In grades 9 and 10 students study Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in preparation for the Cambridge IGCSE Coordinated Science exam at the end of grade 10. Science courses at MEF IS ensure that students are equipped for new and future challenges. Throughout the course students gain an understanding of the basic principles of each subject through a mix of theoretical and practical studies while developing an understanding of the scientific skills essential for further study. Students are encouraged to meet new challenges resourcefully, creatively, and imaginatively by applying their knowledge and understanding to solve new and unfamiliar problems.
The aims of the Cambridge science courses are to:
- Provide an enjoyable and worthwhile educational experience for all learners
- Enable learners to acquire sufficient knowledge and understanding to become confident citizens in a technological world and develop an informed interest in scientific matters
- Allow learners to recognise that science is evidence-based and understand the usefulness and limitations of the scientific method
- Develop skills that are relevant to the study and practice of science that are useful in everyday life
- Develop a systematic approach to problem-solving
- Develop attitudes relevant to science such as concern for accuracy and precision, objectivity, integrity, enquiry, initiative and inventiveness
- Enable learners to appreciate that science is subject to social, economic, technological, ethical, and cultural influences and limitations
At the end of grade 10 students take external Cambridge IGCSE Coordinated Science exams. It is a double award qualification, earning two grades.
In grades 11 and 12 Science classes, students choose one of four IB courses offered:
- Biology (SL, HL)
- Chemistry (SL, HL)
- Physics (SL, HL)
- Environmental Systems and Societies (SL)
Through studying any of the IB science subjects, students should become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. While the “scientific method” may take on a wide variety of forms, it is the emphasis on a practical approach through experimental work that distinguishes the science group subjects from other disciplines.
The aims of any IB science subject enable students, through the overarching theme of the nature of science to:
- appreciate scientific study and creativity within a global context through stimulating and challenging opportunities
- acquire a body of knowledge, methods, and techniques that characterize science and technology
- apply and use a body of knowledge, methods and techniques that characterize science and technology
- develop an ability to analyse, evaluate, and synthesize scientific information
- develop a critical awareness of the need for, and the value of, effective collaboration and communication during scientific activities
- develop experimental and investigative scientific skills including the use of current technologies
- develop and apply 21st century communication skills in the study of science
- become critically aware, as global citizens, of the ethical implications of using science and technology
- develop an appreciation of the possibilities and limitations of science and technology
- develop an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and their influence on other areas of knowledge.
Students are assessed both internally and externally at the end of Grade 12 through IB examinations. The internally assessed components are also externally moderated by IB.
