Altrincham Grammar School for Girls

Introduction

The Science Department at AGGS is highly dedicated. We are a team of eighteen teachers and four technicians housed in thirteen laboratories.

AGGS is a Lead School in Science. This means that in addition to providing excellent education to our own pupils and students we are also involved in many other projects. We have members of the department involved in Challenge the Gap – an initiative to reduce the gap in achievement between students different groups of students, and this is in collaboration with other Challenge Partner schools. We are developing school-to-school support and providing PGCE and Schools Direct placements.

The Science Department holds a PTI (Prince’s Teaching Institute) Mark for its innovative projects. Last year a Science and Sustainability project, which aimed to get pupils from different year groups to work together and research recent developments in science and engineering that promoted sustainable living, was hugely successful. Students completed poster presentations, visited cutting edge research centres and invited guest speakers into school. The groups then developed their own research ideas and presented to panels of experts over two afternoons. Girls achieve CREST Silver and Gold awards for their projects and the whole endeavour is hoped to be repeated next year. In addition, this year we are hoping to work with primary schools across the Trust and the Alliance to develop teaching resources to promote innovative science learning, using our students as teachers and demonstrators.

AGGS is also a base for the Prince’s Teaching Institute NQT training and two members of the department are Subject Lead Teachers, delivering training at weekends at both AGGS and Pimlico School in London to newly qualified teachers travelling across the country to attend.

Anyone passing through the Science Department will find it buzzing with activity, with pupils engaged in innovative learning and discussion with a wealth of extra-curricular opportunity. We have talks ranging from particle physics to the use of animals in research and a wide range of competitions and clubs for pupils to enjoy.

A very large number of our pupils continue with Science through the sixth form and go onto careers in the Sciences and Medicine. However, we aim that every child enjoys Science and gains the scientific literacy needed for 21st century careers and citizenship.

Science is taught as a single subject in Y7 and Y8, although some of our topics will be identifiable as Biology, Chemistry or Physics.

Our aim in these years is to instil a sense of enquiry, excitement for new ideas and that the pupils learn the foundations of Science.

In Year Nine, Science is taught as the three separate disciplines by specialist teachers, and it is during this year that the GCSE courses begin.

Over half of the pupils go on to study “Triple Science” (GCSEs in all three Sciences) and the others take Science and Additional Science at GCSE.