Science, Goodwin Academy

Curriculum Intent

Guiding students to become responsible citizens who are able to make informed decisions and valid choices throughout their lives.

We aim to transform the lives of our students by helping them to understand aspects of the world around them so that as individuals they are better informed with their personal decisions that affect their health, their diet, exercise, use of energy and the care and enjoyment of the natural and physical environment around them. The scientific practice of questioning, seeking evidence and answers, and sharing views with others also contributes to building confidence and respect for themselves and others. This will allow our students to become confident and successful individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives.

Furthermore, global issues, such as climate change, health and population growth, create an urgent need for young people to have a basic understanding of the relevant scientific ideas, technological and ethical issues and powers of reasoning, so that they are better prepared to consider and face these issues. Our science curriculum will help our students to become responsible citizens who know how to make a positive contribution to society.

Our curriculum will develop cultural capital by giving them the opportunity to engage in activities that develop their knowledge of threshold concepts of science, alongside skill development, to give students the capacity to grasp the essentials of diverse problems, to recognise meaningful patterns, and to retrieve and apply relevant knowledge across the big ideas of science. The cultural capital developed across the science curriculum will ensure students develop the critical spirit of the independent thinker—as a force for challenging orthodoxies not only within science but also in other subjects.

We will ensure our curriculum is broad and balanced by providing local contexts such as sampling local wildlife in ecology topics, and interacting with Pfizer at Sandwich Discovery Park who have adopted us as their local secondary school link. We provide opportunities for students to consider national science issues such as the 2050 carbon neutral debate, and to explore international science projects such as the international space programmes. We provide rich experiences to wrap around the powerful knowledge we deliver in our curriculum to ensure that students become responsible citizens with an informed knowledge of science.

KS3, Years 7, 8 & 9 Science

In Years 7, 8 and 9 students are exposed to a broad range of science concepts that aim to reinforce and extend prior knowledge and to also prepare them for GCSE study which begins in Year 10. We follow the AQA KS3 syllabus. A variety of exciting and innovative teaching methods are used to deliver the curriculum. These aim to engage and ignite an interest in the subject in all students. Where possible, links to science in the real world are used so that students are more aware of the benefits that ‘mastery’ of the subject can bring. To support their study, all students are registered with Carousel Learning, where they can use the learning modules to enhance their learning and complete online homework materials. To further support all students, including SEND, as a department we focus on effective teaching principles that includes sequencing science topics logically, building on prior knowledge in sequential small steps. All students will experience a high quality curriculum and all students will be expected to complete the same learning journey, but support, scaffolds and challenge will be provided where necessary to allow all students to access the curriculum appropriately for their needs.

Every science laboratory is suitably equipped with the necessary resources to facilitate the successful delivery of the full curriculum. We also have an adapted laboratory to allow full curriculum access for all students. Teaching staff often meet to discuss and share teaching strategies to further enhance the educational experience that is offered to all students.

Explore our Key Stage 3 syllabus

KS4, Year 10 & Year 11 GCSE Science

Students begin their GCSE study of science at the start of Year 10 and complete their course in Year 11 through the sitting of the formal public examinations. The Department delivers the AQA Combined Science Trilogy course at both Foundation and Higher level, and the AQA Separate Sciences at Foundation and Higher level.

The AQA linear science programme offers a traditional route through GCSE Science, with no coursework. It is assessed through six examination papers at both levels.

Throughout the duration of the course, students will be closely monitored to assess their progress and ensure that they are moving towards fulfilling and exceeding their potential. Where necessary, additional support will be offered in a format that is most suited to the individual to assist in realising this potential.

As with Years 7, 8 and 9, the course is well resourced and delivered through a range of teaching styles including an emphasis on working scientifically which is at the heart of the new GCSE. The teaching staff meet regularly to discuss teaching strategies and support that can be offered to students to enable success.

To help all learners, including SEND, to access GCSE content we focus on high quality teaching, alongside the use of a wide range of supportive resources including structured written supports for writing at science GCSE levels, visualisers to decode exam questions and model expected answers in real time, and we script explanations carefully to allow all learners to understand the content at GCSE. We will use exemplar material to help support students with extended writing and required practical methodology, and model planning techniques to help students become independent learners. Through carefully planned retrieval questioning, we hope to build student confidence over time and develop meaningful memory connections to allow all students to recall and understand the key content of the science curriculum. Where exam arrangements are required, including readers, scribes and word processing, we work closely with relevant departments to ensure this provision is provided across the science department.

Assessment

There are six papers for Combined Trilogy GCSE: two Biology, two Chemistry and two Physics. Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas.

Biology Paper 1

What’s assessed: Biology topics 1–4: Cell Biology; Organisation; Infection and response; and Bioenergetics.

How it’s assessed: Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes • Foundation and Higher Tier • 70 marks • 16.7% of GCSE Question Format: Multiple choice, structured, closed short answer, and open response.

Biology Paper 2

What’s assessed: Biology topics 5–7: Homeostasis and response; Inheritance, variation and evolution; and Ecology.