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Science

Vision

At St Mary's and St John's (SMSJ) we are committed to providing a stimulating, engaging, and intellectually challenging learning environment to enable all our students to develop scientific consciousness, from the subatomic to the intergalactic. We aim to give all children a strong understanding of the world around them, whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them to think scientifically. Throughout their studies students will gain an understanding of the scientific process, and of the uses and implications of Science today and for the future.

Scientific enquiry skills are embedded in each topic the pupils study and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at school. This model allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding procedural understanding into the long-term memory. Students are supported to develop and use a range of investigative skills, as well as being encouraged to become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific based questions.

KS3

Our KS3 curriculum is designed to engage and enthuse our learners whilst building up those important Scientific skills. Some topics covered at KS3 build on knowledge learnt in Primary school, whilst others are new. Each term is themed around a big question relevant to the students’ lives, and within each of these our KS3 topics are designed to introduce pupils to key questions and problems in science, to discover STEM careers, and to build into the GCSE topics at KS4. Specialist vocabulary for all topics are taught and built throughout the units, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is developed.

Year 7 pupils will study:

What are the building blocks of science?
- How do we work scientifically?
- What are the building blocks of chemistry?
- What are the building blocks of biology?
- What are the building blocks of the universe?
How do we interact with the world around us?
- How do our bodies interact with the world around us?
- How do we sense light and sound?
- How are living organisms created?
How do we use science in our society?
- How can we observe and use chemical reactions?
- How do we use forces in our lives?

Year 8 pupils will study:

How can we protect the environment?
- What makes energy transfers efficient?
- How is energy transferred in living organisms?
- How have the Earth and atmosphere changed over time?
- How can we monitor acidic conditions?
How can we protect ourselves with science?
- How can we keep our bodies healthy?
- How can understanding the properties of chemicals help us to use them safely?
How can science help us to understand the impact of the modern world?
- How and why do living organisms adapt to be more successful?
- How does the movement of electric charge cause energy transfers?
- How do different objects interact with magnetic fields?

KS4

Our KS4 curriculum is taught over three years. https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse. Students either study for AQA Combined Science (Trilogy) which is 2 Science GCSEs, or AQA Separate Sciences in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, which is 3 GCSEs. Some students will also earn Entry Level Certificates in science.

GCSE Combined Science and Separate Sciences

Year	Biology	Chemistry	Physics
9	Cell biology Organisation - Animals Bioenergetics - Respiration	Atomic structure and the Periodic table Bonding, structures and property of matter	Energy
10	Organisation - Plants Bioenergetics Photosynthesis Infection and response Ecology	Quantitative chemistry Chemical changes Energy changes The rate and extent of chemical change	Electricity Particle model of matter Atomic structure Forces
11	Homeostasis and response Inheritance, variation and evolution	Organic chemistry Chemical analysis Chemistry of the atmosphere Using resources	Waves Magnetism and electromagnetism Space physics (Separate Sciences only)