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Science at St. Peter’s High School offers students a range of opportunities to study all aspects of the subject and develop scientific skills needed in the 21st Century. Lessons are held in 10 specialist Science laboratories in which students have access to a wide range of apparatus and resources. The Science faculty also has a smaller room that is due to be changed to a dedicated Science ICT facility during this academic year. The laboratories were refurbished at the end of 2003 so that all are now of a similar standard. The Science faculty has 4 multi-media projectors and one interactive whiteboard.
There are three Science Preparation Rooms where practical lessons are prepared by our excellent team of technicians. Science is both an academic and practical subject and we plan as many practical activities as possible for our lessons. We believe that students should work in as stimulating an environment as possible.The Science Faculty also has a small farm unit, a large greenhouse and an environmental area that includes a pond and a willow dome. In the farm there are sheep, chickens, ducks and geese.
Students in Years 7 – 9 follow a programme of units that meet the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Key Stage 3 National Strategy. The course has been carefully designed and is based on the “Hodder” scheme.
Following the Key Stage 3 tests, students follow a two-year GCSE course leading to Double Certification in Science.
In Years 12 and 13, all three Science subjects of Biology, Chemistry and Physics are offered. All three are popular choices for both AS and A2 Advanced Level study.
Science at Key Stage 3
| Year 7 |
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Pupils will build on the work done at Key Stage 2 and develop basic scientific skills in a laboratory context. They will complete 12 units of work during the academic year, covering all 3 disciplines of Science. Pupils will be given a ‘Pupil Achievement Sheet’ at the start of each unit which will summarise the National Curriculum levels for that unit, the Key Words and some homework tasks. This procedure will continue throughout Key Stage 3. The units for year 7 are:
- 7A Cells
- 7B Reproduction
- 7C Variation
- 7D Environment
- 7E Acids
- 7F Simple Reactions
- 7G Particles
- 7H Solutions
- 7I Energy
- 7J Electricity and Circuits
- 7K Forces
- 7L Solar System
Pupils are assessed throughout the year by unit multiple-choice tests, SAT’s style tests and an end of year examination. |
| Year 8 |
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During Year 8, pupils continue to increase their level of knowledge and practical skills and build upon their work in Year 7. The units studied in Year 8 are:
- 8A Food and digestion
- 8B Respiration and Breathing
- 8C Microbes
- 8D Ecology
- 8E Atoms and Elements
- 8F Compounds and Mixtures
- 8G Rocks and the Rock Cycle
- 8H Weathering
- 8I Heating and Cooling
- 8J Magnets and Magnetism
- 8K Light
- 8L Sound
Pupils are assessed throughout the year by unit multiple-choice tests, SAT’s style tests and an end of year examination. |
| Year 9 |
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Pupils work towards and are prepared for the Key Stage 3 tests. The work in Year 9 builds on that done in both years 7 and 8. Pupils continue to increase their Science skills base. The units studied in Year 9 are:
- 9A Inheritance
- 9B Fitness and Health
- 9C/D Plants, Photosynthesis and Food
- 9E Reactions of Metals
- 9F Patterns of Reactivity
- 9F Patterns of Reactivity
- 9G Environmental Chemistry
- 9H Using Chemistry
- 9I Electricity and Energy
- 9J Gravity and Space
- 9K Speeding Up
- 9L Pressure and Moments
Pupils benefit from 4 periods per week in year 9 in preparation for their National Curriculum tests. pupils are again assessed throughout the academic year by multiple-choice tests at the end of each unit, SAT’s style tests and a ‘mock’ examination during the Spring term before the National tests in May. According to the assessment procedures, pupils are entered for either tier 3-6 or 5-7 levels. All year 9 pupils are given the opportunity to attend differentiated after-school revision sessions during the Spring term. |
Science at GCSE
| Years 10 & 11 |
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Pupils study Science for a Double Award GCSE. Science covers all three disciplines and examinations at the end of Key Stage 4 are taken at either Foundation or Higher level.
Pupils in year 10 study Modular Science Double Award with the pupils on the extended work experience programme studying Modular Science Single Award.
In Year 11, most pupils are studying Modular Science Double Award with one group of pupils following Applied Science Double Award. Again, pupils following the extended work experience programme study for Modular Science Single Award. All of the Science specifications followed are from EDEXCEL.
Modular Science – Double Award
The course covers 12 modules taught over the two years. Module tests are taken three times per year and are worth 30% of the total; practical coursework accounts for 20% and the two written examinations account for 50% of the overall grades.
Year 10 modules:
- Module 1 Biology The Human Body – action and control
- Module 2 Biology Inheritance and Survival
- Module 3 Chemistry Chemical Patterns
- Module 4 Chemistry Chemistry in Action
- Module 5 Physics Energy and Electricity
- Module 6 Physics Waves, Atoms and Space
Year 11 modules:
- Module 7 Biology Food production and the Environment
- Module 8 Biology Health and Exercise
- Module 9 Chemistry Chemicals and the Earth Metals
- Module 10 Chemistry Understanding Chemical Reactions
- Module 11 Physics Movement and Change
- Module 12 Physics Energy, Force and Communication
Practical coursework requires a minimum of two full investigations and is supported by coursework covering some of the skills. The four skill areas for Science practical investigations are: Planning, Obtaining evidence, Analysing evidence and Evaluating evidence Modular Science – Single Award
Pupils study a total of 6 modules over the two years and must also complete practical coursework. In Year 10, modules 1, 3 and 5 are covered and in Year 11 modules 2, 4 and 6 are completed.
Applied Science – Double Award
This course consists of three units that are equally weighted. Students must produce an internally assessed portfolio for units 1 and 3. Unit 2 is assessed by an external examination.
- Unit 1 – Developing Scientific Skills
- Unit 2 – Science for the Needs of Society
- Unit 3 – Science at Work
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