My Child Is Struggling With GCSE Physics — What Should We Do Before the Mocks?

If your child is heading towards GCSE Physics mocks and their scores are worrying you, resist the urge to tell them to revise the whole textbook again.

Physics is one of those subjects where a student can appear to know quite a lot — then lose marks because they cannot choose the right equation, rearrange it, interpret a graph or explain a practical properly.

So before the mocks, the priority is not:

“Do more Physics.”

It is:

“Find out exactly where the marks are disappearing.”

Start with their latest Physics test

Take the most recent school assessment or past-paper section and look beyond the percentage.

Separate the mistakes.

Was your child losing marks because they:

did not know the Physics content? knew the equation but chose the wrong one? struggled to rearrange equations? forgot units or conversions? could not explain a required practical? misunderstood a graph? gave a vague written explanation? ran out of time?

That distinction matters enormously.

A student who understands energy but struggles with calculations needs different support from one who does not understand energy transfers at all.

Check the exam board before buying more resources

Before downloading another revision pack, confirm:

Which exam board is your child taking?

And:

Are they doing Combined Science or Separate/Triple Physics?

The content and assessment route are not identical.

For example, AQA GCSE Physics covers areas including Energy, Electricity, Particle Model of Matter, Atomic Structure, Forces, Waves, Magnetism and Electromagnetism, and Space Physics. Some content is Physics-only rather than part of Combined Science. See the official AQA GCSE Physics specification.

Using resources for the wrong course can waste valuable revision time.

Physics calculations are often where easy marks disappear

Ask your child to solve a few calculation questions without help.

Can they:

identify the correct equation? substitute numbers correctly? rearrange an equation? convert units? give the answer with the correct unit? use standard form where needed?

AQA, for example, explicitly assesses mathematical skills including ratios, standard form, rearranging equations, substitution, graphs and significant figures.

This is why memorising definitions alone will not rescue a weak Physics grade.

If calculations are the problem, spend time practising the same skill in several different contexts until your child can recognise the method independently.

Do not ignore required practicals

Parents sometimes assume practical work is something students only need in the laboratory.

It can appear in the written exam too.

Students may need to explain:

variables apparatus methods measurements graphs sources of error improvements to an investigation conclusions from data

Under AQA GCSE Physics, questions drawing on required practical work account for at least 15% of the qualification marks.

So before the mocks, ask your child:

“Could you explain the practical without simply memorising the steps?”

If the answer is no, that deserves revision time.

Equations: knowing them is not enough

A student may proudly know an equation such as:

energy transferred = power × time

Then completely miss the question because it was presented through an unfamiliar situation.

Physics revision should therefore move through three stages:

Know the relationship.

Know what each quantity and unit means.

Recognise when the relationship is needed inside an exam question.

That third step is where many students struggle.

AQA's current specification requires students to recall some equations and select others from the Physics equation sheet, depending on the equation and tier.

So revision should focus on using equations, not simply staring at an equation sheet.

Written Physics answers need precision

Another common problem is:

“But that is what I meant!”

Unfortunately, examiners can only mark what was written.

For explanation questions, students should practise using the actual Physics.

Instead of:

“The particles move more.”

they may need something more precise about kinetic energy, speed, collisions or forces, depending on the question.

When reviewing past questions, compare the student's answer with the mark scheme and ask:

Which scientific idea was missing?

That is much more useful than memorising whole model answers.

What should revision look like before the mocks?

Do not try to cover every chapter equally.

Choose the three weakest areas first.

A sensible week might look like:

Session 1: reteach one weak topic

Session 2: calculation questions from that topic

Session 3: exam questions and written explanations

Weekend: mixed questions from old and new topics, followed by corrections

Then repeat.

The goal is to stop the same mistake from appearing on every paper.

What if your child says, “I understand it when the teacher explains it”?

That is not yet enough.

After teaching a topic, give them an unseen exam question.

No notes.

No hints.

If they cannot decide how to begin, they may understand the explanation but not yet be able to apply the knowledge independently.

That is often exactly what mock exams expose.

If this has been happening across several subjects, our guide on 7 signs it may be time to hire a GCSE tutor may help you decide whether additional support is needed.

Do not wait for the mock result to confirm what you already know

Mocks are useful because they show where a student currently stands.

But if your child is already consistently struggling with Physics, you do not need to wait for another disappointing result before acting.

There is still time to strengthen:

knowledge gaps equations calculations practical skills written explanations exam technique

The sooner those weaknesses are identified, the more useful the weeks before the real GCSE exams become.

Is your child struggling with GCSE Physics before the mocks?

At OTA Learning Studio, we provide personalised one-to-one GCSE Science support built around the student's actual weaknesses.

We can work through difficult Physics topics, calculations, equations, required practicals and exam-style questions — instead of simply giving your child another generic revision pack.

If your child is heading towards mocks and you are worried that Physics is becoming one of their weakest subjects, you can book a free parent or student consultation.

Bring a recent test result or tell us which areas they are struggling with.

We can identify what is costing the marks and start working on those gaps before the mocks turn them into another disappointing grade.