Science Faculty

PAGE UNDER REVIEW – JANUARY 2024

Head of Faculty: Mr H Duvvasi

(*NB: Students in year 9 begin the study of their KS4 curriculum)

In the Science Department at Ormiston Sudbury Academy, we aim to provide all of our students with the skills and knowledge to access the subject of Science. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that students are exposed to the entirety of the national curriculum and our lessons are delivered in a way to try to encourage the love of learning and the love of science. We incorporate wider learning into our lessons where possible, making the learning contextual to real-world issues so that students can understand the purpose of their learning. We also refer lessons to specific careers, so that our students can be aspirational about their future.

Key Stage 3 Programme (followed by students in years 7, and 8*)

Throughout KS3, students will study a number of different units within each discipline of Science; these units often have links to each other but are in themselves discrete modules of learning. Due to equipment constraints, students in different classes will be doing different units at different points but every unit will have been covered by every class by the end of the year. If your child is unsure which unit they are studying, they can ask their teacher.

Year 7 Units

  • 7A – Cells, Tissues, Organs and Systems
  • 7B – Sexual Reproduction in Animals
  • 7C – Muscles and Bones
  • 7D – Ecosystems
  • 7E – Mixtures and Separation
  • 7F – Acids and Alkalis
  • 7G – The Particle Model
  • 7H – Atoms, Elements and Compounds
  • 7I – Energy
  • 7J – Current Electricity
  • 7K – Forces
  • 7L – Sounds

Year 8 Units

  • The Human Body (food and nutrition)
  • Plants and their reproduction
  • Breathing and Respiration
  • Unicellular Organisms
  • Combustion
  • The Periodic Table
  • Metals and their uses
  • Rocks
  • Fluids
  • Light
  • Energy Transfers

Key Stage 4 Programme (followed by students in years *9, 10 and 11)

Until summer 2022, OSA students followed OCR specification for all the sciences, but from September 2022, at KS4 (which students start in year 9) students will be studying the AQA Trilogy Science course which leads to each students getting 2 GCSEs in science. At the end year 9, students can select Triple Science in their options, which leads then to achieve 3 GCSE’s, one for each science.

The units that students study refer to the AQA specification:

Biology

  • B1 – Cell Structure and Transport
  • B2 – Cell Division
  • B3 – Organisation and the Digestive System
  • B4 – Organising Animals and Plants
  • B5 – Communicable Diseases
  • B6 – Preventing and Treating Disease
  • B7 – Non-Communicable Disease
  • B8 – Photosynthesis
  • B9 – Respiration
  • B10 – The Human Nervous System
  • B11 – Hormonal Coordination
  • B12 – Homeostasis in Action
  • B13 – Reproduction
  • B14 – Variation
  • B15 – Evolution
  • B16 – Adaptation and Interdependence
  • B17 – Organising an Ecosystem
  • B18 – The Effect of Human Interaction on Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Chemistry

  • C1 – Atomic Structure
  • C2 – The Periodic Table
  • C3 – Structure and Bonding
  • C4 – Chemical Calculations
  • C5 – Chemical Changes
  • C6 – Electrolysis
  • C7 – Energy Changes
  • C8 – Rates and Equilibrium
  • C9 – Hydrocarbons
  • C10 – Organic Reactions
  • C11 – Polymers
  • C12 – Chemical Analysis
  • C13 – earth’s Atmosphere
  • C14 – Earth’s Resources
  • C15 – Using Earth’s Resources

Physics

  • P1 – Conservation and Dissipation of Energy
  • P2 – Energy Transfer by Heating
  • P3 – Energy Resources
  • P4 – Electrical Circuits
  • P5 – Electricity in the Home
  • P6 – Molecules and Matter
  • P7 – Radioactivity
  • P8 – Forces in Balance
  • P9 – Motion
  • P10 – Force and Motion
  • P11 – Force and Pressure
  • P12 – Wave Properties
  • P13 – Electromagnetic Waves
  • P14 – Light
  • P15 – Electromagnetism
  • P16 – Space

Year 11 Science: Current Year 11 students will finish their GCSE curricula in Science in OCR specification. We are running a trial to see how students perform in both AQA and OCR mocks. Depending on their performance, we shall decide the move.

Child Development (KS4) Statement of Intent

The child development course allows pupils to learn more about how humans grow and develop.

The two-year course is made up of three components, of which two are assessed internally and the third component is assessed through an exam at the end of year 11.

The three components are:

  • Children’s growth and development
  • Learning through play
  • Supporting children to play, learn and develop

The internally assessed components focus on:

  • the development of core knowledge and understanding of the key features of children’s growth and development, and factors that can affect how children make progress between the ages of birth to five years old
  • the development and application of skills, such as using play opportunities to benefit children’s learning and development.

Component 3 builds directly on Components 1 and 2, and it enables learning to be brought together and applied to realistic contexts.

The external assessment requires learners to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of child development by considering how individual circumstances across the five areas of development affect a child’s ability or capacity to learn through play and meet expected development milestones.