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Science News
LONDON WETLANDS CENTRE
On a beautiful sunny March morning during Science Week Year 8 set off in high spirits and expectant mood to the London Wetlands Centre in Barnes. They were not disappointed. In beautiful, tranquil surroundings they were first given a talk about the different habitats they would encounter in the Centre. They were then each given a pair of Binoculars and sent off to explore and report what wildlife they had discovered. Next came a spot of Pond Dipping where they did a survey of what was in one of the ponds. This involved using nets to capture and identify various minibeasts in the pond before returning them to the water. They also had to check the conditions of the pond such as temperature and acidity and record all their findings on the worksheets provided by the centre.
A member of the Wetlands Staff, using a video camera/microscope, explained the magnified images of pondlife to the girls. He touched on topics such as Food Chains and Adaptations of animals to their surroundings. The girls were particularly impressed with the Caddis fly Larvae which uses silk threads that it gets from silk glands in its lower lip to weave around pond debris (eg leaves) to camouflage itself from predators.
After lunch the girls visited an interactive Discovery Centre that takes you on a journey through all the Wetlands of the world. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable day out one which we will certainly revisit next year.
Mr T Blake
Science Department
Science Department
An aim of the department is to encourage curiosity, harness it and use it to support learning. We also develop skills and abilities that are relevant to the study, practice and application of Science, which are useful in everyday life.
Key Stage 3
Girls in Years 7, 8 and 9 study all three Sciences as separate subjects. The course covers the requirements of the National Curriculum. The emphasis is on “How Science Works” and developing an enquiring mind.
Key Stage 4
All students follow AQA GCSE Science in Year 10, which covers the core topics in Science. In Year 11 students study a second GCSE Science course called Additional Science, which brings the level of content up that which provides a sound basis for further study. Both courses contain elements of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
The Department also offers the opportunity to add an additional option of Science, which allows students to gain three GCSE’s in the separate Sciences.
There is no coursework element, as such, to this course. The assessment of practical skills is based upon activities called Investigative Skills Assessments (ISAs) and Practical Skills Assessments (PSAs). The ISAs will involve students collecting experimental data during their normal experimental work, and then answering a written paper – set by the Exam Board – based upon that data. The PSAs are simply an assessment, carried out by the teacher, of the level of skill being shown by a student while performing experimental work during their normal lessons.
Both ISAs and PSAs can be carried out at any time in the course, and students are likely to be assessed several times so that their best marks can be submitted to the Exam Board.
Sixth Form
The Department offers all three Sciences at AS and A2 levels.
