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School

Science

Science at OIAMFS aims to ensure that all students:

  • Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding by studying units of biology, chemistry and physics

  • Develop understanding of the processes and methods of science through practical and investigative learning that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
  • Students will become equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

The science department is committed to providing students with opportunities to complete practical learning and to engage in science through the application of relatable and exciting contexts. 

KEY STAGE 3

At the start of year 7, students sit a baseline assessment covering key skills and knowledge based on an initial unit of work that focuses on Science practical skills and the Primary National Curriculum. This allows for early intervention to be put in place to ensure that all students can successfully access the Key Stage 3 curriculum. In Science, the five-year (Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4) programme of study is planned so that core knowledge is mastered and then built up and re-visited in later units to reinforce learning and increase understanding of key topics.

At KS3, our students learn about the following topics:

Introduction to Science, Particle Model, Cells, Human Reproduction, Plant Reproduction, Digestion, Forces, Elements and Atoms, Acids & Alkalis, Energy Costs, Digestion, Interdependence, Separating Mixtures, Universe and Gravity, Sound, Speed and Contact Forces, Pressure, Light, Earth Structure, Voltage and Current, Climate, Breathing, Work and Energy Transfers, Metals and Non-Metals, Chemical Energy, Evolution, Respiration, Wave Properties and Wave Effects, and Movement.

These topics provide the foundation for Key Stage 4.

Key Stage 4 (Combined Science AQA Trilogy)

AQA is the most widely used exam board across the UK and therefore gives access to the largest amount of revision and teaching resources for both our students and staff. This allows students time to come to grips with an ever-expanding subject content and develop important exam skills. Students are taught discrete topics which are explicitly taught as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Learning is chunked into 2-3 weeks, where students cover a short unit of learning, followed by a consolidation activity and then a short formative assessment.

The assessments for Combined Science are as follows:

  • 6 x written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes each (Foundation and Higher Tier), 70 marks = 16.7% of GCSE.
  • Each of these assessments are split into 3 assessment objectives:
  • 40% AO1: Recall of science knowledge
  • 40% AO2: Application of science knowledge
  • 20% AO3: Data handling, interpretation and representation

Triple Science (AQA)

Based on student attainment, there is an option for students to pursue Triple Science, instead of the Combined Science. The Head of Science will determine which students will be entered for the Triple Science course. This course is more rigorous and provides students with a greater breadth of and should be considered by students wanting to study science at A-level and further education. Students choosing to study Triple Science will have a period 6 lesson per week, allowing them to complete the extra content required for the course.

Aside from the longer terminal assessments students in separate sciences will cover more science content, for the most part this is completing all of the same topics but with additional lessons with more varied content, such as including plant diseases in the topic on infection and response, the study of nanoparticles in the chemistry topic of particles and bonding and the study of nuclear fission and fusion in the physics topic of atomic structure. Students will also complete an extra topic of Space in separate Physics. 

How it's assessed

  • 6 x Written exams: 1 hour 45 minutes each (Foundation and Higher Tier), 100 marks = 50% of GCSE.
  • Each of these assessments are split into 3 assessment objectives:
  • 40% AO1: Recall of science knowledge
  • 40% AO2: Application of science knowledge
  • 20% AO3: Data handling, interpretation and representation

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