Biology, Chemistry and Physics are studied as an important part of the core curriculum. You will be taught for three lessons per week per subject if you opt to continue to study for GCSEs in all three separate sciences (Triple Science). Alternatively you may choose to take a reduced science course leading to GCSE Combined Sciences which is worth two GCSEs. In this case you will continue to have separate Biology, Chemistry and Physics lessons, totalling 5 lessons per week. We will be following well established GCSE Science courses that will provide you with a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of the three sciences. The work covered will encourage your curiosity and will develop your understanding of the world around you. It will also form an excellent platform for potential further study at 6th Form level.
Your Science lessons will include a wide variety of activities such as student experiments, practical demonstrations, class discussion and debate, and ICT simulations and modelling.
Biology is the study of living things. You will discover how plants and animals function, including the human body, and the requirements for healthy living. You will learn about the role of Biology in society today and its importance in environmental contexts.
The course in Years 10 and 11 is a continuation of the material studied in Year 9. Topics covered include health and disease, plant structure and function, mammalian physiology and ecosystems and material cycles. The remaining core practical will also occur during year 10 and 11.
Chemistry is the study of the matter and the materials that make up the world. In this course you will be studying the nature of that matter, from atom up. You will learn how scientists can make new materials, using the world’s resources wisely.
The course in Years 10 and 11 is a continuation of the material studied in Year 9. Topics covered include atomic structure, bonding and the periodic table, qualitative and quantitative analysis, organic chemistry and oil, rates and equilibria.
Physics aims to describe and explain how the the world around us works. Studying Physics will allow you to understand both natural phenomena and technological advances more clearly for yourself, and it will put you in a better position to make your own decisions about issues such as whether or not we should build more nuclear power stations.
The course in Years 10 and 11 is a continuation of the material studied in Year 9. Topics covered include motion and forces, energy, waves, the electromagnetic spectrum, electricity, atomic and nuclear physics and electromagnetism.
This course will contain two thirds of the material covered in the three separate sciences and will provide two GCSE grades. It will be graded and certificated on a 17-grade scale from 9–9 to 1–1 using the total subject mark where 9–9 is the highest grade and grades such as 8-7 are possible. It is suitable for those students who feel that they would like to follow a science course with less content. Although it would be preferable to take triple science if you intend to study science subjects at A Level or Higher Level IB, GCSE Combined Science would not necessarily preclude this.
For all the science GCSE subjects it is mandatory for students to complete specified core practicals during the course. You have already done some of these in Year 9, and there will be more to complete in Years 10 and 11.
Biology, Chemistry and Physics will each be assessed by two written papers of length 1 hour 45 minutes. Combined Science will be assessed by six written papers of length 1hour 10 minutes. All the exams will be taken at the end of the course.