Before we became a Science College, we offered students the choice of AS/A2 Human Biology, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. 

In September 2002, a pilot group of five students participated in an AS level in ‘Science For Public Understanding’. 

This course is science issue-based and aims to broaden students’ awareness of factors affecting our lives today. Topical in the Biological sciences would be a study of alternative therapies, infectious and inherited diseases and medical ethics including debating contentious issues such as ‘Should heavy smokers have to pay for their treatment, or should the NHS have to pay?’.

We chose this small ‘pilot-group’ of students in 2002 based on the fact that they had not opted to follow advanced science courses. All of them completed and passed the Science for Public Understanding course and the feedback they gave us at the end of the course was extremely positive. They found this issue-based course really different and agreed that the topical issues discussed in lessons really did broaden their scientific horizons. 

In September 2003, ‘Science for Public Understanding’ has become a core subject in the sixth form. All students who are undertaking two year A level courses, science based or not, must include Science for Public Understanding in their option choices. This means that around 180 students now take a science course in the lower 6th form.

2003 also sees the ‘Environmental Science AS’ offered to a number of students in the sixth form. In the first instance, this is only on offer to those students who take AS in Biology and Geography. Next year it will be on open offer as a full AS option.