Purpose

We believe that scientific knowledge is powerful, and only through deep knowledge and understanding of the world can our pupils play an active part in its future. Specialised scientific knowledge is not simply acquired or produced in everyday experience but must be made accessible to all through a scientific education; one that focuses on developing expert knowledge and understanding of natural phenomena as well as the disciplines and traditions of scientific enquiry.

Big Ideas

• All material in the Universe is made of very small particles.
• Objects can affect other objects at a distance.
• Changing the movement of an object requires a net force to be acting on it.
• The total amount of energy in the Universe is always the same but energy can be transformed when things change or are made to happen.
• The composition of the Earth and its atmosphere and the processes occurring within them shape the Earth’s surface and its climate.
• The solar system is a very small part of one of millions of galaxies in the Universe.
• Organisms are organised on a cellular basis.
• Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.
• Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they are often dependent on or in competition with other organisms.
• The diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.

Key Principles

• Teach the best that has been thought and said within the scientific discipline. We will develop in pupils a strong substantive knowledge and understanding in science that can be used to explain natural phenomena.
• Enable pupils to learn how knowledge is formed and changed. We will develop in pupils a confident understanding of the disciplines and traditions of scientific enquiry.
• Use research-informed approaches to teaching and learning, particularly research concerned with the science of learning.
• Develop resilience, eloquence and critical thought through a knowledge-rich curriculum.
• Reflect a view of scientific knowledge and scientific inquiry that is explicit and in line with current scientific and educational thinking.
• Develop pupils to be able to communicate their understanding of science effectively.
• Empower success in public examinations and enable pupils the option to study at increasingly higher levels of education.