Science curriculum intent
Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all young people should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science.
Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, students will be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They will be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, analyse causes, encourage creativity and problem solve.
“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.”
– Stephen Hawking
The aim of the science curriculum at Tuxford Academy is to ignite a passion for science in students and provide them with the best possible starting point from which to pursue sciences beyond GCSE to A level and into future careers.
Our provision in science focuses on developing high levels of student confidence across core scientific skills and ensuring students have high levels of retention of core scientific knowledge. Empowered by this confidence students are then able to progress at a more rapid pace at GCSE, acquiring and applying broader and deeper knowledge.
We emphasise learning through doing across curriculum and therefore prioritise the development of scientific skills, such as problem solving, scientific reasoning and experimentation. We believe that students retain knowledge best when they use their scientific skills to test their knowledge during practical experiments or apply their knowledge to varying contexts.
Students will experience a practical approach to science, exposing them to use of a wide range of science equipment and ideas. They will have the opportunity to become confident and competent to independently use such apparatus in scientific investigation and question other people’s ideas. This will help develop fine motor skills, sequencing and planning skills, fact finding skills, memory, foster time management skills and raise awareness of the need for rules, routines and procedures to keep individuals and the environment safe at all times.
Students are encouraged to use and enhance their numeracy and literacy skills in a science-based context. Our curriculum also provides opportunities to form opinions on the social, moral, spiritual and cultural aspects of science and wherever possible science content is linked to British values.
We believe that the skills learnt in science will help give pupils confidence to function more successfully in their community, both in real life and online, and will enable them to make better informed life choices in the future. This approach to learning also helps students to see the value of scientific knowledge as they see its use in the real world and is aligned with the emphasis on knowledge application within the science curriculum.
Overall our curriculum enables students to become scientifically literate as they gain deep expertise in the methods of science and gain a concrete understanding of key scientific ideas. We hope that students finish with an appreciation of science that will last a lifetime.
