☀️ Summer Intensives start Monday 10 August. Places are allocated after a consultation · Secure a place →
01Why grades stall 02The System 03Results 04About 05Programmes 06FAQ Book a Free Consultation

GCSE & A-Level Chemistry · AQA · OCR A · Edexcel · Summer 2026

Jump two grades in Chemistry, starting this summer.

🛡️

The iChem Guarantee: follow the programme fully and jump two grades within 12 weeks, or get 4 extra lessons free.

Summer is the one window in the year with no timetable, no homework pile and no exam panic. We use it to close the gaps that have quietly been costing marks, and to start training exam technique properly. September then begins from strength rather than catch-up.

Book a Free Consultation Prefer to learn more first? ↓
☀️

Summer Intensives · start 10 August 2026

Get ahead before term starts. We fix the foundations first, then begin training exam technique.
📚

September Groups · start 31 August 2026

Weekly small-group teaching right through the 2026/27 school year, covered by the guarantee.

Watch this first

See exactly how iChem Academy improves Chemistry grades

Book a Free Consultation

Why grades get stuck

The 4 reasons hard-working students plateau

1🧱

Shaky Foundations

A gap in an early idea never stays put. Every topic after it gets harder than it should be.

2📋

Memorisation Over Meaning

Facts learned without understanding fall apart the moment a question is worded differently.

3🧩

Isolated Learning

Topics get taught one at a time. Exams ask students to join them up.

4🎯

No Exam Thinking Training

Very few students are ever shown how an examiner actually awards the marks.

The problem isn't effort. It's method.

The fix

The iChem 3-Step Exam Thinking System™

Top students do this instinctively. We train it deliberately, in every session, on every question.

CONCEPT TRIGGER → DEPTH CONTROL → MARK-OPTIMISED STRUCTURE = MARKS

STEP 1

Concept Trigger

Work out what the question is really testing. The concept underneath it, not the topic heading.

STEP 2

Depth Control

The command word and the marks tell you how much detail to give. No waffle, and no missing steps.

STEP 3

Mark-Optimised Structure

The right words in the right order, so an examiner can award every mark in seconds.

A-Level · The system applied
Explain why HF has a higher boiling point than HCl. [3 marks]
1 · Concept Trigger
What's really being tested: intermolecular forces and electronegativity, not "the halogens".
2 · Depth Control
"Explain" means reasoning, not description. Boiling point comes down to the energy needed to overcome the forces between molecules. Three marks means three separate points.
3 · Mark-Optimised Structure
H-bonding in HF → stronger than dipole–dipole in HCl → more energy to overcome → higher boiling point.

CONCEPT → DEPTH → STRUCTURE = 3/3

GCSE · The system applied
Explain why sodium chloride has a high melting point. [3 marks]
1 · Concept Trigger
What's really being tested: ionic bonding and structure, not "properties of salt".
2 · Depth Control
"Explain" for three marks means structure, force and energy, each one stated clearly.
3 · Mark-Optimised Structure
Giant ionic lattice → strong electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions → large amount of energy needed to break the bonds → high melting point.

CONCEPT → DEPTH → STRUCTURE = 3/3

Most students are never shown any of this. It's where the marks are won and lost. Book a Free Consultation

Real results

Real students. Real grade jumps.

★★★★★

"I came to Islam after a D in my A-Level Chemistry class test. He not only got me to my final grade A — he turned Chemistry from a subject I hated into a challenge I genuinely enjoyed."

D → A
Drew Shanahan · A-Level
★★★★★

"Islam's help alone took me from a grade 5 to a grade 9 in Chemistry and Physics."

5 → 9
Irsa Malik · GCSE · now studying Pharmacy
★★★★★

"From a 5 to a 7 in a short amount of time. He always went above and beyond."

5 → 7
Husnain Zaeed · GCSE
★★★★★

"Improved my exam technique from an E to a B — and a Russell Group place."

E → B
Ayman Maandi · A-Level · Russell Group university
Islam Daoud, Founder of iChem Academy

About iChem Academy

Islam Daoud

BSc Chemistry MSc Process Systems Engineering Qualified Science Teacher 8 Years' Experience GCSE & A-Level Specialist

"Too many students work hard without ever being shown how to turn that effort into marks. That's the gap iChem Academy exists to close."

Why did you build iChem Academy?

Eight years teaching Chemistry in London schools, watching hard-working students come out of exams with grades that didn't match the work they'd put in. The knowledge was there. The marks weren't.

What did the classroom teach you?

Marking hundreds of papers made the pattern obvious. Students lose marks on how they answer, not on what they know. Examiners reward one particular way of thinking, so I built a system that trains it deliberately.

The iChem philosophy?

Fix the foundations, then train exam thinking. That's it. Over 100 students have been through it, and plenty have jumped two grades or more.

Summer Intensives and 2026/27 programmes, enrolling now

Two ways to join. One system.

Every programme is built around the iChem Exam Thinking System™. Foundations fixed first, then exam performance trained.

Every programme includes:

⭐ Most Popular

Group Mastery

Max 5 students · 2-hour weekly sessions · 8 hours per month

GCSE (Years 9–11)£240/month
A-Level (Years 12–13)£280/month

One simple monthly payment, which works out at £30 an hour for GCSE and £35 an hour for A-Level. Covered by the two-grade guarantee.

Book a Free Consultation

VIP 1-to-1 Mastery

The most targeted, tailored & intense format · weekly sessions

GCSE£240/month
A-Level£276/month

One simple monthly payment, which works out at £60 an hour for GCSE and £69 an hour for A-Level. Limited places, by consultation only.

Enquire on a Free Call

⚠ Groups are capped at 5 students. Summer and 2026/27 places are limited, and allocated after a consultation.

Not ready to book yet?

Get the free guide: "The Exam Thinking System — What Schools Don't Teach About Chemistry"

See exactly how examiners award the marks, and why hard-working students keep losing them. Sent straight to your inbox.

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Common questions

Before you book

What does the Summer Intensive involve?

Small-group sessions through August, focused on the two things that decide next year's grade: closing the gaps, and training the iChem Exam Thinking System™. We confirm the exact structure and cost on the free consultation, once I know the board and the starting point.

Are lessons online or in person?

All programmes run live online. These are interactive lessons, not recordings. Students join from anywhere in the UK, and everything is mapped to the AQA, OCR A and Edexcel specifications. Consultations take place on Google Meet.

What if my child is too far behind?

That's exactly who the programme is built for. The first job is finding the gaps, and we diagnose those on the free consultation before I recommend anything.

My child is in an exam year. Is it too late?

No. Exam-year students often make the fastest gains, because exam thinking turns knowledge they already have into marks. Starting in summer simply gives them the longest run-up.

What if the weekly session clashes with our timetable?

Group times are confirmed at enrolment and I'll match your child to a group that fits around school. If nothing fits, VIP 1-to-1 is fully flexible.

How does the two-grade guarantee work?

Follow the programme fully: attend the sessions, do the homework and the independent study. If your child hasn't jumped two grades within 12 weeks, you get 4 extra lessons free. The conditions are there because the system only works when it's actually used.

Next step

September is decided in August. Start here.

1

Book a Consultation

Free 20-minute Google Meet with Islam

2

Get a Personal Plan

An honest diagnosis and a clear recommendation

3

Start a Trial Lesson

Try the system live. Free, 40 minutes

4

Join the Programme

Structured support to the target grade

🛡️

Two grades in 12 weeks, or 4 extra lessons free.

Book Your Free Consultation