Curriculum Statement - Science

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants” – Isaac Newton

Return to Curriculum Statements

Our Vision

All science students, regardless of background or circumstance, will experience a challenging and ambitious curriculum that allows students to accumulate powerful knowledge, skills, and science capital.

Through this accumulation they will develop an appreciation and deep understanding of the science discipline. We recognise that science capital is a vital part of modern society, granting access to many careers and academic studies beyond KS4 and KS5. As such, we believe it is important for all students to leave with enough science capital to open the door to the future of their choice.

We aim for all students to develop curiosity for the world around them, and to use the lens of scientific enquiry to begin to explain what they are seeing.

 

Science Curriculum

We have designed our curriculum to support students in their mastery of our subject. The content included in our curriculum is what we deem ‘Powerful Knowledge’, including both substantive and disciplinary knowledge. Our curriculum aims to give students a deep understanding and passion for science, by teaching and embedding threshold concepts that are central to truly mastering powerful knowledge over time. Alongside a curriculum focused on Powerful Knowledge, our science curriculum, including our co-curricular activities, are aimed at increasing students’ science capital so that we can truly ‘level the playing field’.

We have identified the most important threshold concepts below. Our curriculum is designed to teach, revisit and build on these concepts throughout the key stages.

 

Threshold Concepts in Science

Physics

  • Energy can be stored and shifted between those stores. (Leading to conservation of energy)
  • Current as the flow of charged particles and potential difference as ‘push’ for those charge particles.
  • Current-carrying wires have a magnetic field around them.
  • The relative motion of a wire and a magnet induces an emf/potential difference
  • The nature of forces as push, pulls or twists. (Leading to their effects on motion)
  • All things in the universe are constructed from atoms
  • The definition of wave in terms of wavelength, frequency and amplitude. (Leading to the idea that waves transfer energy)
  • Earth is a planet in orbit around a star in an infinite universe.

Chemistry

  • Atoms, elements, molecules, compounds and mixtures.
  • Particle model: How particles behave in solids, liquids and gases. How particles behave in chemical and physical changes.
  • Law of conservation of mass
  • General Equations
  • Atomic Structure, including sub-atomic particles.
  • RAM/RFM.
  • The Periodic Table. How it links to atomic structure.
  • Energy in chemical reactions
  • Opposites attract
  • Collision Theory
  • Moles
  • Electrolysis

Biology

  • Respiration
  • Photosynthesis
  • Cells are the basic unit of all living things
  • Inheritance and the structure of DNA
  • Proteins and the importance of their structure
  • The Particle model (chemistry) and how this applies to biology
  • Negative feedback

Curriculum Features

At Didsbury High School, we teach Science with the view for students to develop a core understanding of threshold concepts from Year 7 to Year 13 as outlined in the table above.

In addition to these vital stepping stones in students’ understanding of further concepts, our curriculum features a wealth of information that can be referred to as ‘Powerful Knowledge’. This includes a focus on disciplinary knowledge. These are aspects of our curriculum that would not be acquired through everyday experience and observation, and increase students’ science cultural capital. Such information helps to widen the experiences of our students and allow them to look more critically at the world around them.

Our focused approach to teaching and learning allows us to cover the majority of content outlined in the national curriculum, but devotes more time to the mastery of Threshold Concepts and Powerful Knowledge. Retrieval and interleaving feature heavily within our curriculum to ensure students develop mastery of Threshold Concepts. Maths and HSW skills are also interleaved.

It is important to our department that student engagement is prioritised. A long-term priority is to increase the uptake of Separate Sciences at GCSE and all three sciences at KS5. The format of our lessons, alongside a wide range of enrichment activities, including those delivered through the electives programme, reflects this commitment. Opportunities for reading are embedded throughout the curriculum, and we actively encourage students to engage in wider reading and viewing to further develop their enthusiasm and enhance their cultural capital.

The teaching staff within the science department is highly varied in both experience and specialism. To reflect this quality and diversity, students may be taught by a single teacher across all three disciplines, or by subject specialists in each science throughout their time at Didsbury High School. This decision is made on a yearly basis to ensure the best outcomes for students, based on the needs of individual groups or year groups. Pedagogy sessions are delivered by teachers with expertise in specific specialisms to share best practice and enhance the learning experience for our students.

Co-curricular Enrichment

Our co-curricular opportunities are developed with several specific reasons in mind:

  • To promote a love of the subject
  • To increase uptake at KS4, KS5 and beyond
  • To narrow attainment gaps
  • To promote STEM careers
  • Stretch / Challenge / Aspirations
  • To promote Oracy and Rhetoric
  • To provide students with knowledge that enables them to follow and participate in debates about significant local, national and global issues.

In partnership with: