Welcome to the Science Faculty

Science provides the foundations for understanding the material world. Science is changing our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, all students should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science.

These essential aspects should be studied in ways that help our students to develop curiosity about the natural world, insight into how science works, and appreciation of its relevance to their everyday lives.

The scope and nature of such study should be broad, engaging, practical and satisfying, and so encourage our students to be inspired, motivated and challenged by Science and its achievements.

Year 7

Year 7 Science aims to build upon the foundations covered at key stage 2.  A wide range of units are delivered with a strong emphasis around scientific enquiry, this allows students the opportunity to develop practical skills through investigative work. In the units below the aim is to secure a good level of scientific knowledge before giving students the chance to apply their learning to solve scientific problems.  Students are also regularly challenged to extend their ideas beyond what has been taught in the classroom in order to develop key critical thinking and creative thinking skills.

The following units are covered in year 7:

Gravity, Contact Forces, Voltage & Resistance, Current, Energy Costs, Energy Transfer, Sound, Light, Particle Model, Separating Mixtures, Metals & Non-metals, Acids & Alkalis, Earth Structure, Universe, Movement, Cells, Interdependence, Plant Reproduction, Human Reproduction and Variation.

Year 8

Year 8 Science builds upon key concepts and ideas covered in year 7 whilst continuing the focus of learning through scientific enquiry.  The units studied this year also begin to prepare students for their transition onto GCSE courses by giving opportunities to develop an awareness of the applications and implications of science in everyday life.

The following units are covered in year 8:

Pressure, Speed, Electromagnets, Magnetism, Work, Heating & Cooling, Wave Effects, Wave Properties, Periodic Table, Elements, Chemical Energy, Types of Reaction, Climate, Earth Resources, Breathing, Digestion, Respiration, Photosynthesis, Evolution and Inheritance.

Year 9

Students will commence their GCSE pathways in Year 9. They will study Biology, Chemistry and Physics following AQA syllabuses. Those that have chosen Triple Science as an option in Year 9  will follow a Triple Science pathway (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) leading to 3 GCSEs.  The rest of the year group will follow a Combined Science pathway (Trilogy) leading to 2 GCSEs.

Biology topics: Cell biology and Organisation.

Chemistry topics: Atomic structure, the Periodic table, Bonding and Structure.

Physics topics: Particle Model of Matter, Atomic Structure and Electricity.

Year 10

Biology topics: Infection and response, Bioenergetics and Homeostasis and response.

Chemistry topics: Quantitative chemistry, Chemical changes, Energy changes and the rate and extent of chemical change.

Physics topics: Energy and Forces.

Year 11

Biology topics: Inheritance, variation and evolution, Ecology and Key ideas.

Chemistry topics: Organic chemistry, Chemical analysis, Chemistry of the atmosphere and Using resources.

Physics topics: Waves, Magnetism and electromagnetism and Space physics (physics only).

Science