Science
Is there a Doctor in the house?
This module has most certainly tested our medical skills, with Year 9s impending heart dissection, some Year 8s getting to grips with a cow eye, Year 7 deconstructing daffodils, and the whole Year 8 cohort witnessing a heart, liver, lung, trachea, and larynx dissection in the theatre organised by our resident expert, Biologist Mrs. Sarkaria-Nash, all part of our quest to inspire a new generation of medical professionals... or undertakers, considering none of our subjects were alive.
As part of our science department ethos, none of our dissections were obtained for the sake of dissection but were all based upon wastage and food products.
Dissection practicals, though not for everyone, are important for experiencing the reality of the theory lessons that are taught; nobody quite forgets the first time they hold a heartstring or push through a valve to see how it operates, nor do they forget holding an actual lens or portion of iris. Most of our frontline NHS workers will fondly remember any such first experiences, and it's an honour to be able to provide that for our students.
Science never stops...
Although we've had a dissection focus, this term we've seen Thermite detonated, waves measured, the all too hilarious to teach but essential figurative birds and bees. This is as well as some of the required practicals for Photosynthesis which I think most people will remember, counting tiny bubbles of oxygen for some garden variety pondweed.
We shouldn't forget the impending exams either, our Year 11's are now entering the final challenging stages of their GCSEs, revising and preparing for their six individual papers, with each subject, Biology, Chemistry and Physics represented by two papers each. All contain different topics from the three disciplines, which are known to our students ahead of time. For a helpful reference here they are below:
Its always a tough time of year for our young adults, experiencing pressure, revising each afternoon and again all day at school. We thank you for any support with home revision and will continue to provide as many resources as we can bring to bear, with the end result being that our students leave school, competitive, capable and well qualified for any future choices they might make!
Biology 1 topics 1–4: Cell Biology; Organisation; Infection and response; and Bioenergetics.
Biology 2 topics 5–7: Homeostasis and response; Inheritance, variation and evolution; and Ecology.
Chemistry 1 topics 8–12: Atomic structure and the periodic table; Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter; Quantitative chemistry; Chemical changes; and Energy changes.
Chemistry 2 topics 13–17: The rate and extent of chemical change; Organic chemistry; Chemical analysis; Chemistry of the atmosphere; and Using resources.
Physics 1 topics 18–21: Energy; Electricity; Particle model of matter; and Atomic structure.
Physics 2 topics 22–24: Forces; Waves; and Magnetism and electromagnetism
Mr Matthew Harman - CoL of Science