The Department

Curriculum Leader: Miss A Fotheringham                                                                                                                                          Assistant Curriculum Leader & Curriculum Leader for Chemistry: Mr D Bowyer  
Head of Biology: Dr Hamilton
Head of Physics: Mr Y Zarrouq                                                                                                                                                                                

STEAM in Science

The Science department offers a wide variety of STEAM activities. This provides students who are passionate about science or considering a career in a STEAM based environment with invaluable enrichment opportunities. All year groups have activities designed to instil a love of science and see the wider applications of the subject during British Science Week which runs each year in March.

In addition to this, Year 7 students are invited to a Science club run by staff and supported by post 16 students in the Autumn and Spring terms. Students are invited to attend and experience a number of practical activities that are linked to everyday applications of science. Year 7 students also take part in a science fair in the spring term in which they are asked to research and present an aspect of science interesting to them. The Year 8 cohort take part in the science department’s curriculum enrichment day in which they learn about using scientific principles to escape a Desert Island. Year 7 students attend a trip to Whipsnade Zoo and this is linked to the science curriculum and teaches them about conservation and how animals and plants adapt to their habitats.

Year 9 students are involved in a STEAM activity day and this is run during British Science Week. This is a cross curricular opportunity and the Maths and Design Technology departments are also involved. Students in Year 9 are also invited to take part in an event run through EDT Engineering called Carbon Capture. This encourages students to consider ways in which carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced to tackle the problems caused by global warming. Students involved are awarded a Bronze CREST award on completion.

In Year 10 students take part in the Live Operating Theatre, learning more about anatomy first hand and applying this to the GCSE curriculum. A team of science students also take part in the MBDA Glider Challenge.  At Key Stage 5 all science subjects offer students Olympiads to stretch and challenge them. Each department also runs specific activities including Physics and Biology in Action and a Spectroscopy session for chemists. These are all done at universities in London.

KS3

What will be studied?

Students are taught topics in Biology, Chemistry and Physics in rotation, three times per week. They are encouraged to think scientifically and a great emphasis is placed on Working Scientifically skills. This includes the ability to draw conclusions from data and evaluate theories. Students are also given an opportunity to ask questions and answer these about everyday phenomena that they observe.
In Year 9 all students begin a foundation stage preparing them for the GCSE course.