i
Hours do not equal marks
A student can revise for six hours and still lose the same marks in the exam. Examiners reward specific skills. Notes and flashcards do not always train them.
Exam Intensive · Summer 2027 series
Your exam date is fixed. Your grade is still moving.
A capped, 90-day programme for A-Level and GCSE social science students. We measure the starting point in the January mock, close the gaps, then prove the progress in the February mock. No guessing, no vague reassurance.
Social sciences only
Every educator DBS checked
Free 30-minute consultation
The deadline
The calendar will not move for anyone.
The exam boards (AQA, Pearson Edexcel and others) share one national timetable. A mock is a practice exam, usually sat in school in January or February. The real papers begin in May.
Why most last-term revision fails
Revision is not the same as progress.
ii
The mock arrives, then nothing changes
A mock grade tells you where a student is. It rarely tells you why, or what to do on Monday. The result gets filed and the old habits return.
iii
No one is measuring the gap
Parents hear “working hard” or “needs to push on”. Few families can see which skill is costing marks, or whether it is improving.
The 90-day measured window
Two mocks. One measurable gap closed.
Your child's January mock is the starting line. The February mock is the first proof. A final check before study leave confirms the work is holding. Each reading is marked against the same criteria, so the movement is real.
The 90-day window
Now to January
Calibrate
Academic DNA diagnostic. Each paper mapped to what the board rewards, by assessment objective. A weekly plan built around how your child learns.
January mock · Day 0
Baseline
Sat under exam conditions. Marked against the criteria. You receive the grade gap by skill and by topic, in a parent briefing before and after.
Jan to Feb
Close the gaps
Two to three sessions a week under exam conditions. Weekly progress reviews. The plan is re-cut each week from the latest marked work.
February mock · Proof
Measure again
The same criteria, a second reading. You see what moved, what did not, and where the final weeks should go.
March to April · Day 90
Verify
Timed papers, command-word drilling and a final verification against the criteria before study leave begins.
The mock dates come from your child's school and move with its calendar. If a school sits no mock in this window, we set one under exam conditions so there is still a baseline. The month labels above are a guide, not a promise of exact dates.
What runs every week
Most teaching covers the subject. We teach the criterion.
The criterion is what examiners reward, mark by mark. Every week of the programme runs through four phases.
I
Criterion Mapping
We map each paper to what the mark scheme rewards, so study time goes where marks are.
II
DNA Alignment
Your Academic DNA Diagnostic shows how you learn best. Teaching is shaped to it.
III
Criterion Training
Timed, exam-style practice on the skills each question type needs.
IV
Criterion Verification
Work is marked against the criterion, and gaps feed the next week's plan.
What is included
Per subject, for the whole exam cycle.
Everything below is part of the programme. Nothing is billed by the hour.
Every week
The working rhythm of the programme.
- Two to three sessions a week under exam conditions
- Exam technique and command-word training (“analyse”, “evaluate”, “assess”)
- Selected work marked by examiner-experienced academic instructors against the CC framework
- A weekly progress review, with the next week's plan adjusted
Around each mock
So parents are never guessing.
- Academic diagnostic and analysis of how your board assesses each paper
- Assessment-objective breakdown (knowledge, application, analysis, evaluation) per subject, per paper
- A parent briefing before and after each mock
- Clear written updates for families abroad
What you will see
Movement you can read at a glance.
After each mock, the parent briefing shows how many marks your child earned on each assessment objective. Two readings, side by side. The example shown here uses invented numbers so you can see the layout.
Illustrative
Mock-to-mock movement
AO1 · Knowledge62% → 71%
AO2 · Application48% → 63%
AO3 · Analysis41% → 58%
AO4 · Evaluation33% → 49%
January mockFebruary mock
Illustrative data. Real briefings use your child's own marked work and are shared with you privately.
Evidence
What happens when students stay the course.
90%
of students who work with us for two terms or more improve by at least two grades.7
How we measure this: 35 students in the 2023 to 2026 cohort who worked with us for at least two terms, engaged with their academic advisor and used CC resources. Starting grades are the grades students reported, checked against a school report where available. 90% improved by at least two grades in CC assessment, and 90% by at least one grade in their final results. Final results can be affected by things outside learning. This is our own record, not an independent audit.
EconomicsBusinessSociologyPsychologyGeography
Boards: AQA and Pearson Edexcel. Summer 2027 is the final sitting of AQA A-Level Business 7132; the new 7138 specification has its first A-Level exams in 2028.3 We teach to whichever your child is entered for.
Selective by design
Exam Intensive is not for everyone.
