SCIENCE
Welcome to the Science Department!
Science is the study of the world around us and aims to answer questions such as, "Why is the sky blue?", "How do plants make their own food?" and "What are we made from?"
We are a hands-on subject, designed to allow the students to develop their practical skills, literacy and numeracy skills, to explore and discuss certain ethical practices, to problem solve and to have a wider global view of science. We challenge our learners to engage with and explain the world around them with the aim to foster a curiosity for the future.
We hope that you enjoy learning and applying science as much as we do and you could be a future Noble prize winner.
The sky’s the limit!
KEY STAGE 3 SUMMARY
Year 7
There are six topics studied across the year, two Biology, two Chemistry and two Physics:
B1 – Dinosaurs: Evolution, Ecology, Digestion, Cells & the Skeleton
B2 – Ocean Life: Evolution, Ecology, Pollution & Microscopy
C1 – What’s the Matter?: Atomic Structure, Elements, Periodic Table & Nomenclature
C2 – Evolving Earth: Particle theory, Tectonic plates, Atmosphere & Global Warming
P1 – Discoveries that Changed the World: Space, Electricity and Magnetism
P2 – Being global Citizens: Energy, Forces & Waves
Year 8
There are six topics that follow on from the learning in Year 7, made up from two Biology, two Chemistry and two Physics:
B3 – Morriston hospital: Microbes, Immunity, Body Systems & Genetics
B4 – Food Security: Healthy Living, Environment, Photosynthesis & Intensive Farming
C3 – Lab Life: Acids & Alkalis, Metals, Blast furnace, Separating Techniques
C4 – What’s the Solution?: Nano-Science, Smart Materials, Plastics, Water and Crude Oil
P3 – Sports and Technology: Forces & Electromagnetism
P4 – Solving Future Problems: Energy generation & consumption
Year 9
Here we embark on the GCSE course with the following six topics, two Biology, two Chemistry and two Physics:
Cells & Digestion: Animal & Plant Cells, Movement, Digestive System & Enzymes
Respiration: Lungs, Heart, Circulatory System & Red Blood Cells
The Structure of the Atom: Atomic Structure, Periodic Table, Alkali Metals
The Structure of the Earth: Plate Tectonics, Atmosphere, Global warming, Acid Rain
Heat transfer: Convection, Conduction & Radiation & Heat Loss
Efficiency: Generating Electricity, Renewable and Non-Renewable & National Grid
KEY STAGE 4 SUMMARY
At KS4 we deliver the remaining GCSE content for each science and revisit Year 9 material to consolidate their learning. As a result of their performance and option choices in Year 9 we run three different courses:
Triple Award – Separate GCSE’s in Biology, Chemistry and Physics
Double award – We deliver content from all three sciences and the learners are awarded two GCSE grades
Applied Science – The learners here follow the single award GCSE and Entry level course.
The learners are examined on core theory content for each respective course in the summer of Year 10 and 11. There is also a practical exam for each course that takes place in the January of Year 11.
Each course is a two tiered system with A*-E grades available following the higher tier and C-G grades available for those following the foundation tier.
POST-16 SUMMARY
There are four Level 3 courses to choose from in science:
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A-Level Biology
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A-Level Chemistry
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A-Level Physics
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BTEC Applied Human Biology
