Science at King’s Leadership Academy allows students to deepen their understanding of and encourage confidence in questioning natural phenomena that occur in the ever-changing world around them. Enthusiastic subject specialists across all disciplines of Science, will spark the natural curiosity of their students, whether that be; how does a light bulb work? How do our lifestyle choices impact our climate? Or how does research development in vaccination influence our immunity over time? Students will be challenged to deepen their practical skills and critical thinking whilst aspiring to draw cross-curricular links with their other subjects.
Students are introduced to the exciting subject of science during KS3 by being given the opportunities to expand their knowledge of the world around them and begin to develop the necessary practical and scientific skills to progress to key stage 4 and beyond. Students build their confidence in a range of scientific key concepts through key stage 3 and are given a firm foundation in all three of the science disciplines - physics, chemistry and biology - with a view to building on these at key stage 4.
Students begin their learning journey by studying forces and energy, key principles in science which underpin and link all three scientific disciplines. From here they look at states of matter and begin to understand more about how the world around them is made up, drawing on their prior knowledge of energy to explain changes in the physical states of substances. Students continue to draw on similar themes as they explore the human body by journeying through the different organ systems which make up our anatomy. Students continue to study natural phenomena through the lenses of the three scientific disciplines all the time drawing comparisons and threads linking the sciences together into one overarching body of knowledge.
By the end of key stage three, in addition to being strong practitioners of science in terms of skills and investigation, students will have discovered the wonders of the natural world, anatomy, the effects of forces, motion, electricity and magnetism as well as the interactions of matter from the sublime scale to the galactic!
Following their study at key stage 3 students begin their key stage 4 course equipped with the confidence and knowledge to succeed. At this stage students are offered the opportunity to study science in a greater depth should they opt into the separate science course or to continue with the triple science course of study. We are proud to be able to offer each student the opportunity to have their science lessons delivered by a passionate subject specialist for each of their scientific disciplines - physics, chemistry and biology - as they begin their GCSE course.
Across all the disciplines students begin by building on fundamental concepts from key stage 3, these include energy, matter and the periodic table and cells and cell transport. From here the students can then begin to draw on fundamental core knowledge to explain and understand further concepts within the disciplines. For physics this ranges from nuclear radiation and particle physics to waves and motion. Underpinned by a rigorous schedule of practical work to both model and demonstrate concepts while building the students affinity with scientific principles. In chemistry students will continue on to study concepts such as energy changes in reactions and electrolysis to the application of rates of reaction in industry and how we can make a more sustainable future through the application of science. Finally, in biology, students will gain a deeper understanding of human and plant physiology by studying concepts such as metabolism and homeostasis as well as transpiration and the interactions of the natural and anthropogenic world.
Simply put, science and technology is at the forefront of human advancement. Science is responsible for the many, many, modern amenities we enjoy from advanced medical techniques, improved transport and novel materials - science is everywhere and is in demand. As a scientist, or an associated discipline such as engineering, you can be on the leading edge of solving the world's current and emerging issues as well as predicting waves to help and serve humanity in the future. As civilisation strides into a world ever more reliant on science and technology the fundamental skills learned here will be indispensable to navigating and interacting with a world becoming increasingly dominated by technology.