Chemistry

Departmental Aims

• To inspire the chemists of the future through excellent teaching and a range of teaching and learning experiences
• To provide a secure and stimulating environment for students of all ages and abilities to flourish and to achieve their best
• To spark intellectual curiosity through experimental work, giving students hands-on experience of the laboratory
• To equip students with an awareness of the importance of the subject in the wider world.

Facilities

• Our Science Centre provides the perfect backdrop to teaching the chemists of the 21^st century
• Well-equipped laboratories allow us to place experimental work at the forefront of lessons
• Three specialist Sixth Form laboratories give our A Level students access to facilities and apparatus comparable to undergraduate teaching facilities
• Six full-time teachers bring a wealth and variety of expertise to the classroom, including experience of academic research and public examining
• Our full-time technician is dedicated to providing practical activities which make full use of our well-appointed facilities.

Years 9-11 Curriculum

We deliver the Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry course across three years using our in house schemes of work which place practical work and skills at the core of lessons. The course has no coursework component.

Students follow a topic based curriculum with regular internal assessment to allow them to be able to monitor their progress, enabling key concepts to be revisited throughout the course and affording students the opportunity to consolidate their learning and to approach the examinations with confidence.

Co-curricular, Enrichment, Extension and Support

• Chemistry Club is a chance to explore experimental activities outside of the curriculum
• Weekly support sessions are offered. These are non-compulsory sessions where students of any age can come along to get help with specific areas of the course
• We regularly enter teams for inter-schools Chemistry practical competitions for Years 9-11
• Sixth Form students can enter the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Olympiad competition
• Students have attended lecture days learning about the role of Chemistry, which have covered subjects ranging from Forensic Science to Coca-Cola.