Science

The Department

Curriculum Leader: Miss A Fotheringham                                                                                                                                          Assistant Curriculum Leader & Curriculum Leader for Chemistry: Mr D Bowyer  
Head of Biology: Dr Hamilton
Head of Physics: Mr Y Zarrouq                                                                                                                                                                                

STEAM in Science

The Science department offers a wide variety of STEAM activities. This provides students who are passionate about science or considering a career in a STEAM based environment with invaluable enrichment opportunities. All year groups have activities designed to instil a love of science and see the wider applications of the subject during British Science Week which runs each year in March.

In addition to this, Year 7 students are invited to a Science club run by staff and supported by post 16 students in the Autumn and Spring terms. Students are invited to attend and experience a number of practical activities that are linked to everyday applications of science. Year 7 students also take part in a science fair in the spring term in which they are asked to research and present an aspect of science interesting to them. The Year 8 cohort take part in the science department’s curriculum enrichment day in which they learn about using scientific principles to escape a Desert Island. Year 7 students attend a trip to Whipsnade Zoo and this is linked to the science curriculum and teaches them about conservation and how animals and plants adapt to their habitats.

Year 9 students are involved in a STEAM activity day and this is run during British Science Week. This is a cross curricular opportunity and the Maths and Design Technology departments are also involved. Students in Year 9 are also invited to take part in an event run through EDT Engineering called Carbon Capture. This encourages students to consider ways in which carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced to tackle the problems caused by global warming. Students involved are awarded a Bronze CREST award on completion.

In Year 10 students take part in the Live Operating Theatre, learning more about anatomy first hand and applying this to the GCSE curriculum. A team of science students also take part in the MBDA Glider Challenge.  At Key Stage 5 all science subjects offer students Olympiads to stretch and challenge them. Each department also runs specific activities including Physics and Biology in Action and a Spectroscopy session for chemists. These are all done at universities in London.

KS3

What will be studied?

Students are taught topics in Biology, Chemistry and Physics in rotation, three times per week. They are encouraged to think scientifically and a great emphasis is placed on Working Scientifically skills. This includes the ability to draw conclusions from data and evaluate theories. Students are also given an opportunity to ask questions and answer these about everyday phenomena that they observe.
In Year 9 all students begin a foundation stage preparing them for the GCSE course.

What support is needed?

Your child should have access to our online textbook and this can be accessed online at www.Kerboodle.com. It would be advisable to encourage her to use this resource when she is doing home learning in Science. You will also be given an opportunity to purchase a revision guide at the appropriate time in the academic year and I would urge you to take advantage of this when it becomes available. Other resources are available on the Science Hub courses that your daughter can access by logging into the Google Classroom. All students are encouraged to talk to their teacher if specific support is needed

How will they be assessed?

• Tests at the end of topic rotations, three in total
• Half-termly assessed piece of work with opportunity for feedback and response
• An end of year examination

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GCSE

Exam Board: AQA

Specification Number: Combined Science: Trilogy (8464), Biology (8461), Chemistry (8462), Physics (8463)

What will be studied?

All students will study Science at GCSE either studying Combined Science or Separate Biology, Chemistry & Physics. We follow the AQA specifications as detailed above.

The Science course aims to develop knowledge and understanding of Science and how this is related to the everyday phenomena that students have experienced. Students learn to explain these and the observations made during experimental work. A great deal of emphasis is based on thinking and working scientifically and the skills required to do so are developed through opportunities to complete Required Practical activities. Students learn to plan investigative approaches, collect data and analyse this in order to give conclusions. By the end of the course students will also be able to apply scientific knowledge to familiar and unfamiliar situations and interpret and communicate scientific information accurately.

Learning methods and assessment:

Students are encouraged to think scientifically and ask questions about their everyday life experiences. They are encouraged to draw conclusions from data and evaluate theories and hypotheses, as well as apply knowledge and understanding to new and unfamiliar situations. A great emphasis has been placed on mathematical skills required in Science and students are taught to apply what they learn in Maths to scientific problems. 

Combined Science is a mixture of all three disciplines that earns students two GCSEs. These are graded 9-1 under the new standards. As a truly combined course, the two grades achieved will be within one grade of each other (e.g. 9-9, 9-8, 8-8, 8-7 etc). The programme of study covers a wide range of topics, with students taking 5 hours of lessons per week, and is examined linearly with 6 exams that are 1h15min long, two in each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. All papers are equally weighted (16.7% of the grade). All of these will take place at the end of Year 11. Along with these exams, students are required to complete several practicals where they will learn all the necessary skills to become outstanding scientists. These will be undertaken in normal lesson time and assessed internally.

The separate Sciences are aimed to stretch students and make them exceptional scientists. Students will earn 3 GCSEs graded 9-1 under the new standards. These are examined and awarded separately. The program of study covers a wide range of topics, some of which are specific to the separate sciences and not covered in the combined science course. Students will have 5 hours of lessons per week and are examined linearly with a total of 6 exams, two per science, each 1h45min long. Along with these exams, students are required to complete several practicals where they will learn all the necessary skills to become outstanding scientists. These will be undertaken in normal lesson time and assessed internally.

Good literacy and numeracy is very important and exam papers will assess both – approximately 30% of questions in Physics will involve the use of mathematical skills; 20% in Chemistry and 10% in Biology.

Each subject has several required practical activities. These are compulsory and questions related to practical skills make up 15% of questions in the examinations.

To ensure good tracking of pupil progress, students are set tests regularly in class. These made up of past exam questions and outcomes are used to report progress to parents. In Year 10 they take mock examinations in the Spring term as well as the end of year assessments in June.

Year 11 students take mock examinations in November and April. The outcomes are used to estimate grades that are reported to parents.

References:

AQA Biology, 3rd Edition: Laurie Ryan, Oxford University Press
AQA Chemistry, 3rd Edition: Laurie Ryan, Oxford University Press
AQA Physics, 3rd Edition: Laurie Ryan, Oxford University Press

What websites are recommended?

www.kerboodle.com

www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/zrkw2hv

What equipment is needed?

A calculator, ruler, pen and pencil are essential at all times