Science
Key Stage 4
Science is a core subject at Longdean. Every student will have the opportunity to gain valuable and relevant qualifications in science. We will be preparing students for qualifications offered by AQA. For our science GCSEs, the examination season is in May/June of the summer term at the end of Year 11 and there is no coursework. It is particularly important that students and parents note that the work covered in Year 9 is a fundamental part of the GCSE even though the formal examinations are not taken until the end of Year 11. It is vital to make a sound and secure start to the course in order to avoid later difficulties.
Students have the chance to express a preference as to whether they wish to work towards THREE separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, or towards a DOUBLE AWARD GCSE (worth two GCSEs) in Combined Science.
GCSE Combined Science (Double Award)
Known as Trilogy Science by the exam boards, this combines Physics Chemistry Biology.
GCSE Triple Science (Triple Award)
This studies each science, Physics Chemistry Biology, as a sperate subject and the student takes a GCSE in each subject.
GCSE Combined Science (Double Award)
This path applies ONLY to students who are not expressing a preference for the Triple Science option. They will follow a curriculum leading to a double award (two GCSEs) in Combined Science.
Common Aims (All Science Courses)
- To provide scientific knowledge and understanding which will enable students to engage with science based issues as informed citizens.
- To help students make sensible, informed decisions about their lifestyle and environment.
- To provide students with an enjoyable and exciting course of study, which will build on their work from Key Stage 3, and stimulate a genuine interest in how and why things happen in their world.
- To enable students with good GCSE grades to embark on a range of scientific A-Levels and post-16 courses, leading to a huge range of career options.
Content: Year 9-11 Combined Science
- Pupils will work towards a GCSE Double Award in Science, starting in Year 9.
- The GCSE Double Award covers all the main aspects of biology, physics and chemistry.
- The course includes practical skills and scientific thinking, as well as everyday scientific issues and scientific knowledge. There is a considerable amount of practical work, which includes, but is not limited to, 16 defined practical tasks that pupils must complete so that they have the experience to answer questions about them in the end-of-course examinations.
- The content of the course is an adequate base for moving on to any Science A-Level or post-16 course if the examinations are passed well enough at the end of the course in Year 11. Candidates must also be prepared to complete independently a “bridging task” during the summer holiday, before the start of Year 12.
Examination: Year 9-11 Combined Science
- The assessment is administered by AQA and the course code is 8464. The full name of the course is Combined Science: Trilogy. “Trilogy” in this context refers to the examinations being based on equal weightings of biology, chemistry and physics. It counts as TWO GCSEs, not three.
- Pupils will take six written examinations (1h15min each) at the end of year 11, all worth an equal amount (16.7%). There are two papers each for biology, chemistry and physics. Questions on the defined practical tasks will be included, so good attendance throughout the course is important.
- A decision will be made in Year 11 as to whether the papers will be taken at foundation or higher Tier. This is NOT a mix-and-match specification – ALL six papers have to be taken at the same tier. Foundation papers can lead to awards from grade 1-1 (lowest) to grade 5-5. Higher papers can lead to awards from grade 4-4 to grade 9-9 (highest) with a safety net award of grade 4-3 for a borderline performance. Anyone entered for higher examinations but performing below this level would get an Unclassified (U) grade. The grades have two numbers to reflect that the qualification is worth two GCSEs. The highest grade is 9-9, and the grades then go 9-8, 8-8, 8-7 and so on down to 2-2, 2-1 and the lowest pass, grade 1-1. In effect it is a seventeen-point scale.
GCSE Triple Science (Triple Award)
Students who choose the THREE SEPARATE SCIENCES will have more science lessons per fortnight for all three years of the course. It is NOT possible to switch to this route at a later stage – the courses need to begin at the start of Year 9.
Students who choose three separate sciences would have an advantage when starting Advanced level science courses in the sixth-form. However, this particular door does not close and it is possible for pupils to start A-level sciences from the core Double Science route, providing that they score highly enough on the relevant papers, and they are prepared to complete a “bridging task” after their GCSEs at the end of Year 11.
Common Aims (All Science Courses)
- To provide scientific knowledge and understanding which will enable students to engage with science based issues as informed citizens.
- To help students make sensible, informed decisions about their lifestyle and environment.
- To provide students with an enjoyable and exciting course of study, which will build on their work from Key Stage 3, and stimulate a genuine interest in how and why things happen in their world.
- To enable students with good GCSE grades to embark on a range of scientific A-Levels and post-16 courses, leading to a huge range of career options.
Content: Year 9-11 “Triple Science” option
- Pupils choosing this option will work towards three entirely separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, starting in Year 9.
- The course includes practical skills and scientific thinking, as well as everyday scientific issues and scientific knowledge. There is a considerable amount of practical work, which includes, but is not limited to, 8 defined practical tasks for each subject (a total of 24) that pupils must complete so that they have the experience to answer questions about them in the end-of-course examinations.
- The content of the course is a more than adequate base for moving on to the corresponding Science A-Level or post-16 course if the examinations are passed well enough at the end of the course in Year 11.
Examination: Year 9-11 “Triple Science” option
The assessment is administered by AQA and the course codes are:
- 8461 (Biology)
- 8462 (Chemistry)
- 8463 (Physics)
Pupils will take six written examinations of 1h45min each at the end of year 11, all worth an equal amount. There are two papers each for biology, chemistry and physics. They are longer than the papers taken by pupils on other courses and each one counts for 50% of the corresponding qualification. Questions on the defined practical tasks will be included, so good attendance throughout the course is important.
A decision will be made in Year 11 as to whether the papers will be taken at foundation or higher Tier. Both papers for any given subject have to be at the same tier, but they can be of different tiers for different qualifications. For example a pupil might take higher tier Biology papers but foundation tier Chemistry papers. Several permutations are possible based on performance by the time of examination entry in Year 11.
Foundation papers can lead to awards from grade 1 (lowest) to 5. Higher papers can lead to awards from grade 4 to 9 (highest) with a safety net award of grade 3 for a borderline performance. Anyone entered for higher tier papers but performing below this level would get an Unclassified (U) grade. The grades have one number to reflect that they are worth one GCSE each. The highest grade is 9, and the grades then go 8, 7 and so on down to the lowest pass, grade 1. In effect it is a nine-point scale, applied separately and independently to each of the three subjects.
