Science Overview

Dr Richard Beal
Head of Science

Head of Department

Please email Richard Beal if you need to make an enquiry about science.

Curriculum Time

In Years 7 and 8 all students receive 3 hours of science lessons per week. In Years 9, 10 and 11 the majority of students will follow the AQA Trilogy science course which will gain the students 2 GCSE. The most able students will be selected to follow single science courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics which will gain them 3 GCSE (1 for each subject).

Students studying Trilogy will have 9 lessons per cycle in Year 9 and 10, and 10 lessons per cycle in year 11. Those students doing all three single science courses (often referred to as “Triple Science” will have 1 extra science lesson per cycle to cover the extra content of the course.

Homework

Science homework is set twice a week for all students in Years 7 and 8. Each homework is expected to take approximately 20-30 minutes. GCSE students doing Trilogy receive two 40 minute home works per week. Separate science students (triple) receive three homeworks per week.

Class Groupings

Students are set according to ability for all science groups at Ryedale.

GCSE Syllabus

The courses we offer cover a wide range of fundamental scientific principles relevant to all our lives; they provide a solid foundation of science literacy and give an insight as to how scientists develop an understanding of the world we live in.

From Year 9 onwards students will follow the Trilogy course that will result in 2 GCSEs. This course is compulsory for all students who are not selected for Separate Sciences and will cover aspects of Biology, Chemistry and Physics taught in discrete topics. Those selected for Separate Sciences will study the same course as Trilogy but in more depth leading to 3 GCSEs in Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Both of these courses will be graded in line with the new GCSE from 9-1.

Students doing Separate Sciences and Trilogy will both be assessed by 6 terminal examinations at the end of Year 11 (Trilogy 1h 15 each and Separate Sciences 1h 45 each). The assessments will also now include questions about a range of “Required practical” that the students must undertake throughout the course.

Links to the new GCSE courses are below:

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/combined-science-trilogy-8464
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/biology-8461 http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/chemistry-8462
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/physics-8463

Rooming and Resources

The science department has recently undergone a major refurbishment. We now offer 5 new teaching laboratories with state of the art facilities. All teaching laboratories are fully equipped for the full range of GCSE science practical work and have wireless laptops. The new laboratories allow for a full range of teaching styles that engage all types of learner.

Departmental Ethos

We hope that inspirational science teaching will lead to a lifelong interest in the scientific world. Many of our students continue with their scientific education and seek to enter science and technology related careers.