Science

The aims of the Science Faculty are:

• To provide a stimulating, challenging and balanced experience of science for all students
• To provide continuity and progression for all as they pass through the science curriculum at the school
• To give every student the opportunity to succeed to their full potential in science

The Science Faculty is committed to broad and balanced science for all. We are committed to the development and regular review of the schemes of learning, teaching materials and methods. We believe that every lesson should provide access and challenge for all students, therefore we see the development of strategies for effective differentiation as being of paramount importance. We would seek always to use a variety of teaching strategies in the most appropriate way to achieve our stated aims.

We seek to maintain a balance between skills and content. We do not see scientific skills as being confined merely to the laboratory and place emphasis on the role of research from secondary sources as being an integral part of every student's work.

Wherever relevant and appropriate, the impact of science on society and vice versa forms an important part of our courses. All students should appreciate that science and its application has a direct influence on their daily lives. Students should be aware of the way that science has developed and is still developing. Students are given the opportunity to understand that the uses to which scientific advances are put are affected by moral and cultural contexts in which they are developed.

We firmly believe in the role of homework as a means to reinforce and build upon the experiences offered to the students during lessons and it is set for all students on a weekly basis. Homework can take a variety of forms including worksheets, learning, practical activities and research.

Assessment is seen as playing a key role in the development and progression of all students and as such is approached in an increasingly formative way. We have developed schemes of assessment, which place emphasis on dialogue and target setting as a means to increase motivation and enhance performance.

The science area has a liaison programme with our feeder primary schools and other local secondary schools, which we see as a valuable means to achieve continuity and progression across the primary/secondary interface and across the secondary/tertiary interface.

Different pathways are offered to students at Key Stage 4: GCSE Combined Science and GCSE Triple Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). A range of A-level courses can be studied at Key Stage 5 at Braintree Sixth Form.