This year, students in Year 9 are linking all of their lessons to a ‘Big Question’. This half term our lessons are centred around the question ‘How could Science save my life?’

Students have been working really hard making links between Biology, Chemistry and Physics topics and then linking these ideas to the big question. So far we have looked at antibiotics and antibiotics resistance, the discovery of penicillin, the properties of metal and non-metal substances and disease transmission. Last week our lesson looked at the extension of a spring, a key practical lesson that will help prepare students for their GCSE science course next year. Students worked really well in the practical lesson discovering how mass affects the extension of a spring and the relationship between them. Students were then able to link how springs in-car seatbelts and elastic materials could potentially save lives in a car accident and how using malleable metals that can bend in the crumple zone of a car help to keep us safe. All students demonstrated excellence during this lesson and improved their investigation and data collection skills.
It has been fantastic to see the ideas students have come up with to link their learning to this fundamental question and to facilitate their curiosity into how science works. I am very excited about working through the rest of the topic with them this term and opening their eyes to the development of medicines and the human immune system.

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