Science at The Levels School
The science curriculum is based mainly on the National Curriculum. The ethos for Science teaching is centred on investigation, encouraging an enquiring mind and using multisensory learning. At KS2 we recognise that students have often fallen behind at previous non-specialist schools, and therefore the curriculum contains key concepts from Year 4 in addition to the Year 5 and 6 work, building a strong base from which to begin year 7. KS3 and year 9 have been written with future GCSE content in mind. This means that some subject areas are taught before they would be normally in the National Curriculum to allow for repetition, and then extension, into KS4. It also allows for the building of applied numeracy and literacy skills as part of the KS4 Science learning so that students can communicate their understanding fully and gain the best possible outcomes as they move into KS5.
Key Stage Two
KS2 students are taught in two classes, the Swallowtails and the Skippers.
Key Stage Three
GCSE
At The Levels School, Science is a core subject at KS4, meaning it is compulsory for all students. We offer Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Combined Science, which consists of six exam papers at the end of two years of study. For all exam papers there are a mixture of different question styles, including multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, calculations and extended open-response questions. Calculators may be used in all science exams.
Paper 1: Biology 1
Written examination: 1 hour and 10 minutes.
16.67% of the total qualification.
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Topics covered:
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Key concepts in biology
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Cells and control
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Genetics
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Natural selection and genetic modification
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Health, disease and the development of medicines
Holiday Activities
If you're looking to support your child's science studies at home, try the following activities:
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Read books relating to science, both fiction and non-fiction. Many children especially love bizarre fact books like Ripley's or Guinness World Records. Books like George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl can spark an interest in chemistry.
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Watch films, documentaries and TV shows which are relevant to science. Natural history documentaries such as those narrated by David Attenborough are fantastic. Science fiction, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Gattaca, Avatar etc, often utilises ideas from "real" science and can spark an interest in children.
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Bake or cook together, and encourage your child to take responsibility for measuring ingredients and checking the recipe is followed. Many of the skills needed in cooking are similar to those needed in a practical experiment.
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Home science kits where children can do fun experiments are a great way to engage with science at home.
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Have discussions about how things work. Children are natural scientists - they're curious about the world around them. Many children love to discuss interesting questions, such as... why does the sun shine? What makes something alive? Why is water blue? What happens to the stars during the daytime?
