Mission Statement

Studying science is key to being able to understand the world around you from the miniscule to the massive! The importance of science knowledge, both in and outside the curriculum, is becoming more evident as we are starting to tackle environmental and health issues of the current times.

Regardless of pathway, students’ knowledge and skills will be developed to enable them to become adept scientists – students who are able to problem solve and eloquently discuss the world they live in.

Science is the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. We foster curiosity in our students, and teach them to generate hypotheses and systematically gather evidence. Scientists can solve problems logically, apply reasoning, work both in a team and independently and can communicate their ideas clearly.

 Due to the cross disciplinary nature of the subject: students will continue to hone both their literacy and mathematical skills. The study of science aims to develop systematic and logical thought to enable students to explain observations and solve problems. This will mean that students will need to develop resilience as they are exposed to increasingly more difficult and complicated concepts as they progress through their science career in school.

Science also allows for students to evaluate cause and effect and determine the implications beyond the scientific theory they understand. The ability to listen to opposing views and create rational arguments is vital to students developing the ability to empathise with others.

The science curriculum links closely in many areas with the PSHE curriculum and allows content covered in PSHE to be further explored. Every student will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of science related activities with a particular emphasis on practical investigation and the conclusions that can be drawn from it. They will be encouraged to question how the world works and to use their scientific knowledge to find explanations. We take pride on ensuring that students lessons are developed to relate their applications both in and outside the curriculum – for example in industry. Scientific thinking involves applying scepticism to ideas and forming testable hypotheses. This type of thinking can lead to experiments, and it can help people develop skills for determining whether something they hear or see is true. Scientists are trained to only trust what is supported by evidence, so scientific thought requires not believing something unless it is supported with proof. Science, however, also requires creativity, so scientific thinking includes determining means of testing specific ideas to prove them true or false. In many cases, people who think in a scientific manner are able to devise experiments to test hypotheses to determine which, if any, are true.

Working Scientifically

These skills should be embedded throughout the programme of study across all three disciplines.

Scientific Attitudes, Experimental skills and Investigation Analysis, and Evaluation Measurement

Key fundamentals covered in both pathways:

• Biology
  • Cells
  • How the body works
  • The cardiovascular system
  • Non communicable disease
• Chemistry
  • Earth and atmosphere
  • Atomic structure
  • The periodic table
• Physics
  • Energy transfers
  • Atomic structure
  • Radioactivity
  • Energy resources and the environment

Science is a content-based curriculum, which means students need to learn and recall key terminology, then make links between topic areas. In each lesson, new content is introduced, and previous content interleaved. The figure below shows what happens to memory over time.

Therefore, our pathways are designed around a spiral curriculum – this means that students will periodically revisit and build on concepts, adding additional layers of difficulty as students progress. This allows us to ensure that students retain information and also allows us to remedy any weaknesses in study understanding.

In the terminal examinations, students will sit 6 examination papers: two in each science which differ in length.

Combined science trilogy papers 1 hour 15 minutes

Biology Paper 1

• Cell biology
• Infection and response
• Bioenergetics

Biology Paper 2

• Homeostasis and response
• Inheritance, variation and evolution
  Ecology

Chemistry Paper 1

• Atomic structure and the periodic table
• Structure, bonding and the properties of matter
• Quantitative chemistry
• Chemical changes
• Energy changes

Chemistry Paper 2

• Rate and extent of chemical change
• Organic chemistry
• Chemical Analysis
• Chemistry of the atmosphere
• Using resources

Physics Paper 1

• Energy
• Electricity
• Particle model of matter
• Atomic structure

Physics Paper 2

• Forces
• Waves
  Magnetism and electromagnetism
• Space (separate physics only)

Further information on both pathways is available from the qualification website

Combined Science Trilogy https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/combined-science-trilogy-8464

Year 9 (KS3)

	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Biology	Building blocks of life Organ systems	Respiration & Ecology Our World	Cells
Chemistry	Chemistry Essential Atoms and the Periodic Table	Chemical Reactions The Earth and Atmosphere Making Salts	Atomic Structure
Physics	Revisiting Energy Revisiting Forces	Motion Matter and Density Pressure Revisiting Electricity	Particle Model of Matter

Overview of Years 10 and11

Biology	Chemistry	Physics
·      Cell Biology ·      Organisation ·      Infection and Response ·      Bioenergetics ·      Homeostasis and Response ·      Inheritance, Variation and Evolution ·      Ecology	·      Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table ·      Bonding, Structure and Properties of Matter ·      Quantitative Chemistry ·      Chemical Changes ·      Energy Changes ·      The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change ·      Organic Chemistry ·      Chemical Analysis ·      Chemistry of the Atmosphere ·      Using Resources	·      Forces ·      Energy ·      Waves ·      Electricity ·      Magnetism and Electromagnetism ·      Particle Model of Matter ·      Atomic Structure

Year 12

	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Biology	Unit 1: Biological Molecules Unit 2: Cells	Unit 3: Organisms exchange substances with their environment	Unit 4: Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms.
	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Medical Science	Unit 1: Biological Molecules Unit 2: Physiological Measurement Techniques	Unit 1: Physiological Systems Unit 2: Physiological Measurement Tests	Unit 1:Lifestyle and Non-Communicable Disease Unit 3: Medical Science Research Methods

Year 13

	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Biology	Unit 5: Energy transfers in and between organisms (Photosynthesis) Unit 7: Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems	Unit 5: Energy transfers in and between organisms (Respiration) Unit 8: The control of gene expression	Unit 6: Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments
	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Medical Science	Unit 4: Medicines and treatment of disease	Unit 5: Clinical laboratory techniques	Unit 6: Medical case study