GCSE Science course
Everyone studies the Science course which leads to one GCSE grade.
Teachers plan lessons with three kinds of objectives and outcomes in mind:
• Ideas About Science,
• Science Explanations, and
• Skills development.
GCSE Science modules
Click on the links below for a summary and downloadable map of each module. These are taken from the resources published by OUP.
For each module we give the Science Explanations and Ideas about Science covered, with cross-references to the OCR specification. Note that 'Ideas about Science' is the same as 'How Science Works'.
- B1 You and your genes
- C1 Air quality
- P1 Earth in the Universe
- B2 Keeping healthy
- C2 Material choices
- P2 Radiation and life
- B3 Life on Earth
- C3 Food matters
- P3 Radioactive materials
About GCSE Science
The course features many of the major theories of science, presented in a way that will encourage young people to appreciate their significance. Students explore the key science explanations which help us to make sense of our lives.
In order to respond to scientific information presented in the media and everyday situations, it is also important to understand how this information is obtained, how reliable it is, what its limitations are, and how it is used. The GCSE Science course also explores these aspects of science so as to prepare young people to deal with issues such as childhood vaccinations, air quality, and mobile phone safety as they arise.
Future scientists will also benefit from this study of how science works.
Central to the Science course is an understanding of the major Science Explanations and of the key Ideas about Science. These are what we want students to take with them from the course and carry with them into their adult lives, whether or not they use science in their work.
In the Science course we teach these two strands of scientific literacy through a series of thematic modules, each based on a topic of relevance and interest to young people.
See also Aspects of Science
