A Level Chemistry is one of the most demanding A Levels available, and the A* is the grade that separates students who understand chemistry from students who can perform under the specific conditions the exam demands. The gap between an A and an A* is not primarily a knowledge gap. It is a precision gap — in terminology, in how mechanisms are drawn, in how multi-step calculations are presented, and in how unfamiliar questions are approached when the answer is not immediately obvious.
This post covers what A Level Chemistry examiners reward at the top grade band and what students sitting in the A range need to change to reach an A*.
Why A students miss the A*
The most common reason students stall at an A in Chemistry is inconsistency. They score very well on familiar question types and drop marks on anything slightly unfamiliar or synoptic. The A* requires a consistent score across the full paper — including the harder questions at the end, the synoptic questions that link topics, and the practical and data analysis questions where many students lose marks unnecessarily.
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What the A* actually requires
The A* in A Level Chemistry is awarded to students who average 90% or more across their A2 papers. This means Papers 1 and 2 at A Level (Year 13) — not Paper 3, which is the practical endorsement. The AS papers do not contribute to the A* calculation. A student who scores 85% on Papers 1 and 2 combined will not receive an A*, regardless of their Paper 3 performance or their Year 12 results.
This matters for revision planning. In the final weeks before exams, the focus should be on maximising performance on Papers 1 and 2 specifically. These papers cover organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and inorganic chemistry across the full A Level specification, and the hardest questions on each paper are specifically designed to test whether a student can think chemically rather than just recall information.
Organic chemistry mechanisms: draw every arrow
Organic mechanisms are one of the highest-mark areas in A Level Chemistry and one of the most penalised for carelessness. The mark scheme awards marks for specific arrow placements — curly arrows must start from the correct electron source (a bond or lone pair) and end at the correct location. An arrow that starts in the wrong place or points in the wrong direction loses the mark even if the rest of the mechanism is correct. Students aiming for an A* should practise drawing every mechanism from memory, checking each arrow against the mark scheme, until the placement is automatic under exam conditions.
Physical chemistry calculations: show every step
In multi-step calculations — equilibrium constants, enthalpy cycles, electrochemical cells, pH calculations — the mark scheme awards marks for method as well as for the final answer. A student who sets up the calculation correctly but makes an arithmetic error at the last step can still claim most of the available marks if every step is visible. A student who writes only the final answer scores one mark regardless of whether the method was correct. Showing full working on every calculation question is one of the simplest changes that moves an A student toward an A*.
Synoptic questions: link across topics
The hardest questions on A Level Chemistry papers are synoptic — they require students to apply knowledge from multiple topics in combination. A question might present an unfamiliar organic compound and ask about its reactivity, spectroscopic properties, and synthesis route simultaneously. These questions are designed to discriminate between A and A* students, and most A students lose marks here not because they lack the knowledge but because they do not recognise which knowledge to apply.
Practising synoptic questions specifically — rather than topic-by-topic questions in isolation — is essential preparation for the A*. When working through a synoptic question, the useful habit is to identify every topic that appears in the question before attempting an answer, then work methodically through each component. Students who rush into synoptic answers without mapping the question first consistently miss marks they were capable of earning.
How to revise A Level Chemistry for an A*
Master the specification, not just the textbook
The A Level Chemistry specification is the document that defines what the exam will test. Every question in Papers 1 and 2 is written to specification points. Students who revise from textbooks without cross-referencing the specification often cover topics in more depth than is needed in some areas and miss specification points entirely in others. Download the full specification for your exam board (AQA, OCR, or Edexcel), work through it systematically, and ensure every point is covered before moving to past papers.
Use past papers to find your specific loss patterns
Sit full past papers under timed conditions, mark them against the scheme, and keep a record of which topics and question types are consistently costing marks. Most A Level students have one or two areas where they reliably lose marks — often equilibria, organic synthesis, or spectroscopy. Identifying these patterns early and addressing them specifically is more efficient than revising every topic equally in the weeks before the exam.
Read examiner reports
AQA, OCR, and Edexcel all publish examiner reports after each exam series. These documents describe in plain language what distinguished the top responses from average ones — which mechanisms were drawn incorrectly, which calculation steps were most commonly missed, which command terms were misread. Reading two or three examiner reports on the topics you find hardest is one of the most efficient uses of revision time available and is used by very few students.
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Gonzalo
Gonzalo completed an MChem in Chemistry at Oxford (First Class, 80% overall), winning the Academic Open Scholarship at Jesus College and three Woodward Prizes for excellence in Chemistry. He achieved A* in Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, and Biology at A Level, and holds nine Grade 9s at GCSE. His Oxford transcript includes marks of 91 in Organic Chemistry and scores of 90, 88, and 87 across other core subjects. Gonzalo is now starting a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at Cambridge. He tutors A Level Chemistry with a depth of subject knowledge that goes well beyond what the specification requires — exactly the foundation needed for a consistent A*.
Murray
Murray is reading Materials Science at Oxford (MEng, expected First), having achieved A* in Maths, Chemistry, and Physics at A Level. He holds a Silver Cambridge Chemistry Award and has over 150 hours of tutoring experience across the sciences. Murray is particularly effective at helping students build the problem-solving approach needed for synoptic and unfamiliar questions — the part of A Level Chemistry papers where most A students lose their A* marks.
Jessica
Jessica is completing her fourth year in Medicine at Cambridge, having achieved A*A*A*A* at A Level in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Chemistry, and Biology. With hundreds of hours of tutoring experience across A Level Chemistry and the sciences, Jessica has a precise understanding of what the mark scheme rewards at the highest grade levels. She is particularly effective with students who are close to an A* but losing marks through incomplete mechanisms, imprecise terminology, or inconsistent performance on calculation questions.
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