Science

 

"The important thing is to never stop questioning"

Albert Einstein

OUR VISION FOR SCIENCE AT ALL SAINTS ACADEMY

Every child matters equally to God,  we understand that different students, transitioning from different primary schools will  have experienced science in different ways.  Our science curriculum has been devised to consolidate the basic ideas introduced at key stage 2 which allows for individual gaps in knowledge to be addressed, before broadening and deepening concepts to meet the KS3 National Curriculum. 

The KS3 Science National Curriculum objectives have been deconstructed, and reconstructed in a way that sees opportunities for different disciplines of science (biology, chemistry and physics) to link together to deepen understanding of scientific concepts. Each half term is centred around a scientific career and is designed to interweave both substantive and disciplinary knowledge and skills in science, while continually inspiring awe and wonder about the world we live in.

In doing so, students will expand their love of learning science beyond school, whether this be further education, higher education or career destinations.  Developing scientific literacy should empower students to also take their place in society.  To enhance this further, the KS3 course has embedded opportunities to develop cultural capital, inspired by the curriculum career topics.

As socially conscientious citizens and stewards, we have responsibility to safeguard God’s creation; the amazing world we live in.  Our curriculum aims to encourage students to reflect upon the ways in which science allows us to learn more about and utilise the resources of the Earth, but continually reflect upon what we “want” from science and the Earth vs what we “need”.

HOW WILL WE ACHIEVE THIS?

As part of the whole academy meta-cognition teaching cycle, students start each lesson by activating their prior knowledge.  KS1 and KS2 National Curriculum objectives are the main focus for retrieval at the start of each lesson initially. As the course progresses, knowledge from Year 7 is retrieved again in Year 8 and 9, and Year 8 retrieval is built into Year 9. 

Disciplinary skills are organised into a “working scientifically matrix”,  varying in challenge.  The focus of the new KS3 course is to develop students “planning and observing” skills in Year 7, “analysing and evaluating” in Year 8 and “explaining” findings in Year 9.

Lessons include a cultural capital challenge to inspire development of leadership, culture, character and skills.

KS3 Teaching Routes

KS3 Teaching Routes 2022-23

KS3 Teaching Routes 2023-24

KS3 Teaching Routes 2024-25

Learning Journey in Science

Reading Journey

We encourage students to learn more about Science and for them to develop a real passion for the subject. The Science department have created a reading list of some of the books that we find engaging, knowledgeable and insightful and will hopefully inspire our students to develop independent Science learning.

HOW WILL WE ASSESS SCIENCE

Students will demonstrate what they have learned and remembered through a variety of verbal and written answers both in and out of lessons which will inform the next steps in learning.

Formative assessment can take many forms during lessons.  All Saints Academy teaching and learning sequence engages students in regular activities of retrieval and understanding of key vocabulary.

www.Senecalearning.com is an online platforms for low stakes testing which uses a variety of questioning styles from matching statements, missing keywords to labelling diagrams.  They engage students in retrieval activities for mastery of the key information which needs to be remembered.  This platform will usually be set as homework tasks via Teams but can also be used for consolidation of learning. 

Summative assessment, or more formal testing, will take place to inform academic data points.  In upper school this will be 3 times per year.  In 2024-25 summative assessments for lower school students will be more frequent to build a clearer picture of student progress and achievement.

Upper school students can access past paper questions and answers directly from the exam board website.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF OUR WORK

To measure the success and impact of the curriculum, students are issued a “Masters of Recall” booklet with science knowledge organisers.  Students are expected to complete homework revision tasks based on these knowledge organisers, followed by a half termly multiple choice quiz to measure impact.  In addition to this, student complete half-termly “skills” assessments in which they are to demonstrate their application of science.  Here, students complete “Big Questions” in which the student may need to either explain, compare, evaluate or devise an investigation.  Students plan their answers, and then write a paragraph to answer the “Big Question”.  These are then marked by the teacher, and they are given feedback as to whether they are on target. Students are guided through self-reflection before, during and after this assessment to help develop self-efficacy.

Cultural Capital

• Life Science Centre, Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London
• National Space Centre, Exploration Drive, Leicester
• Y7 Science Club with Mr. Reid every Monday

Science Prefect

Hi I'm Sam. Ever since I joined All Saints, I have had a big passion for science and have always enjoyed learning in the lessons and contributing to the classes. In year 7 and year 8, I was a quieter individual and because of this, I didn’t often share my passion for learning with others, I just kept it to myself. However, as I moved into year 9, I started stepping out into my passion and sharing it with others. In doing this, I joined the Science mentoring team which helps younger students who are struggling with learning which I greatly enjoyed. At this point, my passion for science had grown and I was talking to many people about my passion, and I was proud of it, not embarrassed which was a big change from my time in the early years of secondary school. When I heard about the opportunity for prefect roles in year 10, I knew I wanted to become the senior science prefect as part of the prefect team in All Saints. As senior prefect for science, I plan to share my passion with many more people in the school and hopefully inspire others to follow their passion and embrace the things they love.  

Attend STEM Club

Social responsibility for the environment

Volunteers needed for litter picks and protecting the natural environment. 

Opportunities to see nature up close.

Science is one of the few qualifications which is still available at either foundation or higher tier exam.  The tier of entry will be decided.

EXAM BOARDS

AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy 

Most students will study AQA Combined Science: Trilogy.

There are 6 exams in this qualification, each is 1h15mins each.  This is a double award qualification and students will achieve two GCSEs from the combined exam scores in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  A copy of the specification can be found using the link below.  

https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/science/specifications/AQA-8464-SP-2016.PDF

AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE Chemistry, and GCSE Physics

Some students will have the opportunity to study three separate science.  Each qualification is achieved from two exams with each one taking 1h45mins. A copy of each specification can be found using the links below.

 https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/biology/specifications/AQA-8461-SP-2016.PDF https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/chemistry/specifications/AQA-8462-SP-2016.PDF https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/physics/specifications/AQA-8463-SP-2016.PDF

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