FAQs

Chemistry Unlocked has been created to support children studying to take AQA GCSE Chemistry examinations, whether they are taking the single science Chemistry course or the Combined Science (Trilogy) course at Foundation or Higher tier. The vast majority of 14-16 year olds in England are taking one of these courses. If in doubt, ask your child to check with their teacher.

AQA have two different specifications for Combined Science. The most popular is Combined Science Trilogy. Chemistry Unlocked has been written to be completely aligned with the Trilogy specification. There is another specification called Combined Science (Synergy).

The content of all GCSE Chemistry specifications follow the same national guidelines and requirements. Theoretically any comprehensive Chemistry GCSE course will suit any exam board or specification. However, there are subtle differences between boards and specifications, and Chemistry Unlocked has been created to exactly match the Trilogy specification for AQA Combined Science. If your child is studying a different specification they will benefit for Chemistry Unlocked, but those Combined Science students taking AQA Trilogy will benefit more.

Students can use Chemistry Unlocked as they go through GCSE learning in years 9, 10 and 11, or can use the platform as the focus for their revision and exam preparation in year 11. Our podcast episodes explain all the details in every topic, in friendly accessible language, including examples and advice on exam technique. The student can listen and follow what they are hearing onscreen. Your child can assess their learning in multiple choice tests, which can be taken again and again, so they can see themselves improving. Worksheets consolidate understanding, and there are optional Workbooks for purchase for each chapter.

The workbooks are currently exclusively available on our online store at amazon.co.uk. Click here to be taken to the store.

Absolutely not. Chemistry Unlocked has been created to offer all students of GCSE single science chemistry and Combined Science (Trilogy) a tailored learning experience. When setting up an account you choose which course and tier they are currently studying in school. All the resources for that course and tier will appear in the order they are sequenced in the specification. If their course or tier changes, you can update this from a dropdown menu in Your Account, and the correct resources for their new level of entry will be displayed next time they login.

Absolutely not. Chemistry Unlocked has been created to offer all students of GCSE single science chemistry and Combined Science (Trilogy) a tailored learning experience. When setting up an account you choose which course and tier they are currently studying in school. All the resources for that course and tier will appear in the order they are sequenced in the specification. If their course or tier changes, you can update this from a dropdown menu in Your Account, and the correct resources for their new level of entry will be displayed.

If you don’t know the course and tier that your child is studying, then you can select “Don’t know” from the dropdown menu at account setup. This will allow you to access the platform, and you can come back later the correct option for them later. If you select “Don’t know” your child will see the resources for Combined Science (Trilogy) Higher tier.

Yes, Chemistry Unlocked may be particularly useful for those who are homeschooling. Everything the student needs to know for their GCSE is covered in detail in an accessible format, and the opportunity to practice assessment and track progress will be really helpful. Please note that Chemistry Unlocked has been developed to support Chemistry GCSE students. It should not be considered as a standalone replacement for teaching by qualified staff.

PayItMonthly is a separate company from The Unlocked Learning Company Limited that provides credit for Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) purchases. If you choose to subscribe through PayItMonthly you will be redirected to their website where you will be able to apply for a credit account with them. If you set up a credit account, this will be with PayItMonthly and not with The Unlocked Learning Company.

The cost to you to create a subscription is the same whether you pay in full using a credit/debit card in one go, or if you use Buy Now Pay Later with PayItMonthly*.

Yes, in fact there is a separate platform for use in schools. This platform gives you and your colleagues an account each, and also gives a fixed number of your students their own account to access the platform 24/7. You can contact your students (by email) from the platform and easily set differentiated work and cover for students in mixed ability sets. You can track student work and their outcomes from multiple choice tests, and obtain data on their progress by chapter and paper. To access these features your school can purchase an institute licence.

That’s understandable. And yes, you can try before you buy! The easiest – no commitment – way to learn more about the platform in practice is to fill in the Book a Demo form. We will be in touch to arrange the most suitable kind of demo for your team, whether that is a visit from one of our team, a Zoom call, or by letting you have some time limited access to explore on your own.

With a school subscription you can set up teacher manager, teacher, cover manager, cover teacher and student accounts. Everyone can access all of the content on the platform. The teacher manager can access all the functionality for all sets in your school, a teacher can access functionality for their own sets, and students and cover staff can access content only. With an institute licence you also receive one set of workbooks with a licence that allows you to photocopy any pages that are then distributed to students for the purposes of teaching, learning and assessment while the licence is in place.

When your school account is set up, we will ask you to nominate the course and tier of entry for each student in each set. This will be visible to you when you look at a list of students in the set. You can select and set different work for members of the same set in one work-setting procedure.

Yes. Workbooks can be used in lessons without an institute licence if the student has their own purchased copy of the workbook. The workbooks are not to be photocopied without an institute licence. Our aim is to be able to offer the workbooks at reduced cost for bulk purchases. Please contact us directly if you are interested in making a bulk purchase of workbooks.

We have developed policies and procedures that support your privacy and the safety of your data. These are available from the footer of the website, including our data protection and privacy policy.

The Unlocked Learning Company is a small – very small – family run business. As well as being well qualified scientists and very experienced educators, we know the pain and pinch points students experience when trying to master chemistry. For us, the Chemistry Unlocked project is about creating the resources to support learning that we would like to have available in our classrooms. It would be great if you were able to support us!

Contact us on admin@drdscienceg.com. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Chemistry Unlocked is a complete learning system designed for GCSE Chemistry students. It combines podcasts, guided worksheets, and self-marking quizzes to make studying more effective and efficient. It’s aligned with the AQA specification, so you’ll be learning exactly what you need for your exams.

Redeeming your code is simple! Just head to the homepage and click the ‘Redeem Your Code’ button. Enter your code, and if it hasn’t been used before, you’ll instantly unlock full access to all the podcasts, quizzes, and online resources. It’s that easy to get started with Chemistry Unlocked!

Redeeming your code is simple! Just head to the homepage and click the ‘Redeem Your Code’ button. Enter your code, and if it hasn’t been used before, you’ll instantly unlock full access to all the podcasts, quizzes, and online resources. It’s that easy to get started with Chemistry Unlocked!