Science - KS3
Curriculum Intent
- Ensure all learners are engaged and perform to the best of their ability.
- Develop successful learners who can apply scientific knowledge and understanding correctly to both familiar and unfamiliar contexts in the world.
- Foster a curiosity about natural phenomena that is underpinned by knowledge and the power of rational explanation.
- Develop an understanding for the processes and methods of science and understand the uses and implications of it.
- Appreciate the breadth of career pathways available with links made to STEM
Our students follow the national curriculum at KS3, our intent is for students to develop a deeper understanding of Biology, Chemistry and Physics and to appreciate the links between the disciplines. Big ideas are explored and students understanding facilitated, for example the links between structure and function in living organisms, the particulate model as the key to understanding the properties and interactions of matter in all its forms, and the resources and means of transfer of energy as key determinants of all of these interactions. Students are encouraged to relate scientific explanations to phenomena in the world around them and start to use modelling and abstract ideas to develop and evaluate explanations.
The KS3 curriculum is delivered in Years 7 and 8 to mixed ability grouping. Our student’s prior attainment and progress means we are able to deliver a broad curriculum in this time that challenges the more able and supports those that are less able to understand fundamental principles. The topics covered provide the initial foundations for the GCSE content enabling pupils to build on their existing knowledge as they progress. Due to the high academic potential of our students in Year 9 students begin to study the GCSE course, this enables our students to have lessons supporting the more challenging concepts, such as two-part mathematical processes and applying their knowledge in unfamiliar settings. Student attainment reflects that this is working well.
Key Documents
Click the link below for a detailed overview of the core knowledge and skills covered in Key Stage 3 Science:
Key Stage 3 Science Knowledge Sequencing
In Years 7-9 work is assessed against Learning Pathways. Click the link below for the Learning Pathway descriptors against which work is judged: