Key Stage 4 Overview

Science is one of the core subjects of the National Curriculum and therefore it is compulsory in Years 9, 10 and 11. In each year group there are 6 x 50 minute lessons per week. Students will have 3 different teachers for Science lessons - one for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.  

The exam board that is used at Thornleigh is AQA. 

Most students will study Combined Science GCSE. Within Combined Science students are awarded 2 GCSE grades but these are known as a split grade and come in the format of 9-9, 9-8, 8-8 etc. This is a 17 grade scale.

With the reformed qualification all controlled assessment has been removed and practical work is assessed through the terminal exam of which there are 6 papers, two for each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Each paper is worth 16.6% of the GCSE. Some students will be entered for Higher Tier papers and some students will be entered for Foundation Tier papers.

 

Year 9

 

Biology

Cell structure and transport

Bioenergetics

Inheritance, variation and evolution

Infection and response

 

Chemistry

Atomic structure and the periodic table

Bonding, structures and the properties of matter

Chemical changes

Electrolysis

 

Physics

Waves

Atomic structure and radioactivity

Particle model of matter

 

Year 10

 

Biology

Classification of organisms

Organisation of the circulatory system

Homeostasis

Organisation of the digestive system

 

Chemistry

Energy changes

Rate of reaction

Organic chemistry

Chemical analysis

Chemistry of the atmosphere

 

Physics

Forces and motion

Electricity

 

Year 11

 

Biology

Cell division and microscopy

Reproduction

Inheritance

Variation and evolution

Ecology

 

Chemistry

Quantitative chemistry

Using resources

 

Physics

Energy

Magnetism and Electromagnetism