Science
Intent Statement
Scientifically literate global citizens.
Ensuring every student is empowered to move forward as a scientifically literate global citizen; able to decode, engage with, and influence, the rapidly evolving world around them.
Emphasis placed on how the science students encounter in the classroom links to the wider world, and future employment pathways. Students are supported to develop a secure foundation that they can access as lifelong learners. As the world around them will constantly change, they need the key that scientific literacy provides to unlock their own potential.
Students are provided with opportunities to explore their world through the lens of science and apply their understanding in new and creative ways to unfamiliar situations. They are encouraged to be problem-solvers and use their numeracy and literacy skills to both decode the world, but also share their findings.
From topics like diet and nutrition, to the environment and energy, students are encouraged to develop their own opinions from the underpinning scientific theory. Students are coached and supported to apply the scientific method to interrogate the information sources around them and critique the reliability and validity of the data. To facilitate this, students are taught a range of different skills which they are encouraged to practice in a safe and supportive environment to improve self-esteem, self-confidence and independence.
Students are encouraged to be flexible and resilient thinkers who are 'standing on the shoulders of giants' (Newton, 1676). They consider how scientific theory has developed over time, and how it is constantly being challenged and adapted in the light of new evidence.
Key stage 3
Providing a foundation year to consolidate and build on KS2 learning and engage with the world at both the microscopic and macroscopic scale. Students learn how to operate safely within a science lab and explore everything from atoms and cells, to space exploration. They will develop their practical skills alongside confidence in using the scientific method to link their learning to the wider world and the opportunities it provides.
Students further interrogate the five main scientific concepts of cells, interdependence, particles, forces and energy to deepen their understanding of the world around them. Be it focusing on the human body, ecosystems, chemical reactions or energy transfers, students are challenged and supported to make connections and links between the disciplines and recognise the interconnectivity of these fundamental scientific concepts, both literally and historically.
Students consolidate their understanding to provide a firm foundation for success in their GCSE courses and beyond. They are encouraged to develop their critical thinking skills by applying their knowledge to unfamiliar situations and justifying their opinions using evidence. They further develop the practical skills that will be assessed at KS4 so they are better prepared to access their potential. Emphasis is placed on careers to stimulate their ambition and aspiration to achieve.
Key stage 4
Students study AQA Combined Science Trilogy. They return to the concepts encountered in KS3 and dig deeper to enrich their understanding and make connections. They develop their practice of the scientific method further, and use both literacy and numeracy to express themselves coherently and confidently. They are challenged to evaluate the social, economic and environmental impacts of what they are studying on the wider world in order to develop them into the scientifically literate global citizens that can interact successfully with emerging technologies.