Most of what you revise is gone within a few days. That is just how memory works. Two techniques, spaced repetition and active recall, are the best-evidenced ways around it, and that's all these GCSE and A-Level Anki decks really are: those two methods, done for you.
Re-reading notes and highlighting feel productive, which is probably why most people do them. The research is less kind: in study after study, both come out near the bottom for how much you actually remember afterwards. Two other methods keep coming out on top, and the decks are built on those two.
In the 1880s, Hermann Ebbinghaus measured how quickly he forgot things he had just learned. The drop was steep. Without going back over it, you lose a big part of new information within a few days. Cramming runs straight into this, which is why it fades so fast.
If you go back over something just as you're about to forget it, the memory lasts a bit longer before it fades again. Do that a few times, leaving bigger gaps each time, and it holds for months.
Anki works out those gaps for you, so your time goes on the cards you're about to lose rather than the ones you already know.
Trying to remember an answer does more for your memory than reading it again. Researchers call it the testing effect, and it turns up again and again: students who test themselves remember more than students who reread the same material. A flashcard is just a small test you set yourself.
The grey line is forgetting with no review: a steep slide. Each indigo step is a review. It brings the memory back up, and the next slide is gentler than the last. After a few rounds the line barely drops, which is roughly what's happening when a topic finally feels easy.
If you want to read the research yourself: Ebbinghaus (1885) on the forgetting curve; Roediger and Karpicke (2006) on the testing effect; and Dunlosky et al. (2013), a review that rated practice testing and spaced practice as the two most useful study techniques of the ten it looked at.
Anki and past papers.
Anki is the best way to commit facts to memory. Past papers are also essential for learning how to apply your knowledge to unfamiliar scenarios and to learn exam technique. I used this
Anki works out an optimal schedule so you see cards just before you forget them. For me this was around 20 to 30 minutes a day per subject, most of it on the bus.
Once a topic felt solid in Anki, I'd do past-paper questions on it. That's where you find the difference between knowing a fact and answering the question they've actually set, which is rarely the same thing.
Anything I got wrong went back into Anki as a new card. After a few weeks, the questions I kept dropping marks on stopped being a problem, because each one had become a card I now saw regularly.
I used this method to get ten grade 9s in my GCSEs and four A*s in my A-Levels.
See the decksThe Chemistry deck is the top Chemistry deck on AnkiWeb, and these are some of the comments people left. There are plenty more on the deck page if you'd like to read them.
“I used this around 3 weeks before my GCSEs and I got a 9! Honestly would recommend to everybody doing Chemistry GCSE. Remember to pair this up with past papers as well! Thank you so much!!”
“Did these flashcards, got 171/200 in my GCSE chemistry exams, the boundary for a grade 9 was 149/200.”
“Top tier flashcards, was able to score 162/200 (Grade 9). Thanks to these flashcards as an excellent guide.”
“If you're searching for a Chemistry deck for your GCSEs, you can stop now, this has to be the most organised deck for AQA GCSE I have ever seen.”
“These flashcards are beautiful, oh my god. They cover everything better than cognito flashcards could. I do not feel as stressed thanks to these.”
“The best Chemistry GCSE deck I've managed to find BY FAR. 100% recommend. Please make decks for other subjects too!”
Every card is hand-written and follows the exam specification exactly: everything you need to know, and nothing you don't.
Full coverage: Atomic structure & the periodic table · Bonding & structure · Quantitative chemistry · Chemical changes · Energy changes · Rate & extent of change · Organic chemistry · Chemical analysis · Chemistry of the atmosphere · Using resources
Full coverage: Cell biology · Organisation · Infection & response · Bioenergetics · Homeostasis & response · Inheritance, variation & evolution · Ecology
Full coverage: Energy · Electricity · Particle model of matter · Atomic structure · Forces · Waves · Magnetism & electromagnetism · Space physics
Full coverage: Natural hazards · The living world · Physical landscapes in the UK · Urban issues & challenges · The changing economic world · Resource management
Full coverage: Christianity · Islam · Relationships & families · The existence of God · Religion, peace & conflict · Religious & non-religious dialogue
Full coverage: Systems & components · Data representation · Networks · Ethical & legal issues · Algorithms · Programming · Design, testing & IDEs
Full coverage: Biological molecules · Cell structure · Exchange & transport · Genetic information & variation · Energy transfers · Organisms responding to change · Genetics, populations & ecosystems · Control of gene expression
Full coverage: Foundations of physics · Forces & motion · Electrons, waves & photons · Newtonian world & astrophysics · Particles & medical physics
Full coverage: Biological molecules · Cell structure · Exchange & transport · Genetic information & variation
Full coverage: Foundations of physics · Forces & motion · Electrons, waves & photons
All GCSE decks are written for the Higher tier of each specification. Payment and downloads are handled securely by Payhip, so your card details never touch my site. Card counts are rough and shift a little as I keep tidying the decks up. If your exam board isn't here, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
I made the original versions of these decks for my GCSEs, and using them + past papers, achieved 10 grade 9s at GCSE and 4 A*s at A-Level. Every deck is hand-written to match the specification exactly, with nothing missing and nothing extra you don't need.
Anki is a free flashcard app that does the spaced-repetition scheduling for you, so you don't have to plan your own reviews. You'll need it to use these decks. It's free on desktop, web and Android; on iPhone it's a one-off paid app. Once it's installed, a deck imports in a few seconds.
Pick the version for your device, make a free AnkiWeb account, and you're set:
Make a free AnkiWeb account and sign in on each device. That keeps your decks and progress synced everywhere, so you can revise on your phone and pick up on your laptop.
Payhip handles the checkout. As soon as you've paid, you get a download link and an email with the .apkg file. The free Chemistry deck downloads straight from its AnkiWeb page.
Once you've got the .apkg file and Anki installed, importing takes a few seconds:
.apkg file, or open Anki and go to File → Import and choose it. The deck appears in your list, ready to study..apkg in your Files/Downloads and choose Open with AnkiDroid, or use the menu in AnkiDroid and tap Import..apkg from the Files app or your confirmation email, tap the share icon and choose Copy to AnkiMobile.If you study on more than one device, sync once after importing (the sync button, top of the screen) and the deck shows up everywhere you're signed in.
Each deck says which board it follows. The GCSE sciences, Geography and RS follow AQA. GCSE Computer Science follows OCR J277. A-Level Biology follows AQA and A-Level Physics follows OCR A. A lot of the content overlaps between boards, but it's worth checking against your own specification first. If yours isn't here, ask and I'll see what I can do.
Yes. It's the original deck, free on AnkiWeb, where it's been downloaded over 22,000 times. It's there so you can try the method before paying for anything.
Yes. Anki syncs between desktop, web, Android and iPhone, so you can do your cards wherever you are. You only buy a deck once.
These are instant downloads, so I can't usually refund once you've got the file. If there's a real problem with a deck, get in touch and I'll either fix it or refund you.
Got a question, some feedback, a card that looks off, an exam board you'd like, or anything else?