The programme is capped so each student gets real attention. We would rather say no early than take a place that will not be used well.
Right for you if
- Your child sits GCSE or A-Level exams in summer 2027
- They study Economics, Business, Sociology, Psychology or Geography
- A mock in January or February is planned or can be arranged
- They will do the work between sessions
- You want evidence of progress, not reassurance
Better suited elsewhere if
- Your child's A-Level exams are in summer 2028 (see the Pathway below)
- The subject is Maths or a science. We teach social sciences only
- You want a few one-off lessons billed by the hour
- There is no time to begin before the January mock
Investment
One fee per subject. Capped places.
Exam Intensive
£6,200per subject · per exam cycle · one student
Paid in two equal instalments of £3,100. Priced per subject, so a student studying two subjects invests £12,400 across the cycle.
Places are capped
We take a limited number of students each cycle so every one gets full attention. We confirm availability at your free consultation.
- Free 30-minute academic strategy consultation, subject to academic fit
- Two to three sessions a week, weekly progress reviews
- Baseline and progress marked against the same criteria
Is your child in Year 12?
Their exam that counts is summer 2028.
In England, A-Level grades are decided by exams at the end of the two-year course.4 Year 12 results also shape the predicted grades many schools send to universities.5 A 90-day sprint is the wrong tool for a two-year problem. The right one is a managed route from now to results day.
Who leads it
“A mock should be a measurement, not a verdict. If we can see the gap, we can close it.”
- Jay Fanimo (“Mr J”), founder. BSc Economic History, London School of Economics
- More than twelve years teaching, one-to-one and in independent, state and international schools
- Previously taught Economics and Business at David Game College, an independent college rated Outstanding by Ofsted6
- Every Curriculum Circle educator is DBS checked
Questions parents ask
Straight answers.
What if the school mock dates are not in January or February?
Mock dates differ by school. We work from yours. If there is no mock in the right window, we set one under exam conditions so there is a clear starting point and a second reading.
Is this just lessons billed by the hour?
No. Hourly lessons are a different thing. This is a managed programme with a diagnostic, a plan, marked work and measured progress. You are paying for an outcome that is tracked, not for hours.
How many subjects can my child take?
As many as the timetable allows, in our five subjects. Each subject is priced separately at £6,200 per exam cycle, paid in two instalments of £3,100.
Who marks the work?
Selected work is marked by examiner-experienced academic instructors against the CC framework. The criteria are written by Curriculum Circle. We do not use exam board papers or mark schemes inside our paid materials.
Can overseas families join?
Yes. Sessions run online and parent updates are written in clear English. Please tell us your time zone and any language needs when you apply.
What happens after I apply?
We reply within 24 hours. If the fit looks right, we book a free 30-minute strategy consultation. If it does not, we will say so plainly and, where we can, point you to a better option.
Our exams are in 2028. Can we still apply?
Yes, but the Integrated Academic Pathway is usually the better fit for Year 12 students. Our consultation will confirm which is right.
Apply
Check your child's place.
Tell us where your child is today. The answers help us decide whether Exam Intensive is the right programme and whether we have space.
- You apply. It takes about three minutes.
- We reply within 24 hours and, if there is a fit, book a free 30-minute strategy consultation.
- You decide. If you go ahead, the diagnostic and baseline plan start straight away.
Sources
- Joint Council for Qualifications, Key dates in the examination cycle, June 2027 series: first exam 10 May 2027; final GCSE exam 18 June; final GCE exam 22 June; contingency day 23 June. jcq.org.uk
- A-Level results day, Thursday 12 August 2027, as reported from the JCQ key dates. Third Space Learning, “GCSE results day 2027”. thirdspacelearning.com. Please confirm with your school nearer the time.
- AQA, AS and A-level Business: new specification (7137, 7138) for first teaching September 2026, first AS exams 2027, first A-level exams 2028; the outgoing specification continues for cohorts taking exams in 2027. aqa.org.uk (news) · aqa.org.uk (7132)
- Pearson Edexcel, “A levels are now fully linear, with students sitting their exams at the end of the two-year course”; AS levels are stand-alone. qualifications.pearson.com
- Examples of sixth forms setting UCAS predicted grades from Year 12 end-of-year exams: Beauchamp College; St Michael's Catholic Grammar School. Practice varies by school.
- Ofsted, David Game College (URN 100544): rated Outstanding. reports.ofsted.gov.uk
- The Curriculum Circle, internal results record, 2023 to 2026 cohort (35 students). Self-reported starting grades; not independently audited. Method summarised above.