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Students can take the SCIENCE TRILOGY pathway or the SEPARATE SCIENCES pathway.

The Science Trilogy pathway is worth two GCSEs, and students can choose a further three options from this booklet, whereas the Separate Sciences pathway is three separately graded GCSEs, and therefore students can choose a further two options from this booklet.​

Both pathways involve the study of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and both pathways enable students to proceed to the study of Science at A level.​

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Either pathway will provide a challenge students to tackle difficult scientific concepts and develop problem- solving skills. Students will need to unpick different applications of concepts and create their models for understanding.

Aims of the subject:

1. To stimulate curiosity, interest and enjoyment in science;

2. To develop scientific understanding through practical techniques;

3. To develop an understanding of ‘how science works’;

4. To understand the importance of science in the real world;

5. To explore social and ethical scientific considerations.

GCSE Science Trilogy

This course covers all the essential knowledge students need to understand the world around them. Topics include chemical reactions, electricity in the home, radioactivity, the Earth’s atmosphere, preventing and treating disease and many more. This route contains 21 required practicals that students must complete over Key Stage 4 which will be part of the final examinations. Additional practical work will also be conducted to enhance students’ learning in the classroom.​

This pathway will not only allow students to develop a range of transferable skills but also adequately prepare them for further study at A Level. This route will build on the scientific techniques learnt at Key Stage 3 to develop students who can complete practical work to a high standard independently.

HOW WILL STUDENTS BE ASSESSED

There are six papers: two Biology, two Chemistry and two Physics. Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas.

At the end of Year 11 students will be assessed through two written papers in each of the three subjects.​Each paper will be 1 hour 15 minutes and contribute to 16.7% of their overall result. 15% of questions on each paper are directly related to required practicals. These papers will include multiple choice, short​answer, longer written response, and calculations. Students will be awarded a paired GCSE grade for Science Trilogy based on their overall score in all examinations.

GCSE Separate Sciences

This route is for students who are incredibly passionate about Science. Students will explore all the same content that the Science Trilogy route offers but with additional topics such as nanotechnology, space and genetics. This route will build on the scientific techniques learnt at Key Stage 3 to develop students who can complete practical work to a high standard independently. This route contains 28 required practicals that students must complete over Key Stage 4 which will be part of the final examinations. Additional practical work will also be conducted to enhance students’ learning in the classroom.​

This course would benefit students considering careers in scientific fields; engineering, architecture, medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, pharmacy and many others.

HOW WILL STUDENTS BE ASSESSED

There are six papers: two Biology, two Chemistry and two Physics. Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas.

At the end of Year 11 students will be assessed through two written exam papers in each of the three subjects. Each paper will be 1 hour 45 minutes and contribute to 50% of their overall result. 15% of questions on each piece are directly related to required practicals.​

These papers will include multiple choice, short answer, longer written response and calculations. Students will be provided with some of the formulae in the examinations however they will also be expected to learn​ a number of them. Students following the Separate Sciences pathway will receive a separate GCSE grade for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

CAREERS LINKS

Science helps students develop various skills, including communication, problem-solving, analytical, organisational and IT skills. These are all important transferable skills. Both GCSE courses allow for further study at A Level.

Here are some examples of careers you could consider with a Science qualification:

Physics	Biology	Chemistry
Nuclear medicine	Medicine	Medicine
Metrology	Dentistry	Dentistry
Imaging	Veterinary Science	Veterinary Science
Biomechanics	Pharmacy	Pharmacy
Chemical Engineering	Sport Science	Forensics

Further information on this specification is available from the qualification website:

Trilogy:​ https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/science-8464/specification​

Separates:​

Biology: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/biology/gcse/biology-8461/specification​

Chemistry: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/chemistry/gcse/chemistry-8462/specification​

Physics: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/physics/gcse/physics-8463/specification

KEY CONTACT AT TGAS Mr M Tubb 

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Careers – Options to Careers
TGAS Real-Life Examples

Name: Jo S.

Current role/job title: IT Program Manager

Subject: Physics

Importance/relevance to your career/job:

I studied GCSE Physics and then continued this onto A Level. This led me to do a BEng (Hons) in Electronic Engineering where Physics, along with Maths, is a key component. This opened up a number of opportunities for me and I ended up working in the telecommunications industry. It was such a great time as I worked on key projects, including the first versions of Broadband, and I saw the incredible growth in this technology over such a small period of time.

I have since moved into a Project/Program Management role but still within the IT industry, so my engineering background has remained key in my career progression.

Name: Anita L.

Current role/job title: Clinical Scientist in Genomics

Subject: Biology

Importance/relevance to your career/job:

My job involves analysing and interpreting the genetic information from cancer patients to determine if there is a genetic cause to their cancer, or if genetic variants within their tumour are causing their cancer to develop resistance or cause oversensitivity to chemotherapy drugs.  I use the Genetics knowledge I learned in GCSE Biology every day, whether it be understanding the inheritance of cancer within a family (dominant/recessive pattern), understanding the nature of DNA when performing sequence analysis of genes to look for mutations or the structural information of chromosomes when interpreting chromosome fusions.

Name: Eugene M.

Current role/job title: Company Director

Subject: Science

Importance/relevance to your career/job:

At the start of my career in recruitment, I worked for an IT recruitment organisation whose main focus was on telecommunications, eCommerce, IT networks and support. I knew a small amount about IT through studying Design and Technology at GCSE and A Level, but it was the new area of combining IT and Biology that really caught my interest. At the time, scientists were researching and mapping out the human genome, and I had the opportunity to help build teams with skills in bioinformatics to complete this massive project.

I studied Combined science at GCSE, and this knowledge was key to my success in talking with research scientists on a daily basis in order to understand what type of role and area of science they wanted to work in.

After 2.5 years in this role, I set up my own business in life science recruitment, connecting industry experts with the talent they need to build a healthier world. Over the years, I was fortunate enough to work on ground-breaking projects such as the 100,000 Genome Project, the largest genomic research project in the world, and advise and help with workforce planning and map out the skills required to complete such a task.  During the last 20 years, Science and Technology have merged, and scientists require not only domain knowledge of their subject but also require an understanding of how computers and data science can help them with their research.

Having a good understanding of science from completing a combined science CGSE has enabled me to build a successful international recruitment agency whilst also contributing to projects that affect people in their everyday lives.