Chemistry A level

Paston College

Grammar School Road, North Walsham, Norfolk, NR28 9JL

GCE A/AS Level or Equivalent

Level 3

Available start dates

Tuesday, 01 September 2026

Paston College

2 Year(s)

Full time

Daytime/working hours

Application Instructions

Step 1: Apply

Step 2: Interviews and taster events

As part of your application you will be invited to book an interview, to discuss your chosen course, where you will meet with an academic tutor from your chosen area of study for an informal discussion about your course choices, to ensure you have chosen the best course for your future ambitions.

This will give you the opportunity to ask questions and discuss anything about the course that you are unsure about. Please ensure you check your confirmation email for full details, so you do not miss your appointment.

You are initially only able to book an interview for your first choice course, please let us know if you would subsequently like to be able to book interviews for other courses by emailing admissions@paston.ac.uk

Step 3: Offer

This stage provides you with an outcome of your recent interview, which will confirm if you have been made an offer of a place on your chosen course.

All offers are provisional until the point of enrolment and most of our course offers are conditional, meaning there is entry criteria you need to meet before enrolling. This will be outlined in your offer letter.

Sometimes we are unable to offer you a place on your chosen course. If this happens the reasons will be discussed with you at your appointment and we will look at alternative options with you. We will be in contact to confirm the outcome and what to do next. We also have a team of specialist Course Advisers who are more than happy to look at alternative options with you and answer any questions you may have.

Step 4: Enrolment

Enrolment is the final stage before starting your course with us and takes place within the last two weeks of August. We require you to be available to attend your appointment in person at college, so we can complete all the required steps to enrolling you on your chosen course.

We may ask you to bring some documents with you so please read your enrolment invitation carefully.

Course Details

CHEMISTRY LOOKS AT HOW AND WHY SUBSTANCES REACT TOGETHER AND THE USE THAT CAN BE MADE OF THIS TO ENHANCE OUR LIVES - FROM FIGHTING DISEASE TO CONDUCTING ELECTRICITY. IT IS A CORE SCIENCE SUBJECT THAT REQUIRES DESCRIPTIVE AND ANALYTICAL SKILLS. THIS TWO YEAR COURSE GIVES YOU AN EXCELLENT GROUNDING IN THE THREE MAIN AREAS CHEMISTRY: PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY AND INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. AS PRACTICAL WORK IS A KEY FEATURE OF THE COURSE, YOU WILL BE TAUGHT IN A WELL-EQUIPPED AND REFURBISHED SPECIALIST LABORATORY.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN?

You will cover a range of topics that will help you develop your knowledge and skills in this subject area.

During your first year you will study a variety of topics including atomic structures, oxidation and reduction, patterns and trends of the Periodic Table and organic chemistry.

The second year builds on and develops your knowledge from year one and covers topics such as equilibria and gases, reaction rates and the fundamental laws of energy change.

Successful completion of this course will allow you to understand abstract ideas, make connections between different concepts and solve problems.

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES

To help extend your experience beyond the course content, we aim to provide a variety of additional learning experiences. As part of this, you will have the opportunity to attend exciting trips relating to the subject. In recent years these have included visits to an industrial chemistry plant, the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, chemistry lectures in London and a Spectroscopy showcase at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Alongside this, there will also be opportunities to attend sessions run by academics from places such as the UEA that will give you a rare opportunity to experiment with new equipment to enhance your skills.

IS IT SUITABLE FOR YOU?

Chemistry is a hard subject but very worthwhile if you enjoy the subject and are interested in understanding ‘why’ and ‘how’ not just ‘what’. To be successful, you will need to have achieved good GCSE grades in Maths.

HOW YOU ARE ASSESSED?

During the course, you will be assessed through a variety of practical and theoretical work.
Your final grade is determined by your performance in three written exams which take place at the end of the two year course. All papers contain a mixture of short and longer answer questions as well as multiple choice questions.

THIS COURSE GOES WELL WITH…

Biology and Physics; studied together with Mathematics. This combination provides an excellent foundation for degree level Chemistry as well as a wide range of other science, medical and engineering courses.

Entry requirements

3 A Level Programme

Minimum of 66444 at GCSE

You must also study English/Maths GCSE if you have not already achieved grade 4 in these subjects.

If you achieve a minimum of 3 GCSE's at grade 8 plus 5 at grade 7 and your English Language and Maths are at minimum grade 4, you will have the option to join the A Plus programme.

Please note that A Plus is designed for applicants to academic courses at Oxford, Cambridge or Russel Group.

Your next steps...

YOU CAN GO ON TO DO...

Chemistry, medicine, veterinary science, dentistry or pharmacy at university and extremely useful for the biological sciences. It is also an excellent preparation for an extensive range of scientific and non-science careers.

For more courses like this, check our courses page.