Science

The Science department is developing its curriculum and transferring from AQA to Edexcel exam boards. The curriculum enables students to move through units of Biology, Chemistry and Physics in a logical order, building upon practical applications, and creating a wider understanding of science Years 7 and 8 Students follow the same pathway of units in all three science disciplines covering scientific content and the application of practical skills. They complete simplified core practical’s in mimicking the GCSE core practical’s to provide practise and develop the application of the taught content. Years 9, 10 and 11 Most students will follow the combined Science double award course which leads to two GCSE grades. Some students follow triple/separatee sciences route aligned with content in the higher tier specification. Students will study Biology, Chemistry and Physics as three separate subjects. The content of the three subjects is broader and deeper than in the combined pathway and will result in three GCSE exam grades. Others may follow the Entry Level Certificate. This course is aligned with GCSE Combined Science and provides a progression route for lower-attainers. Assessments take place at the end of each unit as well as at the end of the year using Edexcel assessments – building up to final examinations in Year 11. As a minimum, the requirements of the National Curriculum are covered in the long term and medium-term planning. The order of the units are structurally designed to ensure that prior knowledge and skills are revisited, recapped, and reinforced so that, over the full duration of the subject curriculum, students will develop deep conceptual understanding and high academic attainment. The instructional approach is based on key interrelated curriculum design elements, these include:

• Plan: Each lesson is planned around learning outcomes linked to the scheme of work and activities are planned to deliver those outcomes for all pupils.
• Teach: A range of active learning methods and resources are used to ensure that students are actively engaged in the learning process.
• Assess: Ongoing formative assessment, including focused feedback, is built into the instructional processes as a diagnostic method to address knowledge gaps, misconceptions and facilitate specific remediation and differentiation. Summative assessment is in line with examination board requirements and school policy.

Students are encouraged to relate scientific explanations to phenomena in the world around them and use modelling and abstract ideas to develop and evaluate these explanations. This is to facilitate an understanding that science is about working objectively, modifying explanations to take account of new evidence and ideas, and subjecting results to peer review. Another important element of the instructional approach is to ensure that students can confidently use and extend their scientific vocabulary to enable them to present their ideas clearly in written form, verbally, and mathematically.