Key Stage 4 Overview

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 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