Chemistry is the study of the properties and reactions of substances. It is a science subject, so practical work is an important element.

Before starting this course:

Students should have studied Science to Intermediate level (either GCSE or GNVQ Intermediate) or Chemistry to GCSE.

Other subjects that would go well with Chemistry at AS or GCE Advanced level are Biology, Mathematics and Physics. However, other combinations of subjects including Geology and Geography are also suitable. Students who are concentrating on arts, humanities or modern language subjects may wish to take Chemistry to AS level to broaden their studies by continuing to take a science subject.

With a qualification in Chemistry a student could go on to Further or Higher Education, studying Chemistry or one of the other sciences or related subjects, such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Veterinary Science or Chemical Engineering, or work in science-based industry, the medical field or agriculture.

The course aims to:

• emphasise the ways chemistry is applied and the work that chemists do
• broaden the appeal of chemistry by showing how it relates to people's lives
• emphasise frontier areas of chemistry
• include a broad range of teaching and learning activities
• provide a rigorous and stimulating treatment of chemistry that both lays appropriate foundations for future studies, and satisfies those who will study no further chemistry.

The course is organised into teaching units , each of which is free-standing and tells its own story about modern applications of chemistry.

While working through a storyline, students make 'excursions' to study the chemical principles or to carry out activities that are needed to understand the story. This means that the important ideas in chemistry are introduced gradually and are revisited and further developed in different contexts in later units.

There are in total 13 teaching units, 5 of them constituting the AS course and 8 in the A2 course.