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.

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.

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 & Selection
(WS Skill Area – Theories)
Cells
(WS Skill – Theories)		 Reactions Metals
(WS Skill Area – Planning)
Particles
(WS Skill Area – Models)		 Heating & Cooling
(WS Skill Area – Reliability)		 Energy
(WS Skill Area – Numeracy)
Forces
(WS Skill Area – Graphs)		 Circulation & Respiration Forces, Pressure & Moments
(WS Skill Area – Patterns)
Reproduction Acids
(WS Skill Area – Planning)		 Electricity & Magnetism
(WS Skill Area – Reliability)
Atoms The Earth & Space
(WS Skill Area – Models)		 Organisation (GCSE)
Electricity
(WS Skill Area – Reliability)		 Light Atoms (GCSE)
Energy
(WS Skill Area – Numeracy)		 Microbes & Diseases
(WS Skill Area – Theories)
Ecology & Variation
(WS Skill Area – Patterns)		 Sound
(WS Skill Area – Numeracy)
Ecology
(WS Skill Area – Planning)

KS3 Curriculum Map

Science Curriculum Map KS3 2023-24

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 Scientific skill.

Parents will be informed of these assessment grades by the School Gateway app.

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 Biology only
Germination
Ecology Field Investigations Decay
Chemical Change Making Salts Chemistry Only
Neutralisation
Chemical Change Electrolysis
Quantitative and Energy
Change		 Temperature Change
Rates Rates of Reaction
Chemical Analysis Chromatography Chemistry Only
Identifying Ions
Using Resources Water Purification
Energy Specific Heat Capacity 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 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 KS4 2023-24

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 and KS4, 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

KS3 Knowledge Organisers

KS4 Knowledge Organisers

Subject Leader/s

Mrs M Rashid – [email protected]