Science

Science at OSSMA:

Science is at the root of everything that we see and experience throughout our lives. Science will help to explain everything our students may come across. At OSSMA, we aim to build a solid scientific foundation for our students that best prepares them for the life they face both inside, and outside of school. 

We have a duty to ensure our students can understand and process the scientific world around them and have the ability to protect, influence and improve the world they live.

What does a scientist do?

  • Planning investigations
  • Writing methods
  • Working safely in a lab
  • Introduction to the three sciences. 
  • Handling Data

How can we use Physics?

  • Forces and force diagrams
  • Mass, weight and gravity. 
  • Speed, distance and time
  • Velocity and velocity graphs
  • Electricity & static electricity

What is a human?

  • Cells, tissues and organs
  • The human digestive system
  • The Human circulatory system
  • Breathing and Gas exchange
  • The heart and Heart Disease

What is the universe made from?

  • The three states of matter: solids, liquids and gases
  • Change of states
  • Dissolving and diffusion
  • Atomic Structure
  • The development of the atom
  • The Periodic table
  • Separating mixtures

Who are we, and what connects us?

  • Types of Reproduction
  • Animal and plant reproduction
  • DNA
  • Inheritance
  • Variation

The solar system & beyond…

  • Our solar system, the galaxy and the universe
  • Gravity and weight
  • The seasons and the Earth’s orbit. 

How does science work?

  • How science works
  • Reducing biased
  • Types of errors and how to reduce them
  • Types of data
  • Handling data

How can we stay healthy?

  • Staying healthy
  • Types of infection
  • Types of disease
  • How the human body reacts to diseases
  • Vaccinations

What types of materials can we use?

  • Composites
  • Ceramics
  • Catalysts

How are living organisms different?

  • Classification
  • Variation
  • Natural Selection
  • Evolution
  • Extinction

How do we explore our world?

  • Light waves
  • Sound waves
  • Using waves for communication

How can we identify substances?

  • Fundamental investigation skills
  • Evaluating results and data
  • Analytical methods

What is a chemical reaction?

  • Signs of a chemical change
  • The reactivity series
  • Displacement reactions
  • Acids, alkalis and neutralisation
  • Endothermic and exothermic reactions
  • Extracting metals
  • Types of combustion

How can chemistry help the environment?

  • The rock cycle
  • The formation of the Earth’s Atmosphere
  • Changes to today’s atmosphere
  • Climate change
  • Recycling

Where does our energy come from?

  • Renewable and non-renewable energy
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Insulation and conduction
  • Electricity
  • Voltage, current and resistance.

How do organisms live together?

  • The environment
  • Habitats and ecosystems
  • Adaptations
  • Evolution and natural selection
  • Biodiversity
  • The importance of biodiversity
  • Atomic Structure
  • The Particle Model of Matter
  • Nuclear Radiation
  • Organisation
  • Quantitative Chemistry
  • Chemical Changes
  • Energy
  • Infection and Response
  • Electricity
  • Energy Changes in Chemical Reactions
  • Rate and Extent of Chemical Changes
  • Chemical Analysis
  • Forces
  • Inheritance, Variation and Evolution
  • Waves
  • Chemistry of the Atmosphere
  • Using Earth’s Resources
  • Ecology
  • Magnetism and Electromagnetism

At the end of KS4 students at OSSMA will sit the AQA Combined Science Trilogy examination series. Some students will choose to sit Triple Science which will give them a separate GCSE in Biology, Chemistry & Physics.

Extra-Curricular in Science

In Science, we are keen to offer extra-curricular opportunities to further fuel our students’ excitement and love of our subject.  

We offer a weekly after-school STEM club to all key stage 3 students, which has proven popular over the last 2 years. This club enriches our students through a variety of activities, for example, forensic science murder mysteries, practical science investigations and problem-solving tasks.  

We also encourage students to take part in the OAT STEM-fest competition; in 2021-22, our OSSMA students came runners-up in the national final. Our students have also carried out a range of environmental projects, such as planting and litter picking, to enable us to officially qualify for the eco-schools green flag award.

In addition to our weekly extra-curricular offer, we are keen to tie aspects of our curriculum to live events to enhance the experiences our students receive. This will include the above-mentioned STEM-fest performed across the trust but also additional events such as ‘Medical Mavericks’. Through events and opportunities like these, we are aiming to inspire our students to reach beyond any limitation put on them and truly explore the incredible Scientific world that is out there for them.