SCIENCE (All students)

Course description

All students study Science at GCSE and will be guided to one of the routes shown below depending on their prior attainment. Students will follow the Edexcel GCSE Science courses, which are linear. This means all assessments take place at the end of Year 11.

The Combined Science course gives students an opportunity to study Biology, Chemistry and Physics and provides the foundation for understanding the world around us. Students will develop scientific knowledge and understanding, alongside developing their practical skills. Studying Combined Science will give students two GCSE grades at the end of the course that are an average of their achievement in the examinations for all three areas of Science. Studying Separate Sciences enables students to achieve separate grades for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. This provides further challenge and detail for students that achieve highly in Science and have a strong interest in the subject. Throughout the course, whichever path of study students follow, there is an emphasis on the importance of the understanding and application of scientific concepts, including through practical work. It is possible to achieve Grade 9 and study A-Level Sciences regardless of the course they follow.  

GCSE Combined Science

This course covers topics such as health and disease, chemical reactions and forces. Students will complete 17 core practical assessments during the two years to develop their practical skills. These skills will be assessed through written exam papers. Combined Science is assessed through six 1 hour 10 minutes papers at the end of Year 11. The written examinations will contain a mixture of question styles including: objective questions; short answer questions and extended writing questions. They will be available at either higher tier (9-4) or foundation tier (5-1).

Qualification: 2 GCSEs in Combined Science

GCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics

In addition to the Combined Science topics, students will study concepts such as protein synthesis, quantitative analysis and astronomy in more depth. Students will also have to complete 8 core practical assessments for each subject which will be assessed in the written exam papers. Each subject is assessed through two 1 hour 45 minutes written examinations that will contain a mixture of question styles including: objective questions; short answer questions and extended writing questions. These examinations will be available at higher tier (9-4).

 Qualification: GCSE in each of Biology, Chemistry & Physics

Director of Learning: Miss S Castro da Luz

sofia.castrodaluz@riddlesdown.org