I have mentioned a few times that my youngest has finished his KS3 Biology and Physics and has started working on IGCSE content for these subjects. I think part of the reason that we got through it all so quickly was because my oldest did these as her IGCSE subjects so I knew where we were going and what we needed to do, I was confident. However my oldest did not do IGCSE Chemistry so KS3 Chemistry is the one Science where I have been doubting myself and wondering if we have done enough and if we are really ready to start IGCSE Chemistry. And while I was doubting myself I remembered that Oaka Books had a number of their packs on the Oaka Digital platform so I went to have a look to see if that could be something we could use as a revision.

When I went to have a look (it has been a while since I went onto their digital platform) I was actually really impressed with how much it has grown and developed.

Firstly they have split it into the Key Stage sections so you can easily to get to where you want (I love simple menus that send you to the correct place, I have been known to quit a few educational websites because I could just not find the items I was searching for).

Once you select your Key Stage you then go and and select your subject (Now quick qualification if you buy a subscription for Key Stage 3 you get access to ALL the subjects in KS3 – which is quite a LOT of content). For KS3 they have Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, Geography and French.

So We selected KS3 Chemistry – they have included these 5 packs (the ones in the pics below).

At this stage you select which topic you want to work on e.g Simple Chemical Reactions.

The first thing you are presented with is the Oaka Topic book, which you read online (in other words you can not print the topic book out, you read it while you are logged onto their site).

Once you have read the topic booklet (you click on a little button saying mark complete) you now move onto Complete the Workbook. At This stage you download and print out the booklet so the kids can complete it themselves.

Okay I thought that would be it, but noooooo. Next there is a wordsearch followed by 6 3D models (the number of 3D models does vary based on which topic you are looking at). But I have to just say I love the idea of these 3D models because it is a great way for the kids to really see what they have been learning about and the kids can play around a bit and click on some of the numbers to get pop up boxes of information. We loved these.

And then there are still a few quizzes (Big plus on adding these quizzes!!) because it was a quick and easy way to check what was understood and what we possibly needed to revise.

And then you have completed one of your topics and it is time to select another.

We have always enjoyed the Oaka packs and have used them for years but I have to say I really enjoyed the digital platform because they have what you expect (the topic book and the workbook) but they have also added in the 3D models and the quizzes which are really useful.

I think it is a great resource for us to sharpen up our Chemistry and I am really enjoying using it.

Admin – This is NOT a paid for post. But Oaka did kindly give us a subscription for Free (after I mentioned I was keen to use it) so that we could test it out for ourselves and then write about it if we liked it.