The way practical skills are assessed is changing. Our students won’t be assessed by ISAs anymore. Instead, they’ll do a series of required practical activities throughout the academic year, then the exams at the end of the course will assess their practical skills. If you are entering exams as a private candidate, you should familiarise yourself with the practical requirements for the exam board of your choice, which we have detailed below.

Practical skills feature prominently whichever board and specification you choose but the precise requirements may vary. The JCQ Awarding Bodies, AQA, Edexcel and OCR, are consistent and stipulate a minimum number of required practical activities to ensure that all apparatus and techniques are covered. Candidates selecting to follow a Cambridge International Examination (CAIE) specification will have their understanding and application of practical skills assessed during timetabled examinations. We have outlined the different structures below to ensure you are well informed when making an application.

Whichever option you choose, time spent in a laboratory honing your skills and techniques will be invaluable. For the JCQ exam boards, a minimum of 15% of the questions on the written papers will assess skills learnt through undertaking practical activities.

You can apply to sit your practical activities with MTC and book laboratory sessions with one of our tutors. Lab sessions can also be booked as preparation for the CAIE practical exams. Each session provides sufficient time for at least one practical and often two but this may vary dependent upon candidate ability and further sessions may be required.