Advantages: Very flexible, high quality course
Disadvantages: No clear career path on graduation

...format, with an expectation to read further before your exams. This means that most of the basic material is fairly easy to understand, and it is only in your exam preperation that you may need to digest some of the more difficult stuff, if you feel you need too. In first and second year you are required to also study other courses - which I actually found a real eye opener. Being able to pick up some java programming, biology and geology was a lot of fun, and very rewarding. In third year, you specialize and study only geography modules which you can choose from a wide ranging list. From studies on sustainable tourism to climate change and the geography of prehistoric scotland to modern GIS techniques - the course offers a wide range of options, from traditional subject matter to more modern specialised options. From my own experience I... Read review

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Advantages: Detailed answers and photocopy masters
Disadvantages: Pricey

...in an engaging way. Any parent who wishes to encourage their son or daughter to achieve the highest grade or to assist a less able child to improve their understanding could find the Students' Book accompanied by this Teacher's Book to be the ideal resource. Any book that contains photocopy masters is bound to be more expensive than an ordinary book. For a private individual, £21 may seem like a high price, but for a private tutor or a family in which more than one child will be able to benefit from the book, the cost seems more reasonable. If it results in a student achieving a higher grade, it seems very worthwhile. AQA GCSE English/English Literature Teacher's Book by Geoff Barton and Joanna Crewe Oxford University Press, 2002 Spiral Bound, 128 pages ISBN 0198318944 Price £21.00 (Amazon Marketplace from £15.99 at the time of writing... Read review

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Advantages: Colourful, Fun, Useful
Disadvantages: It's revision

...Having already done two GCSE maths exams, I am currently in the process of revising for my last. The course I am doing is AQA Modular (3300). I have found this revision guide invaluable. It covers modules one, three and five, meaning you can look up anything that you are not sure about. Modules two and four are coursework, which varies from school to school, so they cannot include these. This book is aimed at those students taking the higher tier paper. The Layout CGP books are famous for their fun and colourful way of presenting information. This guide is no exception. It includes useful diagrams of graphs and shapes as well as boxes of the most important information if you just want a quick memory jog. There are worked examples that show you exactly how to get the correct answer. The style of writing is fairly informal, making... Read review

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Advantages: Laughing exercises more muscles than jogging
Disadvantages: Won't help exam revision

...'s British GCSE. (16 year olds)! Geography Q: Name the four seasons. A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink. A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists. Q: How is dew formed? A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire. Q: What is a planet? A: A body of earth surrounded by sky. Q: What causes the tides in the oceans? A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight. Sociology Q: What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on? A: If you are buying a house, they will insist you are well endowed. Q... Read review

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Advantages: Nice and varied with lots of options in the second and third years.
Disadvantages: Can be considered as not specialised enough.

...I've just finished my first year of a BSc Geography Course at Sheffield University. Sheffield has one of the best geography departments in the country and I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year. The geography department shares a building with the Town and Country Planning department and has it's own private library. This is particularly useful because it means that you can get away from it all and work without being interupted by someone doing zoology or something equally as pointless! It also means that everything you will need for you degree is contained in one building so you can go and see your tutors, work in the library and go to the toilet without having to leave the building! The best thing about the course itself is that it is nicely varied. The first year, although you don't have any choice within the geography... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent examples of texts; advice on answering
Disadvantages: Answer book sold separately

...No matter which exam board students take the GCSE English Language exam with, they will have to sit a paper that presents two non-fiction texts or 'items' which they will be questioned on and asked to compare in some way. Geoff Barton's 'Comprehension to GCSE' is a book that presents a collection of paired texts under different genres - autobiography, reportage, campaign ads, travel writing amongst others - and gives questions of the type that would be set in an exam. The questions that require fuller answers carrying between four and eight marks are followed by advice to show students what kind of information to look for in the text and how to structure a well-written response. Taking the Samaritans campaign ad as an example, the preliminary advice suggests looking at different types of advertisements on television as well... Read review

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Advantages: Well thought out and organised
Disadvantages: Perhaps lacks practice on extended activities

...This is a course book for students studying for GCSE English and English Literature with the examination board AQA, specification A. The Introduction explains that it helps to 'build the essential skills and knowledge to reach your potential in the GCSE English and English Literature exams'. There is a key for the various icons used in the book that signify spoken, reading, writing, and language activities. Students are shown that they will be able to check how good their skills are, develop and practise them, and improve them through the various activities. The speaking and listening, reading, and writing components of the course are shown in table form. There is in addition a table for the student to fill in every half term to show how confident they feel in each of the various skills. The final table in the introduction lists... Read review

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Advantages: Very easy to understand, revise in a relaxed atmosphere.
Disadvantages: There is none if you buy before your exams.

...This fantastic CD-ROM will aid you mainly in the revision for GCSE Chemistry. When your GCSEs are getting closer you probably start to panic like I did on how to manage your revision sessions, but don't worry this CD-Rom along with all the other CD-ROMs for their respective subjects will make sure you get through your revision smoothly and sufficiently. Believe me, form my experience; this could seriously help you get your revision. Firstly, you will take revision sessions for Chemistry alongside some Maths, Human Science and IT. In your revision sessions, you will take a step-by-step learning guide and will learn things related to your syllabus as you can select the syllabus you want to do. You can also manage your sessions more efficiently by selecting a time limit for each session, so you get the extra break that your mind needs... Read review

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Advantages: Able to see your progress
Disadvantages: not advanced

...At the moment i am taking my GCSE exams, I am taking 9 exams and for my revision leave I felt I needed as much help as possible buying two sets of GCSE revision guides for each subject. One being 'Letts GCSE in a week' and the other being the CGP revision guides. The two guides are completely different, the Letts tests you and gives you the answers but does not properly explain how to do everything sometimes (this is mainly for maths) leaving you wondering and not actually fully learning the way in answering correctly, where as the CPG teaches you in an easy manner with a small test at the end of every section. With Letts eventhough you do not get given the most detail in the world, you do still learn and it is always good to test your knowledge so you are able to see which areas need working on. With these Letts guides you learn... Read review

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Advantages: Straightforward questions for Foundation level
Disadvantages: Limited guidance for extended essays

...This is a workbook intended for students studying for AQA GCSE English Language, Specification A. Although forming part of the Language syllabus, this is in fact a collection of poems from the AQA Anthology. They are all poems from different cultures or traditions and most are written by non-native speakers; some of the poems, such as 'Half-Caste', feature non-standard English. In total there are sixteen poems, and they are divided into Cluster 1 and Cluster 2, eight poems each. Poems by Imtiaz Dharker and Grace Nichols are featured in both clusters, whilst Cluster 1 also includes poems by Chinua Achebe, Nissim Ezekiel, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Edward Brathwaite, Tatamkhulu Afrika and Denise Levertove. Cluster 2 additionally has poems by Sujata Bhatt, Tom Leonard, John Agard, Moniza Alvi, Niyi Osundare and Derek Walcott. In the exam... Read review

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