Science is a core subject within the curriculum and is taught throughout the school, harnessing the children’s own natural interest in the world about them.
In the Prep Department, Science is given additional curriculum time and in the later years, specialist teachers. The pupils are encouraged to make links between ideas and explain results using simple models and theories. The emphasis is very much upon scientific enquiry, outdoor exploration as well as individual and collaborative projects.
The pupils thrive on the practical approach and become adept at planning and carrying out their own investigations. The large, spacious and well-equipped science laboratory gives the children in Years 5 and 6 the opportunity to complete a wide range of investigations within a stimulating learning environment.
In Year 3 the topics covered include: Forces and Magnets, Rocks and Soils, Skeletons and Movement, Light, Green Plants, Life Processes and Keeping Healthy.
In Year 4, topics include: Electricity, Sound, Variety of Living Things, Food Chains, Digestion, Teeth, Keeping Warm and States of Matter.
In Year 5 the pupils will cover: Life Cycles, Properties and Changes of Materials, Living Things in their Environment (including Interdependence and Adaptation), The Sun, Earth and Moon and their synchrony, Forces and Mechanisms and, lastly, Light.
During the Autumn Term in Year 6, the focus is on consolidating the children’s knowledge of National Curriculum topics in preparation for Year 7 and, for some, senior school exams. In the final terms the children explore the topics of: Healthy Living, Evolution and Inheritance and Micro-organisms.