Science
Our Science curriculum has been designed to instil a sense of excitement and promote curiosity into the exploration of Science, equip students with the skills and the knowledge required to exceed their potential in formal exams and to develop students’ scientific capital by helping them to understand how Science is relevant to their everyday lives. Through a practical and investigation approach students will develop the skills and knowledge required to answer key questions in Biology, Chemistry and Physics such as;
How does the COVID-19 Vaccination work?
Why can you see but not hear in Space?
Our curriculum encourages students to be curious, ask questions about their own scientific observations and supports them to develop their own answers to why different phenomena in the natural and man-made world occur. We have a spiraled curriculum which means knowledge is revisited and built on from Y7 all the way through to Post-16. This allows students to not only build on key foundations but also to delve deeper into areas of Science which interest them. As students move from Y7-Y11 they will develop into independent Scientists who are able to predict how things might behave, design their own investigations to test these predictions and then evaluate and analyse their results. This will equip them with the knowledge and the skills to succeed in formal examinations but also to have an appreciation and understanding of Science in their own context.
Curriculum Content
Assessment Summary
In KS3 (Years 7-9) all students will complete one assessment per half-term. Each assessment will be based on the topics covered that half term and will be made up of a combination of multiple choice questions and one extended answer question based on Scientific skills.
A percentage mark will be awarded to students and reported on Arbor against a school average.
In KS4 (Years 10-11) all students will complete at least one assessment per GCSE topic taught. These assessments will include multiple choice questions and GCSE style application questions.
A percentage mark will be awarded to students and reported on Arbor against a school average.
In KS5 (Years 12-13) all students will complete at least one assessment per half-term. These assessments will include multiple choice questions and longer answer application style questions.
A percentage mark will be awarded to students and reported on Arbor against a school average.
After each assessment students will complete an analysis sheet to identify their strengths and weaknesses. They will then be supported in making improvements to their work during a feedback lesson.
Y9 Bridging Year
In Year 9 Science we have a strong focus on developing students’ practical and analytical skills, exploring how Science links to their everyday lives and developing their independence through project based work. Our students will develop the foundations of knowledge required for the GCSE course, however will not study any GCSE content until Year 10. This approach affords our students the time to delve deeper into a topic and allows our subject specialist teachers to share the most exciting and current scientific advancements with their classes. We also use this year to allow students to explore areas not covered in the Science Combined GCSE curriculum such as Space or Biotechnology. During each Y9 topic students will be encouraged to think about how the content can build on their own life experiences, explore how this links to careers and further study and independently complete a project using the knowledge they have developed. These projects will vary from practical tasks such as designing and building wind turbines or making bath bombs, to trips involving local businesses such as Yorkshire water or designing campaigns around global issues such as Climate Change. By the end of Year 9 students will be confident, independent Scientists who have developed the skills and knowledge required to allow them to succeed in KS4 Science.