Science

Our aim is to open our students’ eyes to the wonder of science and its ability to answer the ‘big questions’ and explain all natural phenomena: from the smallest subatomic level, up to the vast macroscopic scale of the universe.

Our Intent:

Equip all students to be able to understand the science that affects their daily lives and how science will impact their futures and that of the world and beyond.
Inspire passion for learning science, its ability to answer ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ questions and to appreciate that science is in constant development as new observations are made.
Deliver a knowledge-rich curriculum with opportunities for students to enhance and extend their knowledge beyond the classroom.
Develop confident scientific communicators who can describe, explain and scrutinise current and pre-existing scientific ideas.
Embed scientific literacy and numeracy skills throughout the science curriculum.
Ensure that subject content is sequenced to build understanding and that there is a balance between teaching scientific concepts and supporting students to be able to ‘work scientifically’.
Support students to select the most appropriate GCSE course option for them and subsequently to achieve the best grades possible at GCSE and beyond.
Encourage students to study and work in science beyond year 11 and nurture their wider interest through: stretch and challenge in lessons; structured extension work; directed access to wider reading and extra-curricular opportunities.

Year 7

The Key Stage 3 curriculum is based around the Exploring Science course (created by Pearson Education).

All classes start the year by studying the topic:

Introduction to Science: Safety and Skills

Followed by:

Cells

The Particle Model

Forces

The sequence of the remaining topics to be covered prior to the Y7 exam (w/c 27th June 2022) varies slightly from one class to another. The exact topic rota for all Y7 classes can be accessed via the Student Science website, linked here

The topics that will be studied from just before Christmas until the end of June are:

Reproduction

Mixtures and Separation

Sound

Muscles and Bones

Acids and Alkalis

Energy

Atoms, Elements and Molecules

Electricity

The final topic to be studied in Y7 (that will not be included in the Y7 exam) is:

Ecosystems

Year 8

The Key Stage 3 curriculum is based around the Exploring Science course (created by Pearson Education).

All classes start the year by studying the following topics:

Food and Nutrition

Combustion

Fluids

The sequence of the remaining topics to be covered prior to the Y8 exam (w/c 27th June 2022) varies slightly from one class to another. The exact topic rota for all Y8 classes can be accessed via the Student Science website, at the following link

The topics that will be studied from before Christmas until the end of June are:

Breathing and Respiration

The Periodic Table

Light

Unicellular Organisms

Metals

Earth and Space

Plant Reproduction

Energy Transfers

The final topic to be studied in Y8 (that will not be included in the Y8 exam) is:

Rocks

Year 9

The first half of the Y9 Science curriculum will be dedicated to completing the Key Stage 3 Science Curriculum, which is based around the Exploring Science course (created by Pearson Education). This will take up until February half term.

The topics that will be covered are:

Genetics and Evolution

Reactivity

Forces and Motion

Plant Growth

Making Materials

Force Fields and Electromagnets

The exact topic rota for all Y9 classes can be accessed via the Student Science website, at the following link

The latter half of the year will then be spent starting the AQA GCSE topics across all three sciences.

The topics that will be covered are:

Biology: ‘B1: Cell Biology’

Chemistry: ‘C1: Atomic Structure and The Periodic Table’

Physics: ‘P6: Waves’

The decision as to whether or not students will study the Combined or Triple Science courses in Y10 and Y11 will be taken at the end of this academic year, following the results of the Y9 End of Year examinations.

Year 10

In Y10 all students continue studying the AQA GCSE Science courses and will work towards either the Triple Science qualifications (where three separate GCSE grades acquired at the end of Y11, one in each Science subject) or the Combined Science qualification (where a double GCSE grade on a 17-point scale: 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, …., 8-8, 9-8, 9-9 is acquired at the end of Y11, which is an average across all three sciences).

All Y10 students, regardless of whether they study the Triple or Combined Science courses, have 6 lessons of Science a week, arranged in 3 double lesson slots. They have three separate teachers, one for each of the Sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

The topics that will be studied in Y10 are:

Biology:

B2: Organisation

B3: Infection and Response

B4: Bioenergetics

B7: Ecology

Chemistry:

C1b: The Periodic Table

C2: Bonding, Structure and the Properties of Matter

C4: Chemical Changes

C5: Energy Changes

Physics:

P1: Energy

P2: Electricity

P5: Forces

Year 11

In Y11 all students continue studying the AQA GCSE Science courses and will work towards either the Triple Science qualifications (where three separate GCSE grades acquired at the end of Y11, one in each Science subject) or the Combined Science qualification (where a double GCSE grade on a 17-point scale: 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, …., 8-8, 9-8, 9-9 is acquired at the end of Y11, which is an average across all three sciences).

All Y11 students, regardless of whether they study the Triple or Combined Science courses, have 6 lessons of Science a week, arranged in 3 double lesson slots. They have three separate teachers, one for each of the Sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

The topics that will be studied in Y11 are:

Biology:

B5: Homeostasis and Response

B6: Inheritance, Variation and Evolution

B7: Adaptation, Interdependence and Competition

Chemistry:

C6: The Rate and Extent of Chemical Changes

C7: Organic Chemistry

C8: Chemical Analysis:

C9: Chemistry of the Atmosphere

C10: Using Resources

Physics:

P3: Particle Model of Matter

P4: Atomic Structure

P7: Magnetism and Electromagnetism

P8: Space (Triple Science Only)

Extra Curricular

P7:

Eco School

Zoology

Models/ Drones club (run by the DT department)

Rockets (run by the DT department)

Lunchtime

STEM club

Science Hub

Annual Events:

Science week (March)

Competitions/ Awards:

We are hoping to launch our KWS Science Communicators Award later this year: more details to follow soon. External competition opportunities will also be passed on to the students in lessons and via assemblies and emails, for example: the British Science Week poster competition.

To supplement and complement our curriculum and extra-curricular offering we also are producing teacher-approved super-curricular summaries, which are succinct summaries of quality video clips and reading materials to help consolidate and extend student learning. These are under construction but will be present for all KS3 topics before Christmas 2022. You can access these in the ‘Biology Super-curricular’, ‘Chemistry Super-curricular’ and ‘Physics Super-curricular’ sections at each of the links below:

https://sites.google.com/kwschool.co.uk/sciencestudents/year-7-topics

https://sites.google.com/kwschool.co.uk/sciencestudents/year-9-ks3-topics