Science at Key stage 3 

Science is a diverse and exciting subject which helps pupils to explore and understand the world around them.  Here at St Anne’s School, pupils follow the current National Curriculum Guidelines for Science at Key stage 3, which places importance on the process of science as well as the accumulation of knowledge.  The course is divided into topics and the skills of science are taught alongside the teaching material.  Emphasis is placed on the skills of discussing, hypothesising, planning, experimenting, recording, presenting, interpreting, applying and evaluating.  Pupils are encouraged to take part in practical work by being given the opportunity to design and carry out their own investigations and the aim is to learn whilst having fun.

 All pupils have the opportunity to: 

• Build on their scientific knowledge and understanding from Key stage 2 and make connections between different areas of science
• Use scientific ideas and models to explain phenomena and events
• Think about the advantages and drawbacks of scientific technological developments for the environment and in other contexts, considering the reasons for different opinions
• Carry out investigations of different types, on their own and in groups, making use of reference sources and evaluating their work

The KS3 Curriculum

Year 7 – Topics taught: Cells, Reproduction, Environment and Feeding Relationships, Variation and Classification, Acids and Alkalis, Simple Chemical Reactions, Particle Models of Solids, Liquids and Gases, Solutions, Energy Resources, Electrical Circuits, Forces and Their Effects, The Solar System and Beyond.

Year 8 – Topics taught: Food and Digestion, Respiration, Microbes and Disease, Ecological Relationships, Atoms and Elements, Compounds and Mixtures, Rocks and Weathering, The Rock Cycle, Heating and Cooling, Magnets and Electromagnets, Light and Sound and Hearing.

Year 9 – Topics taught: Inheritance and Selection, Fit and Healthy, Plants and Photosynthesis, Plants for Food, Reactions of Metals and Metal Compounds, Patterns of Reactivity, Environmental Chemistry, Using Chemistry, Energy and Electricity, Gravity and Space, Speeding Up and Pressure and Moments

www.nc.uk.net / www.qca.org.uk