Science

Key Stage 3

Science is divivded into 12 topics in each year of Key Stage 3. The topics are taught in four blocks of three topics.

Year 7
Block	Topics
1	7A Tissues and Transplants
	7G What a waste!
	7I Energy and Sustainable living
2	7B Sex and Science
	7F Bubbles, bangs and burning
	7J Electrical Circuits
3	7D Classified
	7E Acids and Alkalis
	7K Forces and their effects
4	7C Ecology Matters
	7H Materials from the Earth
	7L The Solar System and beyond

Year 8
Block	Topics
1	8A Food glorious food
	8E Water
	8I Heat transfers
2	8B Going for gold
	8F Material and recycling
	8J Forces and transport
3	8C Doctors and diseases
	8G All that glitters
	8K Light
4	8D The way of the Dodo
	8H Explaining the Earth
	8L Sound and hearing

Year 9
Block	Topics
1	9A Science and fiction
	9E Building for the future
	9I Buying energy
2	9B A model career
	9F Sculpture park
	9J Satellites and space
3	9C On the farm
	9G Cleaning up
	9K Record breakers
4	9D Crime scene investigations
	9H Flying materials
	9L Dam it!

Assessment of subject information is done in two ways:

A topic test at the end of each block (comprising questions from each topic taught in that block)
A Level Assessed Task (LAT) at least one per block

Assessment of science skills will be done mainly by Assessing Pupils Progress (APP) although topic tests do contain a significant number of skill based questions.
All assessments (topic tests, LATs and APP) will be reported as National Curriculum levels. These levels are further divided into sub-levels eg 5c (low level 5), 5b (middle level 5) and 5a (top level 5).
At the end of Years 7 and 8 the reported level for each pupil will be an average of their achievements over the year. This average level will be used as part of the setting criteria for the following year.
Final assessment for Year 9 will also include and end of Key Stage exam. Each student will be challenged with progressing two full levels, from their KS2 level, during KS3 eg KS2 level 4a should lead to a KS3 level of 6a.

Key Stage 4

Triple Sciences
Students who achieve at least a level 6+ on their Year 9 assessment can choose to embark on a two year separate Science course. The student has to study each of the main Science disciplines and leads to three separate GCSE awards in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. This route is often referred to as 'separate or triple Science' and occupies five hours on the timetable.

Core and Additional Science
Most students will take AQA Core Science in Year 10 and AQA Additional Science in Year 11, which leads to two separate GCSE awards. These students will still be able to progress to AS/A2 levels in Science.

Core and Additional Applied Science
Some students will take AQA Core Science in Year 10 and an Additional Applied Science in Year 11, which leads to two separate GCSE awards. This course is designed to teach some of the knowledge required by particular scientists and the type of work and investigations that they may undertake in their work. These students can progress to Applied Sciences at AS/A2 level.

BTEC Applied Science
This is a course designed for students who struggle in examinations and is wholly assessed with coursework. Students who do not complete all eighteen tasks during the two years do not pass the course. It has an equivalence of two Science GCSE grades or more but does not progress to post-16 qualifications where Science is an intergral part of the course.