At Thames Ditton Junior School, the teaching of science aims to stimulate and excite children's natural curiosity about the world around them. We believe that science should involve an enquiry-based approach, with a variety of hands-on practical activities. Children are encouraged to be scientists by asking questions and seeking answers: they choose suitable equipment for carrying out an investigation; decide on their method; find the best way of recording their results and analyse their data. Our science curriculum is complemented by themed science weeks, field visits to local sites, educational speakers, visits to science centres and museums and the use of our own extensive outdoor environment.

In Year 3, your child will learn about:

Plants (life cycles)

Animals including humans (nutrition, skeleton and muscles)

Rocks (fossils and soils)

Light (reflection and shadows)

Forces and magnets (magnetic materials, attracting and repelling)

In Year 4, your child will learn about:

Animals including humans (digestive system, teeth and food chains)

Living things and habitats (classification keys)

States of matter (changes of state, evaporation and condensation)

Sound (vibration, pitch and volume)

Electricity (simple circuits, insulators and conductors).

In Year 5, your child will learn about:

Animals including humans (human development from birth to old age)

Living things and their habitats (life cycles and reproduction in humans and plants)

Properties and changes of materials (dissolving, separating materials, reversible and irreversible changes)

Forces (gravity, air resistance, water resistance, friction)

Earth and Space (Earth, Sun and Moon, the solar system).

In Year 6, your child will learn about:

Animals including humans (circulatory system, diet and exercise, healthy living)

Living things and their habitat (classification, characteristics of plant and animal groups)

Light (how it travels, how we see, shadows)

Electricity (voltage and power in circuits, circuit components, symbols and diagrams)

Evolution and inheritance (how living things have changed over time, fossils, dinosaurs, adaptation to environment).