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Science

Aims :

The aim of your child’s education in science is very broad. We

seek to develop in them:

An understanding of how their lives, brains, tools,

devices and the wider cosmos works.

Scientific literacy in coping with unfamiliar situations

and political issues.

Problem solving skills that enable resilient individuals to

overcome technical challenges.

Critical thinking skills to equip them to recognise quality

evidence and valid or invalid claims.

We try to share aspects of lessons and clubs with parents and

carers. Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

@SholingScience

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Scie

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Curriculum and learning:

Pupils spend lessons learning about how the world and wider

universe around them works. They will consider questions such

as:

How can humans live sustainably on our planet of fragile

ecosystems and weather patterns?

Are we alone in the universe? Could we, some day,

explore the rest of our galaxy?

How did complex organisms come about?

How do forces influence everything that we can see?

Lessons vary between structured instruction and practice and

more open-ended enquiry and discovery learning. The level of

independence in learning varies according to the needs of

pupils.

Enrichment opportunities:

There are a myriad of clubs and trips offered by the science

department. These include, amongst others:

The LifeLab project

STEM club

Science Discovery Club

GCSE Live

The Big Bang Fair

The Science Museum

Key Stage 3:

In Years 7 & 8, pupils spend three hours per week with us and

experience the National Programme of Study for Science, delivered

through our own bespoke curriculum plans.

The curriculum acts like a spiral staircase; continuously developing

understanding and adding complexity as learners progress up through

their school years.

Homework is set once per week, pupils receive feedback nearly every

lesson and we aim to provide written comments about their work every

two to three weeks.

Key Stage 4:

In Year 9, pupils begin their GCSE study with 8 hours of science lessons

per fortnight.

In Year 10 and 11, pupils spend 9 hours per fortnight in Science.

Pupils will follow the AQA Combined Science course (2x GCSEs), or the

AQA separate sciences (3x GCSEs).

There is no longer any controlled assessment. All knowledge and

understanding is examined in six or nine terminal exams.

Their final GCSE grades will be in the format of 1-9. An 8 being

equivalent to the old A* and a 5 being a high C grade.

Homework is set once per week. Pupils receive feedback nearly every

lesson and written comments about their work every few weeks.