AQA
You will already be familiar with many of the topics that are studied in A level Physics, including forces, waves, radioactivity, electricity and magnetism. At A-level, you’ll look at these areas in more detail and find out how they are interconnected. You will also learn how to apply maths to real-world problems and explore new areas such as particle physics, cosmology and medical physics.
Perhaps more importantly, you will develop skills that can be transferred to just about any other area of work, from setting up a business to saving the planet. Even if you don’t go on to become a physicist, learning to think like one will help you get to the root of any problem and draw connections that aren’t obvious to others. Physics won’t give you all the answers, but it will teach you how to ask the right questions.
Although only a lucky few get the chance to become an astronaut, studying physics can help you land a job in space. You could become a cosmologist and investigate the evolution of the universe, a planet-hunter who searches for habitable planets around other stars or an astrophysicist who searches for dark matter and black holes. If you prefer something more hands-on, there are also lots of UK jobs in space engineering.
Architects and civil engineers design all sorts of buildings, from schools to skyscrapers, as well as other vital structures like bridges, dams and tunnels. A-level physics could be your first step towards a career in building a better world. Whether you want to be a surgeon or a clinical scientist, understanding physics is important if you want to work in modern medicine. Physics has revolutionised the diagnosis and treatment of illness. Surgery is now routinely carried out using lasers; cancer is treated using radiation, and new ways of using physics to see inside our bodies are being developed every year.
Course outline
The full A Level course is assessed by three written examinations taken by all candidates at the end of the Upper Sixth:
Paper 1 – Particles and Radiation, Periodic Motion, Mechanics and Materials, Waves, Electricity and Measurements and their Errors.
Paper 2 - Nuclear Physics, Thermal Physics, Fields and their Consequences.
Paper 3 - Practical Skills and Data Analysis (based on key experiments performed throughout the course), plus one option topic (likely to be Astrophysics).
Entry requirements
As with all A Level subjects, Physics at this level is a lot more demanding than GCSE. It is very helpful if students have at least a grade 7 in GCSE Physics or Additional Science before starting the course, alongside a grade 7 or better in GCSE Maths. Above all we want students who are keen to be fully involved in lessons and are driven by a strong desire to improve and achieve their full potential.
Students often ask whether they need to also study A level Mathematics. It is definitely helpful and the vast majority of physics students nationally would study both. Maths would be required to study physics or engineering beyond the sixth form, with Further Maths being a distinct advantage at top universities.