“The actual state of our knowledge is always provisional and there must be, beyond what is actually known, immense new regions to discover.” (Louis de Broglie)

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) Sciences framework encourages students to investigate issues through research, observation and experimentation, working independently and collaboratively. As they investigate real examples of science application, students will discover the tensions and dependencies between science and morality, ethics, culture, economics, politics, and the environment. 

The Year 8 programme at Scotch is divided into four units of study: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Earth and Space Science. Students study each unit in a rotation sequence. 

In the Physics unit students will focus on the broad concept of Energy. Energy appears in different forms, including movement (kinetic energy), heat and potential energy, and energy transformations and transfers do cause change within systems. 

The Chemistry unit will focus on the properties of the different states of matter. The difference between elements, compounds and mixtures and how they can be described at a particle level, and finally that chemical change involves substances reacting to form new substances.

In Biology, students focus on cells and how multi-cellular organisms contain systems of organs carrying out specialised functions that enable them to survive (circulatory, respiratory and digestive) and reproduce.  

The Earth and Space unit focuses on sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks, the minerals they contain, and how they are formed by processes that occur within the earth over a variety of timescales.

Scientific inquiry also fosters critical and creative thinking about research and design, as well as the identification of assumptions and alternative explanations. 

Through MYP Sciences at Scotch, students will learn to appreciate and respect the ideas of others, gain good ethical-reasoning skills and further develop their sense of responsibility as members of local and global communities.