Years 9 and 10
Students apply their scientific knowledge and skills to increasingly complex and interconnected ideas across two strands.
Physical Science develops students' understanding of matter, energy, forces, motion, and Earth and space systems. Students represent chemical reactions using equations, calculate energy efficiency, and analyse motion using Newton's laws.
Biological Science focuses on how living systems function and change. Students interpret genetic and environmental influences on traits, model immune responses, and evaluate human impacts on ecosystems using scientific and environmental data.
Students engage in independent scientific inquiry, using evidence to critique claims, evaluate data quality, and construct scientific arguments. They learn that science is a collaborative and iterative process where innovation is valued when it is grounded in evidence.
Years 11 to 13
In Y11, the Physical and Biological Science strands diverge into Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Space Science, and Agricultural and Horticultural Science. Students will build on and develop their learning across all five strands. In Y12 and 13, students may further deepen their knowledge by specialising in one or more of these five strands.
They carry out practical investigations, collect and analyse data, and use scientific models and theories to explain what they observe. Students explore how science can be applied to real-world issues, including sustainability and environmental change.
These skills and experiences support pathways into tertiary study and a wide range of careers across the sciences and beyond.
Curiosity, empirical inquiry, and critical thinking are what we cultivate in every scientist at WHS. The challenges facing our communities and our environment are real, and science gives students the tools to respond to them.