Year 13 science

This course will cover a broad spectrum of concepts in Science. It will suit you if you have a continuing interest in Science but do not wish to take a single subject Science ie Biology/Physics/ Chemistry.

The course will not suit you if you intend to study Engineering or Health Science at University. For these courses Physics, Chemistry and Biology (optional) are required instead.

What Skills Will I Learn?

• Investigative skills associated with understanding scientific concepts

• Skill associated with analysing the validity of ideas in a variety of socio-scientific topic

• How to select and use appropriate scientific information.

In this course you will learn to think like a scientist and analyse scientific information. You will learn do to this through methods such as:

• analysing scientific literature

• involvement in practicals

• researching

• writing reports

For entry to this course, students must have gained at least 12 credits in a Science subject at Level 2 (Biology, Human Biology, Physics, Chemistry or Science) and demonstrated an ability to achieve a high standard in Science internals at Level 2. Other students may gain entry at the discretion of the HOD of Science – consultation is required.

The course will be completely internally assessed, so naturally will suit students who prefer this method of assessment. The assessments will be a combination of report writing based on independent research and class lessons, as well as internal tests.

Final structure of the course will be tailored to the class. The standards from which the assessment will be drawn are shown below. All standards will be internally assessed. It is anticipated that students will attempt 6 standards totalling at least 19 credits.

School Policy for NCEA Assessment

You should be aware of the school procedures for NCEA assessment.  They can be found on the school website at this link. There you will find answers to frequently asked questions about how NCEA works as well as guidance about how to apply for extensions, reconsiderations or the process for withdrawing from a standard.