Science & STEM
STEM teaching at the Academy aims to provide a solid scientific education in a way that is practical, enjoyable, interesting and challenging. We are keen to promote a passion for science and enquiry by developing good learning habits that will equip students with the confidence to adapt to future challenges.
Our learning journey in science involves developing
- The acquisition of scientific knowledge and core concepts.
- Describing wider experiences accurately and then explaining them using scientific knowledge.
- Learning to take accurate measurements and identify errors
- Applying scientific methods to various aspects.
- Identifying scientific variables and using formula.
- To recall memorable scientific experiences and experiments
- To be able to present information in different formats (diagrams, tables, graphs)
- To be able to write instructions, explanations and experimental write ups
As students become more competent, we see students’ progress by …
- The use of ever more abstract ideas and the application of these to new settings
- Having a large scientific knowledge to explain the world around them.
- Moving from describing to explaining
- Calculating using formulae
- Devising experiments that test a hypothesis.
Exciting STEM projects have included Astronomy, where a former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox visited the Academy; building a Greenpower race car; working in partnership with Groundwork South to develop an outdoor Shakespeare Garden and amphitheatre; and working with Ardingly College on their solar powered car project that was raced across Australia. By working in partnership with other institutions the PACA students get a much richer school experience as far more opportunities open up to them.
You can view more details of our science curriculum here and see an overview of the topics covered in chemistry, biology and physics in years 7 and 8 group here and year 9 here.
You can also see our teachers' open evening presentations below:
