Science Department

Syllabus & Course Content:

Two different courses are offered to cater for the different learning styles and preferred assessment methods of different students. Both courses place a strong emphasis on how Science relates to students’ everyday lives.

1. OCR Gateway Science (Core & Additional Science) - worth 2 GCSEs Students who follow this course will study:

GCSE Core Science in Year 10 (1 GCSE)
GCSE Additional Science in Year 11 (1 GCSE)

Each of these courses is completely separate and means that students will now be awarded a Science GCSE at the end of Year 10. Students study all three Science disciplines (Biology, Chemistry & Physics) throughout Years 10 &
11 and written exams will be composed of a mixture of questions from all three.

What will the course be like?

This course will be interesting and link scientific ideas to everyday life.

Where can it lead?

You will be qualified to play your part in a scientifically and technologically advanced society. If you wish to continue to study Science after Year 11, these are some of the courses which will be on offer to you here at Ashington High School: AS and A level Human Biology, AS and A level Chemistry and/or AS and A level Physics

Assessment:

YEAR 10: GCSE CORE SCIENCE (1 GCSE)

COURSEWORK:
“Can-Do” Tasks – practical and research tasks that are weaved into lessons to reinforce understanding.
They are “short and sharp” and graded according to difficulty from 1 to 3.
“Science In The News” – students use stimulus material and the internet to research whether or not
they think that cannabis should be legalised.

YEAR 11: GCSE ADDITIONAL SCIENCE (1 GCSE)

COURSEWORK:
“Data Task” – students learn to plan and carry out an experiment. They then use scientific knowledge to analyse and evaluate their results. “Research Task” – students use the internet or other sources to expand their knowledge of the issues surrounding organ transplantation.