Science · KS3 & KS4
Chemistry
With this curriculum, we aim to develop an interest in and passion for science by exploring answers to big questions like "How do forces make things happen?" We combine substantive and disciplinary knowledge to make practical skills, mathematical proficiency and scientific practices meaningful.
2026/27 at a glance
Each year is split into Autumn, Spring and Summer. Scroll sideways on small screens, or use the year-by-year detail below.
| Year | Autumn | Spring | Summer |
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| Year 7KS3 |
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| Year 8KS3 |
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| Year 9KS3 |
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| Year 10KS4 |
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| Year 11KS4 |
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Year by year
Year 7 Key Stage 3
Autumn
- Forces Quantifying and comparing energy transfers in different processes, such as changes in motion, electrical circuits and burning fuels.
- Cells Cell structures, their functions, and the differences between plant and animal cells.
- Our solar system and beyond Gravity as the force between masses, including calculating weight using gravitational field strength.
Spring
- Solutions Pure substances, mixtures, and diffusion in liquids and gases.
- Sound, light and vision Sound and light waves: frequency, echoes, reflection, absorption, and why sound needs a medium to travel.
- Separation techniques Filtration, evaporation, distillation and chromatography, and how to identify pure substances.
Summer
- Human skeleton and muscles The structure and functions of the skeleton: support, protection, movement and blood cell production.
- Heating and cooling Energy transfer by conduction and radiation, insulators, and thermal equilibrium.
- Climate change and living sustainably The greenhouse effect, global warming and the impact of climate change on weather events.
Year 8 Key Stage 3
Autumn
- Human digestive system The digestive system, including the roles of tissues, organs, enzymes and beneficial bacteria.
- Biodiversity How environmental change affects species' survival and adaptation, and can lead to extinction.
- Understanding chemical reactions Conservation of mass in changes of state and chemical reactions, including how atoms rearrange.
Spring
- Species and classification (differences between species) Differences between species, and using observations and data to find patterns and draw conclusions.
- Variation (differences within species) Continuous and discontinuous variation within species, using measurements and graphs.
- Series circuits Current, potential difference and resistance in series and parallel circuits.
Summer
- Fuels and energetics Energy changes in changes of state, exothermic and endothermic reactions, and energy transfers.
- Making images How light is absorbed, scattered and reflected, and using the ray model for images, refraction and lenses.
- Climate change and greenhouse gases Greenhouse gas emissions from transport and industry, and how renewable energy and better transport could reduce them.
Year 9 Key Stage 3
Autumn
- Breathing and respiration The human gas exchange system, how breathing works, and adaptations for function.
- Magnets and electromagnets Magnetic poles and fields, Earth's magnetism, electromagnets and DC motors.
- Plant nutrition and photosynthesis How plants make carbohydrates, take in water and minerals, and exchange gases through stomata.
Spring
- Hidden forces Forces, deformation, Hooke's Law, moments and work done.
- Adaptations, competition, natural selection and evolution Variation within and between species, competition and natural selection.
- Waves Sound and water waves: transverse and longitudinal motion, reflection, superposition and the speed of sound.
Summer
- Patterns in the periodic table Mendeleev's periodic table, periods and groups, and metals and non-metals.
- Resistance and parallel circuits Electrical circuits, appliance power ratings, and domestic fuel use and costs.
- Climate change and biodiversity How agriculture, deforestation and climate change affect biodiversity and food production.
Year 10 Key Stage 4
Autumn
- Atomic structure and the periodic table The atomic model, relative atomic mass, isotopes and the modern periodic table.
- Structure and bonding Changes of state, particle energy, and ionic, covalent and metallic bonding.
- States of matter The particle model, states of matter and changes between them, and physical versus chemical change.
Spring
- Separating substances Purification by filtration, crystallisation and distillation.
- Calculations involving masses Writing formulae, balancing equations and using conservation of mass.
- Making salts Empirical formulae, balanced and ionic equations, gas tests, acid reactions and pH.
Summer
- Chemistry of carbon How bonding and structure explain the properties of carbon materials such as diamond, graphite and graphene.
- Energy changes in reactions Bond breaking and making, activation energy and reaction profiles.
- Rate of reaction How temperature, concentration, surface area and catalysts affect reaction rates.
Year 11 Key Stage 4
Autumn
- Using Earth's resources Crude oil as a source of hydrocarbons, and fractional distillation.
- Groups of the periodic table How elements' reactions relate to electron arrangement and atomic number.
- Atmosphere and changing climate How Earth's atmosphere formed and changed, evidence for climate change, and pollutants such as sulphur dioxide.
Spring
- Electrolysis Electrode reactions and predicting the products of electrolysis, including competing reactions in solution.
- Industrial chemistry Corrosion and its prevention, and the properties of alloys, ceramics, polymers and metals.
Summer
- Chemical analysis Tests to identify cations and anions, including flame tests for lithium, sodium and copper ions.
- Organic chemistry Functional groups, naming and drawing structures, and reactions of alkanes, alkenes, alcohols and carboxylic acids.