Science Department Yearbook Article
I am happy to say that the pupils here at Runnymede have once again contributed to my own enjoyment of teaching a subject like science. The interest shown and the high level of involvement and effort in class is what makes a job like this worthwhile and I’m pleased to say I have had the chance to teach some great students and had many fine experiences throughout the year.
Middle school science changed in an organizational way this year as the year 9 students sat individual school exams in each of the sciences instead of the now (non-compulsory) end of key stage three science SATs exams. This was done for a number of reasons, chief of these being our concern that SATs exam where not sufficiently demanding for the highest achievers here at Runnymede and not the best preparation for progression to GCSE in individual science subjects. Many year 9 students rose to the challenge and responded to the new situation with excellent performances in the exams and the sciences were popular as ever in the option choices for GCSE.
Despite the change in assessment method the overall aim of middle school science remains the same. We want to help our students become scientifically literate citizens capable of understanding the profound impact of science on the world around them. We also want students to be aware of some of the ethical debates arising from areas of scientific endeavour and to come to a fuller understanding of how they feel about these areas and to articulate the issues and their own personal views in an informed and reasoned way. Above all we want scientific method itself (making conclusions based upon reliable, reproducible evidence) to be something they can fully appreciate and can apply to situations beyond the classroom.
Perhaps the high point of the year personally was taking a group of six students to take part in the first ever ‘Young Scientist of the Year’ that took place at St Anne’s school in Madrid. The students were Paula Hernandez Chang, Marina Ayuso, Claudia Sheriff, Andrea Hall, Ana Ruiz and Pablo Olaizola. In groups of three the students carried out a full scientific investigation and prepared a research poster, which they had to explain on the day to judges from the University Complutense of Madrid in competition with other international schools. All of these students worked hard and performed very well on the day and one team managed to win third prize and a trophy for the school. This was all the more remarkable when we take into account that all students were from year 7 and most other teams in the competition were year 9. I would like to thank these students for their hard work and interest and their personal courage to speak in front of many people about their work. It was a real worthwhile event and we hope to enter students again next year.
