Academic Departments Science Department
Science Department
In the Science Faculty at Rugby we believe in educating pupils beyond the boundaries of any nationally prescribed curriculum. Through enthusiastic teaching, creative curriculum development, up to date facilities and an extensive programme of enrichment for all, we hope to provide pupils with opportunities to appreciate the many dimensions of Science.
Biology, Chemistry and Physics are compulsory subjects up to D Block (Year 11) and they are taught separately by specialists. Most pupils are entered for Triple Award (certificates in each separate Science) with a smaller number sitting Double Award Co-ordinated Science. Post-16 we offer A levels in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, a Cambridge Pre-U in Physics, and Extended Projects in Perspectives on Science, Chemistry, Engineering and Astronomy.
Our historic Science building has been extensively refurbished and rebuilt to produce a high specification twenty-first century resource which is connected to the impressive Design Faculty. A central Science atrium unites all the teaching and administrative areas. This hub provides a vast foyer for teacher conferences, hosting exhibitions, parents' meetings, and for Science theatrical productions. Seminar rooms, lecture theatres and laboratories are state of the art, expressive of the importance Rugby School continues to place on Science education. Each department has a specialist research laboratory for pupils to conduct extended projects. The laboratories and extensive prep room facilities enable staff and technicians to develop new practical ideas and to design novel equipment.
Many of our facilities are used for events involving links with the community. The Rugby Natural History Society involves people from Rugby town meeting regularly to share their expertise in The Science Schools. We also host a number of teacher and technician conferences throughout the year, some to provide support for local schools, and others involving collaborations with national scientific institutions.
Science field trips and expeditions have been an exciting part of the curriculum at Rugby for decades. These have included day trips to local hospitals, visits to The Royal Institution, excursions to CERN in Geneva, expeditions to the Galapagos Islands, and even a Chemistry Revision Ski Trip for the Sixth Form.
Our annual Foxcroft lecture promotes Science both to pupils in the School and to a wider community through lectures by invited luminaries form the world of Science. We also have a number of societies run by enthusiastic Sixth Formers. Science Mosaic is a discussion group, where pupils of all year groups are welcome to present ideas and debate scientific issues. The Seabroke Astronomy Society involves our aspiring astronomers giving tours of the night sky in the Temple Observatory to members of the public. This carries on the spirit of George Seabroke (OR) who helped found Rugby School Astronomy in the nineteenth century. The Bateson Biology Society is named in honour of Professor William Bateson (OR) who was appointed the first Professor of Genetics at Cambridge in 1908. Working with the Careers Department we ensure that every encouragement is given to our pupils to pursue university degrees in Science related courses.
The Science Faculty has a long tradition of pioneering curriculum development work: Adam Walker gave special extra-curricular lectures in Science in Rugby in 1776 and we were the first school in the country to teach Science as part of the formal school curriculum in the 1850s. During the 1960s and 1970s Rugby School had a significant influence on the Nuffield curriculum work in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. From the mid 1990s to the turn of the new millennium, members of the Science Department have been developing Sixth Form courses, working in close collaboration with universities and examination boards. Science teachers and technicians were involved in writing, trialling and piloting Salters Horners A-level Physics in the late 1990s. The Science Faculty has also been a leader in launching a new course in the History, Philosophy and Ethics of Science (Perspectives on Science), which we piloted in September 2004. It aims to show the human face of Science through the ages and to provide cross-curricular links between Arts and Science subjects. We have also worked with the Cambridge International Exam Board in pioneering the Cambridge Pre-U Physics course.
