Science (Combined)

It is assessed through 6 exams at the end of year 11, each 1 hour 15 minutes long and worth 70 marks each. The scores for all 6 papers will be added together and a double grade awarded that is worth 2 GCSEs. The exam board we use is AQA. There are two tiers of entry available – Higher (grades awarded are 9_9 – 4_3) and Foundation (grades awarded are 5_5 – 1_1). Students should have an idea of their tier of entry, though for some students around the 4-5 grade, this decision won’t be made until after the Pre-Public Exam (PPE) at the end of this term.  

It is important that your child has a scientific calculator and brings it to every Science lesson. We recommend the same calculator as is required by the maths department.  

Revision guides and workbooks are available to buy in school for the triple science specification at either the higher or foundation tier (available via parent pay). Please contact your child’s teacher if you are unsure which tier of revision guide to buy.  

Year 11 students have 2 main assessments, one in November, and one in late February. In addition to this there are shorter topic tests their teacher may set.  

PPE – November 2023 – will be a full GCSE past paper (Paper 1 Biology, Chemistry and Physics) 

PPE – February 2024 – will be full GCSE past paper (Paper 2 Biology, Chemistry and Physics) 

There are plenty of useful science websites for revision or extra help on any science topic.  

BBC Bitesize – revision lessons and activities 

Cognito – revision lessons as videos, quizzes, past paper questions and exam papers 

My GCSE Science (subscription required) - revision lessons 

Educake – revision lessons and quizzes