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Science

 

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All students in Year 10 and 11 will continue to study science at Lode Heath. We offer two pathways through Key Stage 4, as outlined below. Students will follow the most appropriate course based on their previous experiences and ability demonstrated at Key Stage 3.


GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) Double Award (x2)

Students studying Combined Science: Trilogy will cover the three science disciplines in the

traditional fashion, much like the current Core and Additional Science GCSEs. Combined

Science: Trilogy takes a logical and coherent journey through the familiar and new content.

Students will follow the syllabus provided by the AQA examination board. The course will be taught on a linear basis with all examinations at the end of Year 11.


Combined Science Assessment

  • Six papers – two Biology, two Chemistry and two Physics. Each will assess different topics.

  • Duration – all papers are 1 hour 15 minutes.

  • Tiers – foundation and higher

  • Weighting – the papers are equally weighted. Each is worth 16.7 % of the grade and has 70 marks.

  • Question types – multiple choice, structure, closed, short answer and open response.

 

Practical Work

There is no longer controlled assessment in science. There are however 16 required practicals set out in the specification that students must experience and be familiar with the apparatus and techniques.

Students will conduct this practical work in lesson time and the written exams will include questions that draw specifically on students’ practical science experience. At least 15% of marks for each GCSE will be allocated to these questions.


GCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics Triple Award (x3) (Separate Sciences)

We are also offering some students the opportunity to study separate sciences at Lode Heath. This course is to target and motivate our highest achieving students at Key Stage 3. These students must be very hard working and have a genuine interest in Science. They may already have a career in mind that is Science based.

This course will lead to three separate GCSE qualifications in Biology, Chemistry and Physics by the end of Year 11.

Whilst Combined Science is the foundation to Advanced level study, the Separate Science course has a greater breadth as it covers a greater number of topics.


Practical Work

There is no longer controlled assessment in science. There are however 8 required practicals for each discipline (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) set out in the specification that students must experience and be familiar with the apparatus and techniques.  Students will conduct this practical work in lesson time and the written exams will include questions that draw specifically on students’ practical science experience. At least 15% of marks for each GCSE will be allocated to these questions.

Students are awarded their Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSEs at the end of Year 11.  Students will be graded from 1-9 with 9 being the highest.

This is not a course for the faint hearted as we will be covering a lot of ground over the course of Key Stage 4 with all of the material taken from the high level sections of the syllabus. Consequently, this course will only be offered to our highest achieving students from Key Stage 3.