GCSE Sciences

Exam Board - AQA

The Course

The Science department offers two options for studying science at GCSE. Students can either study a Combined Science GCSE course or study separate Science GCSE courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

The Science curriculum aims to develop the scientific knowledge and skills required for students to understand science in the news and to make informed decisions about everyday issues they will encounter.

Assessment

Combined Science GCSE Course

Students will be following the new 9-1 AQA Trilogy specification at GCSE, gaining two GCSE qualifications. The coursework component of the GCSE qualifications has now been removed so students will be assessed on their exams only. Students will take a total of six exam papers each worth 16.7% of the final grade. There will be two exam papers for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. All papers are 1 hour and 15 minutes long.

The following topics will be studied in Year 10:

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Cells

Movement in and out of cells

Respiration

Photosynthesis

Infection and response

Responding to the environment

Ecology

Atoms

Bonding

Chemical maths

Chemical changes

Energy changes

Electrolysis

Using electricity

Circuits

Matter

Energy transfer

Atoms and radiation

The following topics will be studied in Year 11

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Biological responses

Inheritance

Variation

Evolution

Organic chemistry

Rates of reaction

Organic chemistry

Chemical analysis

Using resources

Motion

Forces

Waves

Magnetism

Electromagnetism

Students will be assessed at regular intervals through the year with multiple choice quizzes, mid-topic assessments and end of topic assessments in each topic.

At the end of Year 10, students will sit a full paper 1 mock exam in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

In Year 11, students will sit a full paper 2 mock exam in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

A link to the specification can be found below:

http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/science/specifications/AQA-8464-SP-2016.PDF

Separate Science GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics

This course will involve studying three separate Science GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Students will be covering the same content as the combined science students, plus some additional topics.

This course will run over two years and students will have eight science lessons each week. Each of the three GCSEs is assessed by two pubic exams (50% of each GCSE and 1 hour 45 minutes long), two for biology, two for chemistry and two for physics.

Links to each specification can be found below:

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/biology-8461 - Biology

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/chemistry-8462- Chemistry

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/physics-8463- Physics