When looking at how humans have succeeded so far and projecting humanities success in the future it is very clear to see that the knowledge of Science is probably the most important factor when it comes to humanity thriving.  Whether it be solving a climate crisis, solving the energy crisis, curing new diseases, filling food shortages or even looking critically at the big data produced by social media it can be easily seen that scientific knowledge is power, and will give individuals an edge when it comes to success in society.   

At Moorside High, the Science faculty aims to give our students  aim to give our students this edge by providing high quality, deep learning, giving learners a rational, evidence-based approach to understanding the natural world around them through the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.  The Science curriculum utilises the knowledge of communication and logic taught in the English and Maths curriculum to enable learners to understand, explore and use phenomena in nature.  

The knowledge gained in the Science curriculum will then be used as a filter to better understand the constructs taught in the human sciences and can be applied to improve technical knowledge in the expressive arts and sports.  The Science curriculum at Moorside will encourage learners to approach any other knowledge they encounter in life using the scientific method to unpick ideas and move them towards greater accuracy.  It will also prepare pupils for future learning when it comes to next steps such as accessing college course, accessing higher education and excellent careers. 

Through the study of our curriculum pupils will also learn that scientific thinking and the pursuit of Science will facilitate the development of key life skills such as keeping healthy, maintaining personal wellbeing, and living responsibly and sustainably.  Pupils will be shown how science can be used to continuously enhance humanity and lead to developments which allow society to be more considerate, aspirational, resilient, and equal.  Our curriculum will also teach our learners how to considerately navigate everyday ideas which are not grounded in evidence such as Pseudoscience, Fake-News, and belief. 

Our curriculum will equip learners with a robust age-appropriate schema reflecting humanities current understanding of the natural universe.  The schema is developed via the sequencing and interleaving found in the programs of study.  It is important that the Moorside High Science curriculum shows learners how all the ideas and concepts in science are interlinked.  For example: an organs function is governed by a set of chemical reactions at the cellular level which are in turn governed by the physical laws of thermodynamics.  The main concepts in the schema we teach are shown in our big ideas. 

The big ideas are key ideas in science which link multiple concepts and link to a unified understanding of the natural world. The overarching ideas which our curriculum should equip our students with are as follows:  

In Biology: all living things are made up of cells, in many eucaryotes these cells interact and allow the functioning of an organism, genes are passed on through generations, over multiple generations there are changes in genes, organisms interact with their environments and other organisms. 

 In Physics: all matter is made up of particles, forces cause physical changes, waves are how energy is transferred in our universe, electromagnetic fields can cause physical changes.  

 In Chemistry: all matter is made up of particles the smallest of which are atoms, atoms bond to form new compounds, mass is conserved in any chemical process, reactions can release or absorb energy in the form of light, heat, and electricity. 

The Moorside High Science curriculum will produce critical thinkers who can question ideas and thoughts using the scientific method.  Through the curriculum our leaners will also appreciate how, due to the scientific thinking models we have arrived at the current theories about our universe.  The curriculum will foster a deep love of critical thinking and an instinct to question information using scientific modes of thought.  The Science curriculum at Moorside High will also instil the same awe and amazement at the beauty of the natural world that we, the teachers have.  It will create learners who want to continue to study or work in the sciences and understand what the options are when it comes to this.  Finally, engagement with our curriculum will facilitate deep curiosity so that they arrive at lessons with several questions and leave with so many more. 

Curriculum Overview

Revision Resources

Revision Documents: