Science A and AS Level Courses
Chemistry
Biology
Physics
Electronics

CHEMISTRY
Chemistry AS level is a one-year course comprising 3 units. Students may continue for a second year, completing a further 3 units to obtain Chemistry A level. The course followed is WJEC Chemistry. The topics covered build upon GCSE Double Award Science and they include atomic structure, the mole, bonding, the periodic table, energetics, rates of reaction and organic chemistry.

Specifications

AS Level
CH1 Physical and Inorganic.
CH2 Physical and Organic.
CH3 Experimental Skills, including a practical assignment.

A2 Level
Spectroscopy and Further Organic Chemistry.
Further Physical and Inorganic.
Further experimental skills.

Assessment
AS Level    Two end-of-unit papers and a practical assessment with practical exam paper.
A2 Level    Two end-of-unit papers and a practical assessment. There is a synoptic paper which covers all the work of AS and A2.

Subject Choices:    Physics and Biology provide a great combination with Chemistry, but you can choose any other subject.

Careers:   Chemistry is a desirable qualification for most careers, for example medicine, nursing, engineering, teaching, sport science, forensics, art restoration, the media and computer game development.

PHYSICS
A-level Physics is taught at the Maelor School, Penley. Students are transported to the school twice weekly. Students follow the AQA Physics specification.



BIOLOGY
Students follow the Edexcel A-level course. In Year 12, students will study 4 topics:

Topic 1 - Lifestyle, health and risk.
Topic 2 - Genes and health.
Topic 3 - The voice of the genome.
Topic 4 - Biodiversity and natural resources. Students will also write a report on a visit carried out during the year.

In Year 13, students will study a further 4 topics:

Topic 5 - On the wild side.
Topic 6 - Infection, immunity and forensics.
Topic 7 - Run for your life.
Topic 8 - Grey matter. Students will also complete an assessed practical.



AS ELECTRONICS
This subject is taught via a video conferencing link with the Maelor School, Penley with support provided at Ysgol Rhiwabon.

AS units
ET1 :    Introduction to Digital and Analogue Systems.

ET2 :    Circuits and components.

ET3 :    Programmable Control Systems Project.


Assessment
Assessment is by means of two 90-minute external examination papers (ET1 and ET2). ET1 is usually taken in the January series of examinations.
30% of the marks are for the internally-assessed coursework (ET3).


Prior Knowledge
No previous knowledge of Electronics is necessary, but candidates will normally have achieved a grade C in GCSE Science.