Science in Secondary Schools

[Pogle]

Do secondary schools still teach separate sciences - Physics, Chemistry and biology? and can you still do each one separately at GCSE?
Or does everyone do a 'general science' subject instead?

[Board Game Geek]

No idea.

Back in the 80's, our school split sciences in to individual disciplines, eg, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, etc.

I suspect that in previous aeons, it was all rolled in to one subject, since there wasn't as much body of knowledge to render individual courses.

Oh if it were only that simple today :-)

[Platypus]

As far as I know, no.

Kids can choose "double science" or "triple science", the latter being more closely aligned to what we think of as Bio, Chem & Phys

[BrilloPad]

Even "back in my day" I did a physics/chemistry O level a year early : though the subjects were taught seperately.

So the rot had started even then........

[ASB]

I believe there might still be a seperate GCSE Physics. In any event there has been a fair amount of call to move away from "double" and "triple" back to individual GCSES rather than this slightly bizarre combined thing.

Triple Science isn't offered everywhere anyway.

In any event unless Pogle Jr has made his/her choices you can be fairly surely the system will have changed (again) by then. [I think there are some changes for those starting GCSE courses in 2009 anyway].

http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications...nce/index.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7966688.stm
http://www.21stcenturyscience.org/th...e,1423,NA.html

[darmstadt]

I remember doing Domestic Science, probably one of the most valuable lessons I ever did in preperation for the future. Taught me how to cook, clean, sew and all the fundamentals of looking after oneself. Chemistry taught me the basics of making explosives and an unhealthy interest in medicine cabinets, Biology in bodies and lobbing cut up frogs and bulls eyes at other people and Physics, erm, sleeping.

[Board Game Geek]

I did Physics "O" Level and got a "U" for "Unclassified".

Oh well.

It may have something to do with the fact that my friend and I used our physics lessons to explore the dynamics of metal fatigue upon our Games Workshop miniatures, when we used to play small scale skirmishes at the back of the class.

Our student's desks were huge and two people sat side by side. Put up a barrier of your Adidas school bags in front of each of you, and you had a great shield to keep out prying eyes.

There's nothing quite like melting your opponent's Ents or Trolls with a Bunsen Burner. (Well, the rules did say that Fire is especially harmful to those units).

[TheRefactornator]

Do secondary schools still teach separate sciences - Physics, Chemistry and biology? and can you still do each one separately at GCSE?
Or does everyone do a 'general science' subject instead?

Nowadays it's called playing with lego because all other names have been deemed non PC. It's also what they actually do in class.

[thunderlizard]

Biology shouldn't count anyway I reckon. It's basically an extension of flower-arranging.

[Cliphead]

Biology shouldn't count anyway I reckon. It's basically an extension of flower-arranging.

Poorest troll of the year so far