Science

Mr W Brown welcomes you to the Science Department where we have a wide range of enthusiastic and passionate scientists who can really make the science come alive in lessons.

Every lesson aims to contribute towards the development of five specific science skills. The development of the five science skills will allow students to succeed in science, other subjects and also in their future lives. The five science skills students will develop are:

  1. Calculations
  2. Extended writing
  3. Designing investigations & developing practical skills
  4. Processing and presenting data – Graph drawing
  5. Data analysis and drawing conclusions

We have eight state of the art laboratories which are equipped with a wide range of technology so students can practically experience all aspects of Science. Educational visits and enrichment sessions are offered to different groups in all Key Stages and we have post-academy science sessions for students that wish to develop their understanding. There is also the opportunity to attend the popular science club, where students get to experience a number of experiments which they would not usually get to see in lessons. These experiments include; building hovercrafts, dissecting rats and growing your own bacteria!

All students will have access to Educake; an online Science assessment website which they can use to support the work they complete in lessons. Students from Year 9 onward will also be given a CGP revision guide to allow them to develop their understanding of challenging topics at home.

Overall department aims:

  • Develop the 5 key scientific skills, which will help students succeed in science, other subjects and their future lives.
  • Increase the quantity of positive engagements and experiences students have with science by providing interesting and relevant applications of content, along with career experiences and interactions with science professionals.
  • Inspire students to study science further at the Ripley Academy Sixth Form and University.

In Years 7, 8 and 9, students follow the Activate Key Stage 3 Science syllabus which provides solid foundations and develops the important skills needed to prepare students for success in their GCSEs and their future lives.

Students will study a wide variety of topics from Biology, Chemistry and Physics where they will develop their knowledge and enthusiasm ready for Key Stage 4. The lessons at Key Stage 3 will often include practice of GCSE exam questions in order to prepare students better for the challenges of GCSE Science.

Part way through Year 9, students will start studying the AQA Combined Science: Trilogy GCSE course which has highly challenging content which engages students and makes them aware of the science in the world around them. You can access the course specification  here.

Students will have ten lessons per fortnight split between two science teachers. By the end of the course the students will have worked towards achieving 2 GCSEs. Students will sit six examinations in the summer of Year 11 which combine to give the 2 GCSE grades. Students will receive a pair of (equal or consecutive) grades in the form of 9–9, 9–8, 8–8, 8–7, 7-7…,2–2, 2–1, 1–1 (a 17-point scale).

Students may have the opportunity at the end of Year 9 to select Separate Sciences as one of their options. These students will work towards achieving three separate GCSE Science grades rather than two.

To support students with their studies, all students are supplied with a Combined Science Revision Guide published by CGP. Students who opt for Separate Sciences will be given a CGP revision guide for each individual science

Psychology:

GCSE Psychology is 100% examination assessed with 2 separate examinations.

Paper 1: Criminal Psychology, Development, Psychological Problems and Research Methods

Paper 2: Social Influence, Memory, Sleep and Dreaming and Research Methods

OCR: https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/psychology-j203-from-2017/specification-at-a-glance/

At Key Stage 5 we offer a range of subjects that students can study depending on entry requirements. Students can study:

GCE Biology OCR Specification A.

Module 1 Development of practical skills in biology, Module 2 Foundations in biology, Module 3 Exchange and transport, Module 4 Biodiversity, evolution and disease. Module 5 Communication, homeostasis and energy, Module 6 Genetics, evolution and ecosystems. Course information can be found here.

GCE Chemistry OCR Specification A.

Module 1 Development of Practical Skills, Module 2 Foundations in Chemistry, Module 3 Periodic Table and Energy, Module 4 Core Organic Chemistry, Module 5 Physical Chemistry and Transition Elements and Module 6 Organic Chemistry and Analysis. Course information can be found here.

GCE Physics OCR Specification A.

Module 1 Development of practical skills in physics; Module 2 Foundations of physics; Module 3 Forces and motion; and Module 4 Electrons, waves and photons, Module 5 Newtonian world and astrophysics; and Module 6 Particles and medical physics. Course information can be found here.

Psychology:

A level Psychology is 100% examination assessed and consists of 3 separate units of work.

Paper 1: Social Influence, Memory, Attachment and Psychopathology

Paper 2: Approaches in Psychology, Research Methods and Biopsychology

Paper 3: Forensic Psychology, Schizophrenia, Relationships and Issues and Debates

AQA: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/psychology/as-and-a-level/psychology-7181-7182/specification-at-a-glance

The assessment structure in Science is made aware to students from the beginning of each academic year so students immediately know the dates of every assessment throughout the year. From Year 9 onward, students will be provided with a CGP revision guide so that they can support themselves with the challenging content at home and thoroughly prepare themselves for the assessments.

The assessment grade accuracy is cross-moderated with other Academies within the trust to ensure reliability of predictions. Set movements and intervention strategies will be organised based on the outcomes of these assessments.

https://www.educake.co.uk/

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/ – Inside the front cover of revision guides there is a code to allow students to access an electronic version of the guide.

Psychology:

www.bps.org.uk

For A Level:  https://senecalearning.com/