GCSE Exam Board & Specification
Curriculum Intent
Curriculum Organisation
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10 - Combined Science
Year 11 - Combined Science
Supporting from home
Feedback
Ambition and careers
Cultural Capital, Enrichment & Visits

Welcome to Science

Curriculum leader - Mr Moore

Science banner

GCSE Exam Board & Specification

GCSE Examination Board: AQA
Link to GCSE Specification:

GCSE Combined Science

Curriculum Intent

The purpose of the AGFS Science curriculum is:

  • Ambition- To become a scientist and contribute to humanity’s body of scientific knowledge.
  • Growth – to hypothesise about natural phenomena, and design experiments which explore those hypotheses.
  • Fellowship – to work in communion with others as a team in pursuit of knowledge according to the principles of the scientific method.
  • Scholarship – to find genuine joy and fulfilment in the exploration of scientific knowledge and to pursue its exploration in the highest echelons of knowledge within the country.

Curriculum Organisation

The science curriculum is organised by the power standards. These standards reflect the essence of the subject as an academic discipline and reflect the strands of each discipline that must be developed to achieve mastery. These threads are cross-referenced against the KS3 national curriculum, GCSE, A Level specification and degree courses at Russell Group universities to ensure that scholars’ experience of the subject is as broad and as academically rigorous as possible,

The science power standards are: 

1. Describe key concepts using scientific keywords

2. Explain key concepts using scientific keywords

3. Apply key concepts to familiar and unfamiliar contexts

4. Manipulate data to carry out calculations, represent data and identify patterns

5. Analyse and interpret data to formulate a conclusion

Year 7

Module 1
  • Cells & Microscopes: Students must be able to distinguish between plant and animal cells and functions of components
  • Body Systems- To explain how arteries and veins are adapted for their function
  • Ecosystems- Students must be able to represent the feeding relationships within a community using a food chain and describe these relationships
  • Energy (Sources + Transfers)- To describe the changes in stores of energy in a system
  • Electricity- To write a method to describe how a student can investigate how current varies with number of light bulbs
  • Atoms, Elements and Compounds - To describe the structure of the atom
Module 2
  • Chemical Reactions- To interpret reaction profiles 
  • The Earth and Atmosphere- To describe why the concentration of greenhouse gases are increasing and describe the effects of global warming 
Module 3
  • Human Reproduction- Students must be able to describe the stages of the menstrual cycle
  • DNA & Inheritance- Students must be able to describe a punnet square's offsprings in terms of dominant/recessive/heterozygous/homozygous
  • Particle Model (Physics)- To describe the arrangement and movement of particles in a solid, liquid and gas
  • Forces- To write a method to investigate the relationship between force and extension of a spring

All Year 7 subjects Next Year 7 Subject - History

Year 8

Module 1
  • Bioenergetics- Respiration-To explain how alveoli are adapted for gas exchange
  • The Digestive System: Students must be able to describe how to test for different food types
  • Bioenergetics (Photosynthesis): Describe the structure of the leaf and the functions of the tissues in the leaf.
  • Power- To apply the equations to calculate kinetic and gravitational potential energy
  • Motion- To intepret distance-time graphs and be able to apply the equation speed = distance / time
  • Pure & Impure Substances- To interpret chromatograms, including determining Rf value 
Module 2
  • The Atom & The Periodic Table- To describe what happens to electrons in metallic, ionic and covalent bonding. Including dot and cross diagrams 
  • Acid Reactions- To describe how to prepare a pure, dry sample of a salt
Module 3
  • Rates of Reaction- Describe how different factors affect the rate of a chemical reaction (C6)
  • Electricity- To describe how to determine the resistance across a filament lamp
  • Waves- To describe waves as either transverse or longitudinal, defining these waves in terms of the direction of their oscillation and energy transfer and giving examples of each
  • Evolution & Biodiversity: Students must be able to describe Darwin's theory of natural selection as applied to an unfamiliar scenario

All Year 8 subjects Next Year 8 Subject - History

Year 9

Module 1
  • Atomic Structure (Chem)- Describe the properties of group 1/7 and how their properties relate to their electron arrangement, including trends in molecular mass, melting and boiling points and reactivity
  • Bonding- Explain the properties of graphite, diamond and graphene in terms of their structure and bonding
  • Cells- Describe how to use a microscope to examine animal and plant cells. 
  • Organisation: Describe how to conduct food tests such that you can identify such biomolecules as (i) Starch (ii) Sugars (iii) Protein (iv) Lipids
Module 2
  • Energy- Use calculations to show on a common scale how energy in a system is redistributed- Efficiency
Module 3
  • Chemical Changes- Describe the preparation of a pure, dry sample of a soluble salt from an insoluble oxide or carbonate using a Bunsen burner to heat dilute acid and a water bath or electric heater to evaporate the solution
  • Electricity- Use circuit diagrams to set up and check circuits to investigate the factors affecting the resistance of electrical circuits
  • Atomic Structure- Determine the half-life of a radioactive isotope from given information and calculate the net decline, expressed as a ratio, in a radioactive emission after a given number of half-lives
  • Particle Model of Matter- Interpret and draw heating and cooling graphs that include changes of state
  • Bioenergetics: Describe a practical which explains the relationship between light intensity and rate of photosynthesis in arbitrary units 

