HSC · VCE · IB · Years 7–10

Chemistry is where most students first encounter Science that genuinely challenges them.
We close that gap.

The jump from Year 10 to Modules 5 through 8 is steep — and the marking rubrics reward precision that classroom teaching rarely has time to develop. For students in Years 7 to 10, we make sure they never face that gap in the first place.

Our Edge

Most tutors know their subject.
We know the marking scheme.

Having trained in NESA marking rubrics through the ACU Secondary Teaching programme, we do not simply teach Chemistry. We teach how Chemistry is assessed — the specific language, the required depth, and the structural approaches that the marking guidelines reward.

Every Chemistry session is structured around the CORE™ Method — Concept Clarity, Observation & Data Analysis, Reasoning & Application, and Evidence-Based Expression. It is not a generic study framework. It was built specifically for Science, and it shows.

HSC Chemistry — Years 11 & 12

The full two-year course. Every module. Every mark.

From the Year 11 Preliminary foundations through to the Year 12 HSC modules. The Year 11 content is assumed knowledge for the HSC examination — making it as important as anything in Year 12.

Year 11 · Module 1

Properties and Structure of Matter

Atomic structure, periodicity, chemical bonding, and the properties of matter. The module that establishes the conceptual language of Chemistry — students who understand it deeply find everything that follows more intuitive.

Year 11 · Module 2

Introduction to Quantitative Chemistry

The mole concept, stoichiometry, and concentration calculations. Where many students first encounter Chemistry that demands mathematical precision. We build this fluency carefully, because quantitative reasoning underpins every subsequent module.

Year 11 · Module 3

Reactive Chemistry

Types of chemical reactions, predicting products, and the reactivity series. Where students learn to think about Chemistry as transformation — matter changing from one form to another according to patterns that can be understood and predicted.

Year 11 · Module 4

Drivers of Reactions

Energy changes in reactions, enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy. The most conceptually demanding of the Year 11 modules — and the one that most directly prepares students for the equilibrium content of Module 5.

Year 12 · Module 5

Equilibrium and Acid Reactions

Understanding Le Chatelier's Principle at the level of a 6-mark response, not a multiple choice answer. We work through ICE tables, buffer systems, and titration curves until the logic is intuitive, not memorised.

Year 12 · Module 6

Acid/Base Reactions

The module most students underestimate and most examiners use to separate Band 5 from Band 6. Brønsted-Lowry theory, Ka and Kb calculations, titration analysis, and oxidation-reduction reactions.

Year 12 · Module 7

Organic Chemistry

Hydrocarbons, functional groups, reaction pathways, and analytical techniques. We teach this structurally — so you understand why reactions happen, which means you can answer questions you have never seen before.

Year 12 · Module 8

Applying Chemical Ideas

Chemical analysis, monitoring the environment, and industrial applications. Often treated as an afterthought. We treat it as the opportunity it is — a module where prepared students consistently outperform their class rank.

Junior Science — Years 7 to 10

The students who arrive at HSC Chemistry with confidence are the ones who built the right habits in Years 7 to 10.

Our Junior Science programme is taught by a qualified Chemistry teacher with a PhD in Biochemistry. This is not a university student working through a textbook with your child. It is a specialist who understands the NSW Science curriculum from Stage 4 through to Stage 6 — and who teaches Junior Science with one eye always on where the content leads.

We cover the full Science curriculum for Years 7 to 10: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth and Space Science. The focus throughout is on scientific literacy, data interpretation, and the analytical habits that NESA embeds in Stage 6 outcomes. Students who build these foundations early find the HSC transition significantly less daunting.

VCE Chemistry — Units 1 to 4

SACs and the final examination. We prepare for both.

VCE Chemistry is assessed through School-Assessed Coursework across the year and a final external examination. Units 1 and 2 build the conceptual and quantitative foundations; Units 3 and 4 form the basis of the study score. We are fully across the current study design.

Unit 1

How can the diversity of materials be explained?

Atomic structure, chemical bonding, properties of materials, and an introduction to organic chemistry — including green chemistry principles. The unit that establishes the conceptual language of VCE Chemistry.

Unit 2

What makes water such a unique chemical?

Properties of water, solubility, acids and bases, and redox reactions. A unit that rewards students who can connect molecular-level explanations to observable phenomena. Stoichiometric calculations build the quantitative fluency that Units 3 and 4 demand.

Unit 3

How can chemical processes be designed to optimise efficiency?

Energy from fuels, galvanic and electrolytic cells, and equilibrium systems. Where VCE Chemistry becomes genuinely demanding — and where PhD-level electrochemistry and thermodynamics knowledge makes a measurable difference.

Unit 4

How are carbon-based compounds designed for purpose?

Organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and chemical analysis using spectroscopy and chromatography. The 2024 study design introduced significant restructuring here. We teach the current content exclusively.

IB Chemistry — HL & SL

The difference between a 5 and a 7 is almost always in the quality of scientific reasoning.

We cover the full IB Chemistry syllabus across both levels: structure and bonding, energetics and thermochemistry, kinetics, equilibrium, acids and bases, redox, organic chemistry, and measurement and data processing. At HL, we extend into additional depth as the syllabus requires.

A particular strength is Internal Assessment support. The IA accounts for 20% of the final grade and is where many capable students lose marks unnecessarily — through weak research question design, insufficient data analysis, or an underdeveloped conclusion. With a PhD in Biochemistry, we understand what a genuinely well-designed scientific investigation looks like.

Free Resource

Download our free Module 6 Equilibrium Summary.

The same resource we use in every Camperdown Strategy Session. No email required.

Ready to begin?

15 minutes. No obligation. Just a conversation.

Tell us which modules are causing the most pressure and we will put together a plan. Invoice arrives after the first session — never before.