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Science
Science in our school is about developing student’s ideas and ways of working that enable them to make sense of the world in which they live through investigation and applying skills. They are immersed in scientific vocabulary, which aids student’s knowledge and understanding not only of the topic they are studying but of the world around them.
Science teaching at Whitstone School involves adapting and extending the curriculum to match all students’ needs. We ensure that all students are provided with rich learning experiences that aim to:
Prepare our students for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world today and in the future;
Help our students acquire a growing understanding of the nature, processes and methods of scientific ideas;
Build on our student’s natural curiosity and developing a scientific approach to problems;
Encouraging open-mindedness, self-assessment, perseverance
Develop the use of scientific language, recording and techniques;
Make links between science and other subjects.
GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) builds on the Key Stage 3 curriculum and covers the National Curriculum Programme of Study for Science at Key Stage 4. It encourages students to explore, explain, theorise and model in science and develops a critical approach to scientific evidence. At Whitstone School students start studying towards their GCSE Combined Science in Year 9.
GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) is taught as 3 subjects:
Biology
Cell biology
Organisation
Infection and response
Bioenergetics
Homeostasis and response
Inheritance, variation and evolution
Ecology
Chemistry
Atomic structure and the periodic table
Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter
Quantitative chemistry
Chemical changes
Energy changes
The rate and extent of chemical change
Organic chemistry
Chemical analysis
Chemistry of the atmosphere
Using resources
Physics
Energy
Electricity
Particle model of matter
Atomic structure
Forces
Waves
Magnetism and electromagnetism
The Combined Science GCSE is examined by six 1 hour 15 min written exams, each of which is worth 16.7%. There are two exams on each subject Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
21 required practicals are delivered throughout the course. There will be questions relating to these practicals on the written exam papers.
Success in Combined Science can provide access to AS/A2 Science courses, including Applied Science and Psychology. In the long term, if students decide to pursue scientific studies, it can lead to an almost limitless number of job opportunities. Highly qualified scientists are very much in demand, and their skills are required in many jobs.