All Year 9 subjects Next Year 9 Subject - History

Year 10

Module 1
  • Particle Model of Matter- Interpret and draw heating and cooling graphs that include changes of state
  • Forces- investigate the effect of varying the force on the acceleration of an object of constant mass, and the effect of varying the mass of an object on the acceleration
  • Homeostasis- Describe the endocrine system
  • Inheritance, Evolution and Variation- Draw punnett squares showing genetic crosses and identify the probability of offspring having specific traits 
  • Quantitative Chemistry- Calculate the masses of reactants and products when given a balanced symbol equation
Module 2
  • Energy Changes- Explain the energy changes in breaking and making bonds and calculate the overall energy change using bond energies
  • Atomic Structure- Determine the half-life of a radioactive isotope from given information and calculate the net decline, expressed as a ratio, in a radioactive emission after a given number of half-lives
  • Organisation: Describe how to conduct food tests such that you can identify such biomolecules as (i) Starch (ii) Sugars (iii) Protein (iv) Lipids
Module 3
  • Waves- : Make observations to identify the suitability of apparatus to measure the frequency, wavelength and speed of waves in a ripple tank and waves in a solid
  • Rates of Reaction- Describe the State of dynamic equilibrium of a reaction as the point when the forward and reverse reactions occur at exactly the same rate
  • Organic Chemistry- Describe the process of cracking and state that the products of cracking include alkanes and alkenes and describe the test for alkenes
  • Chemical Analysis- Explain how to test for the presence of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and chlorine
  • Chemistry of the Atmosphere - Describe the properties and effects of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and particulates in the atmosphere

All Year 10 subjects Next Year 10 Subject - History

Year 11

Module 1
  • Quantitative Chemistry- Calculate the masses of reactants and products when given a balanced symbol equation
  • Energy Changes- Explain the energy changes in breaking and making bonds and calculate the overall energy change using bond energies
  • Using Resources- Describe the analysis and purification of water samples from different sources, including pH, dissolved solids and distillation.
Module 2
  • Refinement
Module 3
  • Public examinations

All Year 11 subjects Next Year 11 Subject - History

Supporting from home

Recommended websites/online platforms:

Recommended activities to complete with your child:

Feedback

Scholars receive verbal, self and peer feedback every lesson through:

  • Whole class feedback on common misconceptions in the read now, recall now activities and during daily review.
  • Responses to whole class checking for understanding activities, such as hand signal responses, ‘heads down’ and mini whiteboard tasks. 
  • Teacher intentional monitoring during deliberate practice activities. 

Scholars are expected to respond in the moment to this feedback to show they can correct errors and improve their knowledge and understanding. 

 

Scholars receive written teacher feedback after each checkpoint. Scholars complete checkpoint tasks independently so teachers can review what they know and can do. Checkpoints in Science consist of:

  • Section A: Assesses the science Golden nuggets - 10 questions worth 10 marks
  • Section B: Assesses content on the specific topic - 10-15 marks

Written feedback from checkpoints will consist of:

  • A score for section A and section B.
  • Celebration of what has gone well. 
  • Identification of a high leverage target. 

Scholars will complete a refinement task to show their understanding of the target and to demonstrate their capacity to improve their work. This could be achieved through redrafting a section of their work or attempting a similar task

Ambition and careers

Success in Science can lead to careers in:

  • Medicine
  • Pharmacy
  • Engineering
  • Industry
  • Environment and Conservation
  • Dentistry
  • Teaching/Lecturing
  • Criminology
  • Astronomy and Meteorology 
  • Archaeology
  • Sports Science

Cultural Capital, Enrichment & Visits

Through the study of Science, scholars will be exposed to a range of culturally enriching knowledge and experiences. 

Cultural capital within the curriculum: Careers and Information, advice and guidance provision embedded within lessons. Health Education provision (social, personal and physical) within biology topics.

Science contribution to the enrichment and drop down day programme:

  • Yr 7 - Science Museum – to allow scholars to become aware of topical issues in science and discover science through a different medium
  • Yr 8 – Space Day – to consolidate understanding of space knowledge, evaluate ideas and theories whilst becoming aware of topical issues
  • Yr 9 – Ecology Day – to explore different methods of measuring the distribution of species
  • Yr 10 – Forensics Day – to develop techniques and consolidate experimental methods used to analyse forensic samples and reinforce links between each science discipline
  • Yr 11 – Walking Talking Mocks – to develop scientific exam techniques to prepare for all future Science exams. This will also allow scholars to develop assessment tactics for their future and succeed
  • CREST club for Year 7,8 & 9
  • On Wednesday afternoons, the department also offer a Science enrichment club, where scholars complete a variety of experiments such as making plastic milk and chromatography trolls. They also develop leadership skills by leading experiments with local primary schools.
  • Introduced A-Level Science and the history of Science.