The KS3 curriculum aligns with the National Curriculum and takes inspiration from the AQA science syllabus, laying the foundations for AQA GCSE syllabus, which begins in year 9 and beyond.  Throughout the science curriculum, our students have regular opportunities to gradually develop their confidence when applying mathematical skills, 'how science works' skills and communicating their ideas clearly and logically.

At KS3, science students learn new knowledge in discrete biology, chemistry, and physics topics to provide them with the time and space to gain secure understanding and best equip students for success at GCSE.

Our curriculum is organised into 'big ideas', which are broken down into topics that support our students in learning to see the world analytically, explain phenomena, and make predictions; all skills needed for future stages of scientific learning and their lives outside the classroom.  

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Each 'big idea' topic contains smaller topics, taught as distinct units ordered from more straightforward topics to more abstract or complex ones later in the course. This approach means that ideas introduced earlier in the course are revisited and extended throughout the curriculum, allowing students to connect scientific knowledge across different contexts. For example, in year 7, students learn about energy principles, then 'Electricity and magnetism' and 'Heating and cooling' in Year 8. 

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KS3 Curriculum Map

Assessment:  7/8 Topic tests of mixed multiple-choice, short answer & long-answer questions.

Our knowledge-rich KS4 science curriculum follows the AQA KS4 trilogy syllabus and begins in year 9. We aim to develop students' understanding of the world around them. The curriculum combines scientific theory with practical investigation and skills to empower students to make informed decisions about science and the world they live in. 

We start our three-year KS4 curriculum with chemistry and the atom, how it forms the building blocks of existence, the distinct types of bonds and how they are represented in the periodic table. We move on to biology and how cells are the building blocks of life, the diverse types of cells and how they grow and come together into tissues, organs, and systems. With physics, we start with the conservation of energy and then explore all the different types of energy transfers. 

In year 10, we begin looking at how nerves and hormones coordinate the human body and move on to disease and its effect on the body before moving on to photosynthesis and respiration. Students learn about the mole, reaction energy changes, electrolysis, and organic chemistry in chemistry. In Physics, we begin investigating forces, their effects, and how they can be represented, the particle model, and radioactivity. 

In year 11, we start with biology, adaptations, and interdependence, expanding into ecosystems and biodiversity. In chemistry, we look at controlling the reaction rate and dynamic equilibrium. The final physics topics teach waves, structure, and interaction, leading to the electromagnetic spectrum and electromagnetism. The last biology topics are reproduction, variation, and genetics, leading to evolution