KBA > Secondary > Curriculum

Department Leader: Will Binder-Pollard

In the science department we follow the AQA GCSE Science specifications. Our students study either combined science: trilogy and obtain 2 GCSEs (this still covers topics from Biology, Chemistry and Physics!) or they study the three separate science GCSEs.

In KS3 we assess our students against the ‘key performance indicators’ (KPIs) produced by United Learning. These link with the national curriculum and so provide an excellent foundation for our students to then achieve well in their GCSEs. More detail of what is in each topic can be found in the knowledge organisers on this web page.

At KS4 the AQA specification is both broad and deep and allows students to understand a range of key ideas from the scientific world in plenty of detail. Both the double award GCSE and the 3 separate science GCSEs provide a great grounding for studying science at A-level and beyond.

Students will come away with a wide range of skills from their education in the science department. These include problem solving, risk assessment, planning, evaluation and consolidation of many of the key mathematical skills including displaying data and working with equations.

After completing science GCSEs at KBA our students move into a whole range of careers and further study. One of the main benefits of good science qualifications is that they make you very desirable to both universities and employers. GCSEs and A-levels in science will allow you to move onto study degrees in subjects such as engineering, genetics, midwifery, medicine, pharmacy, pharmacology, sports science, nutrition science and forensic science (amongst a whole array of others!). You may want to move onto a more practical application of your skills and take part in an apprenticeship in, for example, engineering. The business world is also very keen to recruit scientists so don’t rule out science when deciding the route of your future!

Key Stage 3

For details of the topics taught in KS3, please refer to our curriculum plans.

After completing the KS3 course, students move onto studying the GCSE half way through year 9.

The exams in Science are cumulative and cover all of the key performance indicators (KPIs) covered previously. For example, at the end of year 8 the assessment will cover all of the year 7 and year 8 KPIs

Key Stage 4

Students will either follow Science Trilogy or Separate Sciences. For details of the topics taught in KS4, please refer to our curriculum plans.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 to heating, mechanical and electrical work and the concept of energy conservation from Energy and Electricity.