Chemistry

Curriculum Intent

Our vision in Chemistry is to provide a pathway for our students to explore and understand the wonderment and awe of the everyday. We aim to develop transferable skills that students require to question evidence and draw conclusions based upon a mixture of logical, practical, and theoretical based activities. Chemistry is the study of molecules which are the building blocks of matter, it is central to our existence and leads our investigations into the human body, food, earth, energy, materials, and anywhere and everywhere in between. The chemical industry, supported by Chemistry research, underpins much of our economic success and provides wealth and prosperity for our society. In the United Kingdom alone, 152,000 people are employed in the chemical Industry which contributes £54 billion annually to our GDP.

In Key Stage 3 (KS3), pupils receive 60-minutes of Chemistry per week alongside 60 minutes of Biology and Physics. The KS3 curriculum aims to develop three key building blocks of Chemistry: the atom, the periodic table, and chemical reactions. These concepts are the starting point for all chemical knowledge. We understand that Chemistry is a series of core questions to which students can find the answers through investigation and an understanding of scientific models. The KS3 curriculum allows students to transition smoothly to KS4 Chemistry. In Key stage 4, students receive 2 periods of 60 minutes per week to prepare them for GCSE examinations. The vast majority of our KS4 students follow AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy of which Chemistry makes up one third of the overall marks. Students are also given the option to choose separate science GCSE Chemistry in year 11 which provides them with the opportunity to study Chemistry in greater depth.

The Chemistry course has been designed to stretch students, with dedicated scientific enquiry and extension material, along with a variety of retrieval activities. Lessons are planned to achieve specific outcomes related to scientific enquiry, with links to scientists throughout history and their everyday lives. It is ambitious for all learners, including addressing misconceptions and introducing higher-level concepts. There are many opportunities to build mathematical and practical chemistry skills. Overall, the materials are designed to build a strong foundation for future learning at GCSE and beyond.

Chemistry is an essential subject for all medical-based courses and many employers value the transferable skills that Chemistry teaches. Chemistry develops numeracy, literacy, problem solving and is good preparation for life beyond the classroom. Chemistry will allow your child to develop key transferrable skills which are in high demand across many sectors.  In Chemistry we emphasise the role of practical work as this plays a major role in developing these key skills and students at Sunbury Manor are given ample opportunities to take part in a wide variety of practicals both within the framework of the National Curriculum and outside of it. Students enjoy doing practicals at Sunbury Manor as it allows them to develop their scientific skills in a fun and engaging way. The key aim of practical Chemistry is to allow students to develop highly desirable skills such as problem-solving, data handling, critical thinking, communication, and numeracy. Even if our students choose not to pursue Chemistry beyond GCSE, these skills are highly transferrable in many roles, therefore we place considerable emphasis on developing them.

The Chemistry department is well resourced with modern laboratory equipment providing students with the opportunity to carry out a wide range of experiments such as distillation, chromatography, combustion, and neutralisation to name a few. In addition to this, we are fully staffed by specialist teachers with a strong scientific background. Our teachers are passionate about Chemistry and dedicated to ensuring your child gets the best out of the subject. As a team we meet regularly to discuss curriculum ideas, schemes of work, assessments as well as sharing good teaching practice. The team is highly collaborative and has several highly experienced teachers.

Curriculum Overview

	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Y7	Science safety States of matter	Diffusion Gas pressure Separating mixtures	Filtration Chromatography Evaporation Distillation	Chemical reactions Acids and alkalis pH scale Neutralisation Making salts	Metals and non-metals Periodic table Metals and oxygen Metals and acids Metals and water	Metal displacement reactions Advanced practical skills in Chemistry
Y8	Practical skills in Chemistry Metals and non-metals Groups and periods Group 1 and group 7 elements	Group 0 noble gases Mixtures Solutions Solubility Filtration	Evaporation Distillation Chromatography Metals and acids	Metals and oxygen Metals and water Displacement reactions Extracting metals Ceramic materials	Polymers Composites The earth and its atmosphere Rocks and the rock cycle	Carbon cycle Climate change and pollutants Recycling
Y9	Structure of the atom and the plum pudding model Conservation of mass Balancing equations Separating mixtures	Atoms to ions Isotopes Electron arrangement The periodic table History of the periodic table	Group 1 alkali metals Group 7 halogens Explaining trends in reactivity of group 1 and 7	The reactivity series Extracting metals Displacement reactions Metals and acids	Making salts Practical skills Neutralisation and the pH scale Strong acids vs weak acids	Revision for end of year exams
Y10	Atomic structure and the periodic table % composition by mass Moles and concentrations Reacting mass calculations Atoms to ions Ionic bonding Giant ionic structures	Covalent bonding Simple and giant covalent molecules Structure of diamond, graphite and silicon dioxide Metallic bonding	Reactivity series Practical skills in Chemistry Metal displacement reactions Extracting metals using carbon Metals and acids	Acids and alkalis The pH scale and neutralisation Electrolysis of aluminium oxide Electrolysis of aqueous solutions	Exothermic and endothermic reactions Energy level diagrams Bond energy calculations Calorimetry practical	Revision for end of year exams
Y11	Crude oil and fractional distillation Alkanes and alkenes Cracking Combustion of fuels Energy changes calorimetry practical Electrolysis Mock exam revision	AQA paper 1 mock exam revision topics 1-5.	Chromatography Testing for gases Earths atmosphere Climate change and pollutants Potable water and treating waste water Life cycle assessments	Curriculum complete – exam revision	Curriculum complete – exam revision	Curriculum complete – exam revision

 

Key Stage 4 Specification

Subject Leader:	Mr M Abukar
Contact:	mabukar@sunburymanor.surrey.sch.uk
Exam Specification:	OCR GCSE Chemistry J258
QN Code:	60186057
Summary of course content C1 – Air and water C2 – Chemical patterns C3 – Chemicals of the natural environment C4 – Material choices C5 – Chemical analysis C6 – Making useful chemicals C7 – Ideas about Science C8 – Practical skills
Assessment Terminal Examinations at the end of year 11 – both papers assess content from all 8 sections Paper 1 – Breadth in Chemistry – 1 hour 45 minutes – 50% Paper 2 – Depth in Chemistry – 1 hour 45 minutes – 50%
What type of activities take place in lessons? Practical work and theory
What type of homework tasks will be set? Research, revision, exam questions
How will it help me in the future? Awareness and greater understanding of the world around you. Excellent preparation for A-level chemistry
How will this course build on what I have studied in Year 9? All work done in KS3 will be built upon to  a higher level of understanding
What skills will I develop? Practical processes, analysis and evaluation