Science
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