“To myself, I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”
– Sir Isaac Newton
Science is one of the key focus areas at Ashdale Secondary College; it is a priority in the school’s strategic plan, enacted through our STEM and specialist programs and embedded into the culture through our school Houses of Newton, Galileo, Tesla and Curie.
Our Science team is a vibrant, enthusiastic and knowledgeable team for whom Science is not just a list of facts on a page but a way of thinking and seeing the world. We are dedicated to ensuring that all students can succeed and be prepared for life after school. This ideology is demonstrated in Science classrooms every day, where teachers provide opportunities for students to ask questions about the world, gather and interpret evidence, and build new understandings of scientific concepts.
Years 7 – 10 Science
Science in Years 7 – 10 follows the Western Australian Curriculum and has three interrelated strands:
- Science Understanding
- Science as a Human Endeavour
- Science Inquiry Skills.
The three strands of the Science curriculum provide students with understanding, knowledge and skills to develop a scientific view of the world.
The Science Understanding Strand is broken down into four units in which specific contexts are explored:
- Biological sciences
- Chemical sciences
- Physical sciences
- Earth and Space sciences
Students are assessed on their ability to interpret scientific concepts and apply them to new situations. They are also evaluated on their ability to frame scientific investigations and discover new facts about the world.
Senior School Science
The grounding in scientific understanding from lower school leads students directly into science-based pathways in Years 11 and 12. Ashdale SC offers a broad range of subjects to study:
- Human Biology – ATAR and General
- Earth and Environmental Science – ATAR
- Biology – ATAR
- Psychology – ATAR and General
- Physics – ATAR
- Integrated Science – General
- Chemistry – ATAR
STEM-based pathways are the future of Australia’s workforce. Current predictions indicate that 44% of occupations are at risk of technological disruption within the next ten years. While jobs in STEM-based fields are expected to grow, now more than ever, investing time in understanding Science will have ongoing payoffs in the future.
