At St Mary’s, our pupils study Biology, Chemistry and Physics using a narrative-based approach. Ideas are introduced within relevant and interesting settings helping learners to anchor their conceptual knowledge of the range of scientific topics required at GCSE level.

Practical skills are embedded within the specification and learners are expected to carry out practical work in preparation for a written examination that will specifically test these skills.

KS3

The current schemes of work were written collaboratively by the department staff, utilising areas of expertise to maximise impact. These schemes of work and related resources are stored electronically on our department central resource library. These can be accessed by all staff members.

Current schemes of work follow statutory guidance from DfE, but offer opportunity for further study to maximise particular areas of pupil interest. 

Marking and feedback within the department follows the school, marking policy in terms of aims, rationale, structure and frequency.

All pupils sit end of unit tests which can be used to award key stage three grades. These tests consist of a range of question styles, and prepare pupils for the longer form questions found in final GCSE exam papers.

 

KS4

Teachers primarily teach within their areas of specialism, and follow the syllabi available via the OCR website.

Resources are shared between department colleagues, with many resources stored within the department area of the central resources library.

KS4 pupils extensively (but not exclusively) use exam practice workbook(s) as their main method of homework. Work is marked and marks recorded regularly.

All pupils sit end of unit tests. These are made up of questions from previous exam papers and marked as per the mark scheme provided by the exam board.