The DESC Science department firmly believes in the importance of teaching Science as a relevant and necessary part of everyday life. We are committed to helping develop students who are ‘Science literate’ global citizens who care about scientific issues and who are able to make informed decisions. We are also committed to challenging our highest attaining students who may be interested in pursuing Science at Higher Education or as a career.
Through a varied and rigorous assessment for learning program, students are given feedback on how they are progressing, and are advised how they can improve further. Students are also formally assessed each term in order to monitor progress and develop exam confidence.
Key Stage 3
Students in Year 7 and 8 follow the Association of Science Education’s revolutionary program of study, ‘WIKID Science’. This aims to teach Science in an exciting, context-driven way, with an emphasis on the investigative and analytical skills which are so vital in Science. Each 5-week teaching unit contains elements of several ‘big Scientific ideas’, integrating the traditional Biology, Chemistry and Physics topics together for a more holistic view of how Science is used in the real world.
Over the two years, students will take the role of various Scientists and people who use Science, from Chefs to Forensic detectives to NASA researchers to Achitects. The missions they take part in range from designing fireworks, to making ice cream, to making electromagnetic traps. This is a program that challenges and captures the imagination of students of all abilities and particularly stretches those with a keen interest in Science. There are six learning sequences in each year:
Year 7 units: Forensics, Cook, Extinction, Alien, Electromancer, Accident and Emergency. Year 7 QCA Topics.
Year 8 units: Design a home, Species at war, Studio magic, Pyrotechnics, Catastrophe, Live and Kicking. Year 8 QCA Topics.
In Year 9, students follow the more traditional Exploring Science program of study. Again, there is a strong emphasis on key investigative and practical skills, as well as data analysis. This is a course which is designed to prepare students for the rigorous nature of the GCSE course, and units are taught as Biology, Chemistry and Physics topics. However, there is still a strong emphasis on teaching these principles in an exciting and challenging way and highlighting the relevance of what is being studied to the wider-world. There are fourteen shorter-length units during the year:
Year 9 units: Inheritance and selection, Fit and healthy, Plants and photosynthesis, Plants for food, Reactions of metals and metal compounds, Patterns of reactivity, Environmental chemistry, Using Chemistry, Energy and electricity, Gravity and space, Speeding up, Pressure and moments.
GCSE
Year 10 – Core Science
Students in Year 10 follow the AQA “Core Science” program of study. This comprises an equal measure of Biology, Chemistry and Physics units (25% each). There is also a strong emphasis on “How Science Works” principles, which develops students’ understanding of the ethical issues that Science raises, together with further development of investigative, practical and analytical skills. It is worth noting that this aspect of the course is worth 25% of the final grade, as it is assessed as coursework.
In Biology, students study the following topics:
B1a - Co-ordination and control of the body, Healthy eating, Drug abuse, Controlling infectious diseases.
B1b – Adaptation for survival, Variation, Theories of Evolution, Human impact on the planet.
In Chemistry, students study the following topics:
C1a – Rocks and building, Rocks and metals, Crude oil.
C1b – Products from oil, Plant oils, The changing world.
In Physics, students study the following topics:
P1a – Heat transfer, Using energy, Electrical energy, Generating electricity.
P1b – Electromagnetic waves, Radioactivity, Theories of the origins of the Universe.
Year 11 – Additional Science (this follows the same structure as the Year 10 Core Science course)
B2 - Additional Biology
Cells
How plants produce food
Energy flows and cycles
Enzymes
Homeostasis
Inheritance and genetics
C2 – Additional Chemistry
Structure and bonding
Structures and properties
Moles, atoms and formulae
Rates of chemical reactions
Energy and reactions
Electrolysis
Acids, alkalis and salts
P2 – Additional Physics
Motion
Speeding up and slowing down
Work, energy and momentum
Static electricity
Current electricity
Mains electricity
Nuclear physics
After Year 10, a selected number of students will be given the option of studying for separate Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSEs (also known as ‘Triple Award Science’). This is not the usual pathway – very few students in the UK or in international schools are given this option. Due to the fast-pace and rigorous nature of this course, it is only offered to those students who have shown a exemplarity work ethic in Year 10 and who have achieved the very highest grades in the terminal Year 10 exam. Students study extension units in the three Sciences to be awarded the separate GCSE’s.
B3 – Further Biology: Exchange of materials, Transporting substances around the body, Microbiology.
C3 – Further Chemistry: Development of the periodic table, More about acids and bases, Water, Energy calculations, Chemical analysis.
P3 – Further Physics: Turning forces, Light and sound, Electromagnetism, Stars and space.
At the end of Year 11, students will either be awarded two GCSE’s; ‘Core Science’ and “Additional Science’ or, if they have been selected to study the extension units, three GCSE’s: Biology, Chemistry and Physics.