Senior School Curriculum Physics
Physics
We won’t be surprised to know that in the Physics department at Clayesmore we live and breathe the subject and we aim to give you the same love of Physics that we, the staff, have enjoyed all our lives.
Physics has a real, specific contribution to make to the development of all young people, not only because it is a huge component of the everyday lives that we all lead, but also because its abstract nature encourages curiosity and stretches the intellect.
Our main aims:
- to give you the essential knowledge and understanding of Physics and its application that you will need, not just to pass exams in the subject, but in life later on.
- You’ll be taught a little of how humankind’s understanding of Physics has changed and developed over time, the importance of Physics and its application in a range of vital areas.
- We want all our pupils and students to develop an understanding oof the link between theory and experiment and to be able to think and analyse such things critically.
- to help you develop the highest academic standards and achievement you possibly can;
- to develop your natural curiosity as to how the physical world works and to understand models that are used to explain it all;
- above all, to help you sustain and develop your enjoyment of and interest in Physics and to this end we will always aim to do much more than merely cover the work dictated by examination syllabuses.
In the photographs you can see the Head of Physics, Mr Steven Smith with Albert Einstein! With who? Yes, it’s Einstein. All right, it isn’t really, but we had a great day last year when this scientific actor came to talk to all year 9 about a number of important ideas and concepts. The other photo shows a guest speaker who came to demonstrate a whole lot of fascinating stuff about Nitrogen. We all learned something that day. We do lots of this sort of thing in the Clayesmore Physics department. The Upper Sixth group visited the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford last year for some demonstrations on particle physics. We also enjoyed a visit by a mobile planetarium for year 9. In addition, all 6th form scientists paid a visit to the famous Science Museum in London last year.
So what do we study? It depends upon whether you take Phsyics as a GCSE in its own right or whether you will be following the new Science and Additional Science route to GCSE – both are good and very enjoyable! Topics include:
- Energy and electricity
- Waves and radiation
- Nuclear energy, Electricity, Forces and Motion
- Moments, Motors, Electromagnetic induction, Lenses. Stars, Sound, Ultrasound.
- Practical work in Physics is assessed through experiments undertaken during the GCSE course.
A-level Physics builds upon the knowledge and skills acquired during the GCSE course. There is no coursework as such. Plenty of experiments, practical work and demonstrations are built into the course and practical skills are assessed throughout the course but also specifically in the Investigative Skills Assignments which the staff set at various points during the course. Other specific A-level Physics topics include:
- Mechanics
- Electricity
- Wave ideas
- Thermal Physics
- Particle Physics
- Electric fields
- Nuclear energy
- Quantum Physics
- Material properties
- Capacitors
- Gravity
- Magnetic fields
- Radioactivity
- Relativity
- Astrophysics and Cosmology
- Medical Physics
- Applied Physics