Students follow the course developed by AQA and will cover the following units:

Year 7: Cells, tissues and organs; Energy, Digestion and Nutrition; Particles; Chemical Reactions; Forces and Motion; Reproduction and Variation; Light and Space.

Year 8: The Periodic Table; Biological Systems and Processes; Matter; Electricity and Magnetism; Ecological Relationships and Classification; Reactivity; Sound; Materials and the Earth

Year 9: Energetic and Rates, Forces in Action, Plants.

Start of GCSE Course after the Christmas break in Year 9: GCSE Skills; Cell Biology; Atomic Structure and Bonding; Changes in Energy Stores; Energy Transfer and the Particle Model; Organisms and Disease.

Students will complete their Key Stage 3 course at the end of the Autumn term (December) in Year 9. After the Christmas break students will begin to study the KS4 curriculum. Analysis of KPI data and assessment data will be used by staff to determine those students suitable for studying Separate Sciences – formally known as ‘Triple Science’. Otherwise, students will study ‘Combined Science: Trilogy’. This course covers Biology, Chemistry and Physics. See Key Stage 4 course information for more details.

For students studying Separate Sciences, this course will take up one of their options allocations.

There will be Key Stage 3 exams in Term 3 and at the end of the year. The exams are cumulative and cover all of the KPIs covered previously (e.g. at the end of year 8 the assessment will cover all of the year 7 and year 8 KPIs). The outcomes of these assessments together with KPI analysis will be used to determine which is the correct course choice in KS4.

The Science department Knowledge Organisers have been produced to match all units taught at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. They contain a summary of all key points of the unit. For Key Stage 4, they also contain the specification, which details exactly what the exam board expects the students to know.

Knowledge Organisers are located on this website.

Students will either follow Science Trilogy or Separate Sciences.

Science Trilogy:

Students will follow AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy. This course covers Biology, Chemistry and Physics and is a double award: equivalent to two GCSEs.

In Year 10 the students will study: The Periodic Table; Organisms and Disease; Infectious Disease; Chemical Changes; Reactions in Biology; Rates of Reaction; Electricity; Quantitative Chemistry; Generating Electricity; Nuclear Radiation; Forces and Motion.

In Year 11 the students will study: Controlling the Body; Organic Chemistry; Waves; Chemical Analysis; Magnetism and Electromagnetism; Inheritance; Ecology; The Earth and Resources

There is no coursework component for this course. There are six exam papers, which students will sit during the summer term of Year 11. There are two biology, two chemistry and two physics papers. Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas. Each exam is 1 hour 15 minutes, has a maximum of 70 marks and represents 16.7% of the total GCSE. Questions will be a mixture of multiple choice, structured closed short answer and open response.

Biology paper 1 will assess from Biology topics 1-4: Cell Biology, Organisation; Infection and response; and Bioenergetics.

Biology paper 2 will assess from Biology topics 5-7: Homeostasis and response, Inheritance, variation and evolution; and Ecology.
Chemistry paper 1 will assess from Chemistry topics 8-12: Atomic structure and the periodic table; Bonding, structure and the properties of matter; Quantitative Chemistry; Chemical changes; and Energy changes.

Chemistry paper 2 will assess from Chemistry topics 13-17: The rate and extent of chemical change; Organic chemistry; Chemical analysis; Chemistry of the atmosphere; and Using resources.

Physics paper 1 will assess from Physics topics 18-21: Energy; Electricity; Particle model of matter; and Atomic structure.

Physics paper 2 will assess from Physics topics 22-24: Forces; Waves; and Magnetism and electromagnetism.

Separate Sciences:

There is no coursework component for this course. There are two exam papers for each subject, which students will sit during the summer term of Year 11. Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas. Each exam is 1 hour 45 minutes, has a maximum of 100 marks and represents 50% of the total GCSE in that subject. Questions will be a mixture of multiple choice, structured closed short answer and open response.

Biology

Students will follow AQA GCSE Biology. The course is worth one GCSE.

In Year 10 the students will study: Organisms and Disease; Infectious Disease; Reactions in Biology.

In Year 11 the students will study: Controlling the Body; Inheritance; Ecology;

Biology paper 1 will assess from Biology topics 1-4: Cell biology; Organisation; Infection and response; and Bioenergetics.

Biology Paper 2 will assess from Biology topics 5-7: Homeostasis and response; inheritance; variation and evolution; and Ecology.

Chemistry:

Students will follow AQA GCSE Chemistry. The course is worth one GCSE.

In Year 10 the students will study: The Periodic Table; Chemical Changes; Rates of Reaction; Quantitative Chemistry.

In Year 11 the students will study: Organic Chemistry; Chemical Analysis; The Earth and Resources.

Chemistry paper 1 will assess from Chemistry topics 1-5: Bonding, structure and the properties of matter; Quantitative chemistry; Chemical changes; and Energy changes.

Chemistry paper 2 will assess from Chemistry topics 6-10: The rate and extent of chemical change; Organic chemistry; Chemical analysis; Chemistry of the atmosphere; and Using resources.

Physics:

Students will follow AQA GCSE Physics. The course is worth one GCSE.

In Year 10 the students will study: Electricity; Quantitative Chemistry; Generating Electricity; Nuclear Radiation; Forces and Motion.

In Year 11 the students will study: Waves; Magnetism and Electromagnetism.

Physics paper 1 will assess from Physics topics 1-4: Energy; Electricity; Particle model of matter; and Atomic structure.

Physics paper 2 will assess from Physics topics 5-8: Forces; Waves; Magnetism and electromagnetism; and Space physics.
Questions in paper 2 may draw on an understanding of energy changes and transfers due t heating, mechanical and electrical work and the concept of energy conservation from Energy and Electricity.

Resources

Each year 11 student will be provided with an exam practise book that will be used for homework and in school for class work, revision and intervention. As this book is fully subsidised if it is lost then a new one will need to be purchased at a cost of £5.50.

All students will receive log-in details for a website called Century (see website section)

AQA Revision Packs

Primrose Kitten – YouTube Tutorials for GCSE & A-Level - View

Website address

Additional information

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education

BBC Bitesize - Useful for both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 revision.

www.showmyhomework.co.uk

Students are provided with a username and password. This website will contain any homework tasks set by class teachers.

www.century.tech

All students in years 7-11 will be given log-in details for this site.

HW assignments will be set on here but students can also complete as much independent work as they like. The more tasks students complete the more the website learns about the student’s strengths and weaknesses – it will then provide tailored support to help you improve.

Guardians can also have log-in details in order to monitor how much work is being completed.