Quotes

“Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.” – Stephen Hawking

“I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” – Isaac Newton

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” ― Marie Curie

“The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.” – Albert Einstein

 “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself.” – Galileo

Purpose

The purpose of the science curriculum is to provide students with the foundations for understanding the world through specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. The students are taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Our aim is to create scientifically literate citizens who can engage in an informed way with scientific issues that affect them and society. In addition to this grounding of subject specific knowledge, we want students to be able to apply their knowledge to new and varied situations and to utilise the methodologies of scientific enquiry and competency in practical skills in order to ask further questions about the natural world.

Curriculum

Key Stage 3 features and summary

In key stage 3 Science, year 7, 8 and 9 students are taught three lessons of Science per week and are taught in groups based on their target grades. Lessons are designed around the purpose of the curriculum and sequenced to ensure that students have the foundations for key stage 4 study and beyond.

Science helps students to develop the following:

  • Practical skills
  • Team work
  • Appreciation of how to work safely and the importance of following instructions
  • Scientific literacy
  • Numerical skills
  • Graphical skills
  • Accurate analysis and interpretation of results
  • Evaluation of experimental methods.

To help students in their learning and understanding of the topics covered in Years 7, 8 and 9, there are revision guides on sale for £3.15 from the kiosk.

The topics covered in Key stage 3 are outlined in the table below:

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9
Introduction

(WS Skill Area – Safety, tables, graphs: Planning)

 Food & Digestion

(WS Skill Area – Graphs)

 Inheritance

(WS Skill Area – Theories)
Cells

(WS Skill – Theories)

 Heating & Cooling

(WS Skill Area – Reliability)

 Metals

(WS Skill Area – Planning)
Particles

(WS Skill Area – Models)

 Reaction Energy

(WS Skill Area – Numeracy)
Forces

(WS Skill Area – Graphs)

 Circulation & Respiration Forces, Pressure & Moments

(WS Skill Area – Patterns)
Reproduction The Earth & Space

(WS Skill Area – Theories)

 Electricity & Magnetism

(WS Skill Area – Reliability)
Atoms Light Sound

(WS Skill Area – Numeracy)
Electricity

(WS Skill Area – Reliability)

 Microbes & Diseases

(WS Skill Area – Patterns)

 Cells (GCSE)
Energy

(WS Skill Area – Numeracy)

 Acids

(WS Skill Area – Planning)

 Atoms (GCSE)
Ecology & Variation

(WS Skill Area – Patterns)

 Sound

(WS Skill Area – Numeracy)
Ecology

(WS Skill Area – Planning)

KS3 curriculum map

Science Curriculum Map

Key Stage 4 features and summary

GCSE Science Year 10 and Year 11

Students start their GCSE work after Easter in year 9. There are two routes through GCSE Science, Double Award (AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 8464) or Triple Award Separate Sciences (AQA GCSE Biology 8461, Chemistry 8462 and Physics 8463).

Double Award students are set based on ability and are taught 5 science lessons per week. They are taught short topics that cover Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Each topic contains at least 2 short assessments, one covering a Key Concept from the assessment and another covering a Required Practical or Working Scientifically skill.

The topics covered in Key Stage 4 are outlined in the table below.

Biology Chemistry Physics
B1 – Cell Biology C1 Atomic Structure & the Periodic Table P1 Energy
B2 Organisation C2 Bonding, Structure & Properties of Matter P2 Electricity
B3 Infection & Response C3 Quantitative Chemistry P3 Particle Model of Matter
B4 Bioenergetics C4 Chemical Changes P4 Atomic Structure
B5 Homeostasis & Response C5 Energy Changes P5 Forces
B6 Inheritance, Variation & Evolution C6 The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change P6 Waves
B7 Ecology C7 Organic Chemistry P7 Magnetism & Electromagnetism
C8 Chemical Analysis
C9 Chemistry of the Atmosphere
C10 Using Resources
Required Practicals (RP) for Science:
Topic Trilogy RP Triple RP
Cells Microscopy
Infection Biology only

Microbiology
Cells Osmosis
Organisation Food Tests
Organisation Enzymes
Bioenergetics Photosynthesis
Homeostasis Reaction Time
Homeostasis Biology Only

Germination
Ecology Field Investigations
Ecology Decay
Chemical Change Making Salts
Chemical Change Chemistry Only

Neutralisation
Chemical Change Electrolysis
Quantitative and Energy Change Temperature Change
Rates Rates of Reaction
Chemical Analysis Chromatography
Chemical Analysis Chemistry Only

Identifying Ions
Using Resources Water Purification
Energy Specific Heat Capacity
Energy Physics Only

Thermal Insulation
Electricity Resistance
Electricity V-I characteristics
Particles Density
Forces Force and extension
Force and Motion Acceleration
Waves Waves
Waves Radiation and Absorption
Waves Physics Only

Light

Triple Award Separate Science, is similar to Double Award Science, however there is extra content for most topics which means the students have six hours of science per week and are taught as three separate subjects, usually by three subject specialist teachers. The final exams are longer and students are awarded three separate GCSEs (GCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics) with 3 separate and unconnected Grades 9-1.

KS4 curriculum map

Science Curriculum Map

Teaching and Learning Approach

Assessment

Assessment and feedback

The information below explains how students are assessed in each year group, how they receive feedback and how they are supported to improve and make progress in their knowledge, skills and understanding.

Summative assessment:

There are two Summative Assessment tests per year at KS3 and KS4 (called mocks at KS4). These are cumulative in nature and the purpose is:

  1. to confirm the track point of the student
  2. to promote longer term recall by testing earlier topics and to meet the demands of a linear course.

These are expected to be marked by teachers with appropriate feedback and returned to students for reflection and improvement.

Formative assessment:

ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW

For each topic at KS3 one key concept and one working scientifically skill needed by the students to succeed in science, is assessed through short structured written exam style assessments. At GCSE this is continued with one key concept per topic in addition to the assessment of the required practical in the relevant topics.

Working scientifically and numeracy are very important skill areas that will be assessed in the final exams, so it is important that students attend all lessons and take full part in practical experiments and make every effort to catch up with missed work in their own time.

Exam Board

AQA Useful websites

The AQA website has past papers, mark schemes and the specification all free to download:

Specification, guidance and specimen exam papers.

For Triple Science Award:
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/biology-8461
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/chemistry-8462
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/physics-8463

For Combined Science Double Award:
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/combined-science-trilogy-8464

Useful Information

https://www.freesciencelessons.co.uk/ for excellent summary videos of every aspect of GCSE

https://www.cognitoresources.org/ for revision videos and past exam papers and markschemes

ClickView | Educational Videos for Teaching & Learning Sign in using Microsoft single sign in and your school email address

https://www.educake.co.uk/   -use the suggested extra quizzes to help revision

GCSE – BBC Bitesize  GCSE and A-Level Science Past Papers by Topic + Spec – Study Mind select GCSE and AQA for past papers

Head of Department

Ms V Patel (Curriculum Leader: KS3 Science) – [email protected]
Mr M Stopp (Curriculum Leader: KS4 Science) – [email protected]