Science | St Francis Xavier’s College

Who’s Who?

Curriculum Leader: Mr Jay Lal

Chemistry

Mr J Lal – Curriculum Leader of Science
Dr R Carvell – Curriculum Leader of Chemistry
Mr S Gregson

Biology

Mr S Irwin
Ms D Fletcher
Dr L Descallar
Ms A Sefton

Physics

Mr S Collins – Curriculum Leader of Physics
Ms K McCullough
Mr J McMillan

Link Governor: Dr A Keeley

Our Aims

“Science education is one of the keys to social mobility. Science qualifications open the doors to many rewarding and interesting careers, and scientific literacy is critically important to being an informed citizen. Science is the most powerful method humans have for understanding the world, and science teachers in secondary schools lay the foundations of that understanding.”

– Sir John Holman, University of York

The Science department at SFX strives to ensure that all students in our learning environments can become well-rounded individuals, able to discuss the issues in a scientific context facing the world, on a local, national and global scale.

The Science department currently offers the following qualifications:

KS4

KS5

Curriculum Intent

Our Science Curriculum at St Francis Xavier’s College is designed around the context of our students – 51% ofthe public feel that they are not informed about Science, (Public Attitudes to Science survey, 2019) and this is reproducedin outcomes for our pupils – Year 11 students in Merseyside perform significantly lower in Science qualifications compared to the national average.

We must close this gap in Science learning for the new Xaverians. Our Science Curriculum is designed to do exactly that – produce the new Xaverian Scientists.

Our Xaverians will learn to love Science through the carefullydesigned sequence, ensuring that they can both obtain andformulate answers to questions about the world around them.

A Xaverian Scientist will:

– become a well-rounded individual that can debate and engage with current contextual issues in the news or public forums.
– be able to analyse and critique scientific evidence in front of them to make informed decisions about their lives
– express their scientific viewpoints and theories coherently and consistently.
– feel like they are informed about Science and continue to feel informed into their adult lives.

Curriculum Implementation

The Science department is split into three strands, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. There are dedicated specialist teachers for each strand from Year 7 onwards. All teachers are experts in their field, with more than enough knowledge in all of the three Sciences. Science teachers ensure that students are consistently and constantly given feedback throughout lessons, peer and self-assessed work effectively, and students hit a high standard through all written, practical and evaluative work. Students complete practicals or experiments in Science in line with the curriculum maps that are detailed below. Assessments on said practicals are included as a part of our suite of assessments, via the use of formative end-of-topic tests to ensure progress and close any gaps upon reflection, and summative assessments that test on their whole domain of knowledge to date, since their time with us.

Curriculum Impact

The impact of our curriculum is that we help our students become the next generation of science-based practitioners, as well as ensuring that those who do not wish to continue with their scientific studies have enough knowledge to make informed decisions in society.