Active recall and spaced repetition for A-levels
Dr Lavan Ganeshkumar, PhD · updated 4 October 2026
Active recall and spaced repetition are the two techniques with the strongest evidence for learning. Active recall means pulling information out of your memory instead of looking at it. Spaced repetition means doing that again after longer and longer gaps. Together they beat rereading and highlighting by a wide margin.
This is why a student who rereads for hours can feel prepared and still go blank in the exam.
Active recall
Close the notes and write down everything you remember about a topic, then check what you missed. Or answer a question from memory before looking at the answer. The effort of retrieving is what strengthens the memory.
Spaced repetition
Revisit the topic after a day or two, then a week, then a month. The gaps should feel slightly uncomfortable, because you are about to forget. That is when recall does most good.
Why highlighting and rereading fail
They make the page feel familiar, which feels like knowing. Familiarity is not recall. An exam asks you to produce the answer, so you must practise producing it.
How to use them for A-level subjects
- Chemistry and biology: recall definitions, mechanisms and processes from a blank page, then check against the notes.
- Physics: recall the idea and equation, then solve a question without the formula sheet in front of you.
- Maths: redo worked examples from scratch, and revisit methods on a schedule.
- Everywhere: keep a list of questions you got wrong and redo them after a gap.
Tools and a simple schedule
Flashcard apps such as Anki automate spacing, and a paper box system works too. A simple pattern is to revisit new material after one day, one week and one month. The key is that every revisit is a test, not a read.
Where Trayna fits, and where it does not
Trayna is a 24/7 online tutor in your pocket, on your tablet and on the web. Dr Lavan teaches you the topics in the app any time, anywhere, and an adaptive plan reinforces them each day from now to your exam. It is there for students who cannot afford 1-to-1 tutoring, and it is built to act like a 1-to-1 tutor: it teaches, it checks, and it adapts to how you are doing. The aim is that you really understand the subject and are prepared for it, not just that you have revised it. It is A-level only, for Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology. Maths follows Edexcel; Chemistry, Physics and Biology follow AQA.
Trayna schedules the recall for you, so you do not have to build the deck or keep the calendar.
It is for both Year 12 and Year 13. Year 13 students already use it, and Year 13 topics are being added as current students need them while Year 12 is the most complete, so check your topics in the app. If you only want free past papers, PMT does that better than we do, and we would rather you used it.
Common questions
What is active recall?
Retrieving information from memory instead of looking at it, for example writing down what you remember about a topic with the notes closed. The effort of retrieving is what builds memory.
What is spaced repetition?
Revisiting material after increasing gaps, for example after a day, a week and a month, so that you recall it just before you would forget it.
What are the best revision techniques for A-level?
Active recall, spaced repetition and practising exam questions marked against the mark scheme. Rereading and highlighting are the least effective.
Does highlighting work?
Not much. It makes notes feel familiar without helping you produce answers, which is what exams test.
Does the Feynman technique work for A-level science?
Yes, for understanding. Explaining a topic in simple words without notes exposes gaps. Combine it with questions marked against the scheme.
Trayna does this automatically. You enter your subjects, your exam dates and how long you have each day, and it builds the route from today to those exams, then adapts it as you go. Maths follows Edexcel; Chemistry, Physics and Biology follow AQA.
Get Trayna on the App Store · on Google Play
Free for 14 days, then from £9.99 a month. Cancel any time.