Years 7 & 8
Our curriculum continues to develop, in preparation for reorganisation with our Middle Schools. The units are designed to motivate and inspire our students through a range of topics. Running alongside this the students complete a skills passport, allowing them to learn how to handle equipment safely and investigate science effectively.
In Year 7 we establish the big ideas of Cells. Particles, Electricity, Chemicals & reactions, Sound, Disease, Energy, Space and Reproduction
Through Year 8 we then look into new areas based upon Year 7 work: Light, Ecology, Chemical structures, Heat transfer, Geology of planets, Electromagnetism, Chemical Reactivity and Motion
Year 9
There are two approaches used in Year 9. The pathway followed is determined on their progress in previous years.
- Pathway 1
On this pathway pupils expand on their KS3 knowledge, and are trained to develop their independent learning and other higher order skills, to enable them to be more prepared for the demands of the top groups, and the Triple Award GCSE course being offered as an option from Year 10.
- Pathway 2
The pupils on this pathway will work on consolidating their knowledge and skills from KS3. They will study topics that build on previous work.
Students on both pathways will start on the GCSE work in the latter part of the year.
Year 10 & 11
At Whitcliffe mount every student starts by following the Science A course from AQA, but then continuing on to either: the Additional Science course to gain two science GCSEs; or taking a GCSE in each of the three subjects, to gain three science GCSEs.
- In the dual award course, the students will sit two mixed-Science A exams for, in the June of Year 10. They will then take the Biology 2, Chemistry 2 and Physics 2 exams in the May of Year 11. Each course has 25% of their marks from a practical Controlled Assessment during the year.
- The Triple Award course is designed for students working at the highest levels in science, who are looking to get into competitive science careers such as medicine, or research after taking their A-level science courses, and will have chosen the subject as one of their option subjects. They will take a unit 1, unit 2 and unit 3 exam in each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, in May/June of year 10 & 11. Each subject also takes 25% of the marks from Controlled Assessments.
Boost your Science GCSE grades by using the Kerboodle interactive web based resource.
Kerboodle gives you access to interactive textbooks for each of the courses. These are to be used for reading up on extra ideas and for research that you will be doing throughout the year. There are course materials, and links from the book to revision activities, podcasts and video clips.
To get on Kerboodle simply use the link at the top of the page, and log in using the name that you given at the start of the year - If you change the password then use the same as the school network. Then enter the school code - 2166.