Science Blog

 

March 2013

A sample of students from years 9-10 recently visited the big bang fair in London where they took part in several activities to do with Science in action. First they worked with the Shell fuel company to create electricity by jumping and converting their kinetic energy into electrical, followed by racing a speedboat through a maze whilst solving puzzles to do with their topic on waves, a visit to a 3D cinema, and finally touring the various science fair projects throught the exhibition. Their behaviour was a credit to the school and they really represented us well.

Next up is the recent science club event where pupils experimented with various fat contents and milk-types to create their own brand of ice cream, finishing off by comparing it to a sample of shop-bought ice cream. Needless to say the OSCA whippy was the best!

Finally a note to all the hard working KS4 students who have recieved their January exam results, their hard work and revision has paid off as we have seen some excellent grades from them! Keep it up and let's get the grades we deserve.

December 2012

The autumn term has been a busy one in Science! .
Science club has seen its largest number of year 7 & 8 attenders this year, so don't forget to stop by every Thursday afternoon from 3:00-3:45 in lab 17! From making rockets, to creating the stretchiest slime, you're sure to find something to grab your interest in Science Club! (See Mr. Khan for a consent letter!). A thank you to the KS4 students who give their time to help out.
Science club has also claimed it's own column in the OSCA express newspaper so keep an eye out for news on what we've been up to, and sometimes experiments you can do at home!

Staff were really impressed with the 80 students who came in over the half term holiday, giving up their time to improve their grade. Their maturity and work ethic was fantastic, hope you enjoyed the pizza.

It's an important stage for our key stage 4 pupils who have started their controlled assessments and have so far wasted no time in researching and practising their investigative skills - Best of luck to them as they finish off 2012 at OSCA!

We regrettably say good bye to two brilliant members of the science teaching team, Mr Hyde and Mrs Akhtar two fantastic teachers who gave so much to the school in their time here.

We do welcome Mr Tisio, Mr Ahmed and Mrs Kelly in January.

Have a great Christmas and remember every snowflake is different

July 2012

Thirty Year 8 students went on a Science trip to London. They visited the National History museum and the National Science museum in Kensington.

They did a lot of exploring taking in sections such as the dinosaur arena, the earth centre and the Darwin centre. All students said how they enjoyed the trip and not only did they take in allot of science  they mentioned how much fun they had doing it. Staff at the museum commented also on well they were dressed and how well they behaved. 

A big thanks to Mr Khan, Mr Tomlinson and Ms Akhtar for organising this. 

 

June 2012

Science would like to wish year 11 all the best and praise them for the hard work they put it over the years in science. 

Well done to year 7 who produced some great planets of their own, the different atmospheres and terrain led to some really interesting new species.  

Year 9 showcased there excellent research skills when they looked at the link between cancer and the over use of mobile phones. Armed with there scientific knowledge they demonstrated great debating skills to effectively evaluate the risks. 

The final term is a busy one with yr9 and yr10 completing their experimental skills assessment and yr8 their end of ks3 exam. Across all years there are exciting links to the Olympics with athletes diets and training regimes studied and investigations into shape and flight of javelins, materials of bikes used for the track and mountains, as well as the forensic experiment into the world of fake gold medals. 

We're really looking forward to it

March 2012

Science Club is underway! Every Thursday in room 17 from 3.00 to 3.45pm, see Mr Khan or Ms Akhtar for details.

February 2012

Welcome to our new Curriculum Leader Mr Byrne, we hope that he settles smoothly into school life at OSCA.

As usual there have been busy times in the Science Department. Years 9, 10 and 11 have been sitting GCSE external exams. In December there were trial exams and in January the real thing! The department would like to congratulate pupils in the way they approached the exam period. Study support for revision was arranged after school and was well attended by many pupils. Some pupils even arrived at 7.30 in the morning on the day of their particular exam for more help and for a ‘warm up’ before the start time. We are now eagerly waiting for results day on March 8^th!

Year 11 face yet more science exams on Thursday March 1^st which is Core Science re-sit day.

Years 9 and 10 and 11 are continuing to work towards those target grades by completing their Investigative Skills Assignments (ISAs) in lesson time. The ISA is worth 25% of the GCSE so is a very important component of the course.

Study Support will run during the February half term break for year 11 pupils, Mr Byrne will be providing dates and times.

National Science and Engineering Week runs from March 9^th-18^th and the department will be organising special activities to coincide with this. A Science Club will also be starting around this time so listen out for any announcements.

Finally, see student Openhive for lots of fun and interesting links to science magazines, websites and books.

September 2011

We would like to welcome our new members of staff, Mr Tomilinson and Mr Patel.

The new term has been very busy so far. We would also like to welcome our new year 7 pupils and hope they have enjoyed learning about lab safety and lab apparatus, they are very keen to get experimenting! Year 8 are getting along with their syllabus as their Key Stage 3 work will finish in time for them to begin GCSE Science in year 9. Years 9 and 10 have begun their GCSE work and will be facing ‘real’ GCSE exams in January 2012. Year 11 pupils are facing their biggest challenge and striving to achieve successful GCSE results, they are due to take re-sits for their Core Science on November 15th, we wish them every success in improving their grades. Study Support sessions will be available during October half-term week and after school.

Our biggest news item is that ‘Thinktank’ from The Birmingham Science Museum are visiting the school on Monday Oct 3rd. They will be putting on creative shows all day for our year 9 pupils inside a large inflatable black dome! The shows will be about atoms, cells and space. More news and pictures to follow about the highlights of the day.

The science department is also planning a ‘Science and Technology’ club to commence in November. Activities and visiting speakers are on the agenda, further details to follow soon, anyone who may be interested, please speak to Mr Tomlinson. 

 

July 2011

Welcome to the Science blog!

We have had a busy time in Science this term. Our first year 11 BTEC students finished their Level 2 Certificate, many students also completing the Extended Certificate. Our year 11 GCSE students worked hard in preparation for their exams and will be waiting for results day – August 25th! Year 10 students completed re-sit exams in June and will be hoping for improved results.

The Creativity Specialisms Day at the end of term will involve year 7 pupils in Science. We will undertake two projects, one concerning the operation and future of mobile phones and the other considering the influence of packaging/advertising on children’s eating habits.

Next term in order to further inspire our new GCSE students, we are hoping to organise a visit from Thinktank (part of Birmingham Science Museum). This will involve a day long series of demonstrations and shows held inside a large inflatable dome. More details on this to follow next term.

Finally on a sad note we have to say good-bye to three members of the science department, we wish them well in their new ventures.

• Ms Harris is leaving to move to Switzerland. She has completed two years with the ‘Teach First’ scheme for university graduates, her final assessment graded her as ‘outstanding’ and she has delivered endless stimulating and enjoyable lessons to pupils.

• Mr Smith is moving to Italy after eight years in the school. Both as a science teacher and Head of House, Mr Smith has gained great respect from many students. Graded as a ‘strict’ teacher students have always, however, been keen to comment on how well they felt they learnt in Mr Smith’s lessons!

• Lastly Mr Clow is retiring after thirty-seven years in the teaching profession, the last ten of which have been spent as Head of Science in the academy. Mr Clow has been a highly respected and popular teacher amongst staff and students alike whose firm but fair treatment of students has been extremely effective. Mr Clow has had a huge impact on the department and on the lives of many young people over the years and he will be greatly missed.

Mrs Brown will take over temporarily as Head of Science.

We welcome two new members of staff next term, Mr Tomlinson and Mr Patel and wish them well for the time they will spend with us.