lost
Knowing the science isn’t always enough
Many students know more science than their results suggest. The problem is often turning that knowledge into marks. These are six common places it happens.
Question interpretationAnswering the question they expected rather than the one printed.
Command wordsDescribing when the paper said explain. Explaining when it said evaluate.
Imprecise terminology“Goes up” where the mark scheme needs “increases” — almost right, but not creditworthy.
Application to unfamiliar contextsKnowing a topic well, then not recognising it in a setting they haven’t seen before.
CalculationsRight method, lost marks — no working shown, wrong units, wrong significant figures.
Extended responses and exam techniqueWriting a page and scoring two, because the answer never gives the mark scheme what it is looking for.
All of these are teachable skills.
Programmes
Two programmes. One specialist.
Both are monthly, because the weekly lesson is only part of the work.
Programme
GCSE Science Success Programme
£400per month
Who it’s for
Students in Years 9–11 sitting Combined or Triple Science who are working hard without the grades moving, or who are capable of more than their mocks are showing.
More than a weekly lesson — every month includes
- One 60-minute private lesson every week
- Initial diagnostic assessment, written up
- A personalised improvement plan
- Practice from your exact exam board and tier
- Marking and written feedback on agreed work
- A monthly progress update for parents
Plus knowledge-gap analysis across all three sciences, work set between lessons, revision planning and mock review — the full list is on the programme page.
Programme
A-Level Chemistry Mastery Programme
£450per month
Who it’s for
Year 12 students finding the step up from GCSE steeper than expected, and Year 13 students who need a specific grade for a university offer.
More than a weekly lesson — every month includes
- One 60-minute specialist Chemistry lesson every week
- Initial diagnostic assessment, written up
- A personalised study plan
- Exam-board-specific past-paper practice
- Marking and written feedback
- A monthly progress update
Plus organic, physical and inorganic support, dedicated calculation practice and full-specification gap analysis — the full list is on the programme page.
The difference
I teach the subject — and I mark the exams
Alongside teaching, I mark exam papers for an awarding body. That second role changes what happens in a lesson.
✓ How marks are awardedDepending on the question, marks come either from specific marking points or from levels-based criteria. Knowing which applies changes the shape of an answer.
✓ What command words demandExplain needs a because. Describe does not. Evaluate needs both sides and a judgement. These expectations can be taught explicitly.
✓ Which words earn creditMarking shows you exactly which phrasings are accepted and which are treated as too vague to award.
✓ The mistakes that recur every seriesThe same avoidable errors recur across many scripts. We deal with them before the exam rather than after it.
What this does not mean.
No advance knowledge of future questions. No confidential exam content. No inside information. Mark schemes are published by the boards; the advantage is years spent marking against them.
The method
Diagnose → Understand → Apply → Review
A system, not ad-hoc tutoring. Every student follows the same four stages; what changes is what the diagnosis finds.
Step 1
Diagnose
Find the gaps — and find where marks are being lost, which is rarely the same thing.
Step 2
Understand
Rebuild the difficult concepts properly, from first principles.
Step 3
Apply
Turn that into marks on questions from your exact exam board, under exam conditions.
Step 4
Review
Analyse every mistake, track progress, adapt the plan.
About me
I’m Shakib
I’m a qualified science teacher with over a decade of experience teaching Biology, Chemistry and Physics at GCSE, and Chemistry at A-Level, across AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC. Lessons are mapped to your child’s specification, and I’ll tell you honestly where they are, what is worth their revision time, and what isn’t.
The next step
The free grade diagnostic
20 minutes · No cost · No obligation. Not a free lesson and not a sales call.
- Tell me where things standCurrent grade, target grade, exam board, and what feels difficult.
- We identify the likely causesWhere marks are most probably being lost — knowledge, exam technique, application, calculations or question interpretation.
- You leave with clear next stepsThe priorities to work on, and an honest answer on whether the programme is right for your child.
What twenty minutes can and cannot do
The call identifies the likely causes and the priorities. A full diagnosis comes later, from your child’s actual work — assessments, marked papers and past-paper evidence. If I am not the right person, I will tell you on the call.
I read every enquiry myself and reply within one working day.
Reviews
In their own words
Genuine reviews from students taught by Shakib.
“I went into Year 13 fairly sure Chemistry was going to be the subject that let me down. Shakib took the whole thing back to basics and rebuilt it, and by the end I actually understood what the questions were asking for instead of guessing. Smashed it.”
“Biology, Chemistry and Physics all clicked at different times and Shakib never once made me feel like I was behind. He was patient with every question, however small it was. I came out with 9s in all three.”
“The past-paper work made the difference. Shakib knew exactly what the examiners were looking for in the long answers, and within a few weeks I'd stopped dropping marks on questions I genuinely understood. Came out with an A*.”
Questions
Things parents usually ask
What actually happens during the free diagnostic?
It is a 20-minute conversation. You tell me the year group, exam board, current grade and target, and what is going wrong. From that — and from a recent mock or marked paper if you have one — we narrow down whether the problem is most likely knowledge, exam technique, application, calculations or question interpretation.
I’ll be straight with you about the limits: twenty minutes of conversation gives a working hypothesis, not a full diagnosis. The proper diagnostic assessment happens in the first lesson, where a short piece of past-paper work across several topics tells me far more than any conversation can. The free call is there to work out the likely direction and whether we are a sensible fit.
Why is it a monthly programme rather than an hourly rate?
Because the lesson is only part of the work. A programme also covers the initial diagnostic, the plan that comes out of it, the work set between lessons, the marking of that work, progress tracking and a monthly update to you. Paying by the hour only pays for the hour.
Which exam boards do you cover?
AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC. Tell me your board and tier when you get in touch and lessons will follow that specification exactly — the content, the required practicals and the command words all differ between boards, and it matters.
How do online lessons work?
Lessons run as a live video call with a shared whiteboard, so you watch the working build up line by line just as you would on paper — and you can write on it too. You'll need a laptop or tablet and a reasonable internet connection. Notes from the board are saved and sent after each lesson.
Are you DBS checked?
Yes — I hold an enhanced DBS certificate and I'm happy to show it to any parent before lessons start. Just ask. I'm also a qualified teacher, so I work to the same safeguarding standards I would in a school.
Does being an examiner give my child inside information?
No, and I would not offer it if it did. Examiners never know what will appear on a future paper, and nothing confidential is ever shared.
What marking does give is a detailed working knowledge of how marks are awarded against published mark schemes, and of the mistakes that cost students marks every single series. That knowledge is entirely legitimate, and almost no student is ever taught it.
Can you guarantee my child's grade will improve?
No, and you should be wary of any tutor who does. What I can commit to is an honest assessment of where your child is, a plan built on that, work that is marked properly, and a monthly update so you can see for yourself whether it is working.
What if it isn't working?
Tell me. The monthly update exists partly so that this conversation happens early rather than late. If the programme is not the right fit, I would rather adjust it or end it than carry on regardless.
Find out where the marks are going
Twenty minutes. No cost. No obligation. You will leave the call with a clearer picture of what is actually costing the marks than you had before it.
Have a question first? WhatsApp ShakibOr call 07307 384459 · hello@learnandsmash.com