Key Stage 3 course
Key Stage 3 Science
Science is amazing! It’s all about asking questions about the world around us and trying to answer them.
The Net School Science Course consists of 2 hours of live science teaching per week, in a single lesson with a break halfway through. Often the first hour of the lesson will be based on a different topic to the second hour.
What resources will I need?
There will be no set textbooks for this course. Lesson materials and homework will be available to download. However, in addition to the usual pencils and pens, you’ll need some graph paper, a calculator and a 30cm ruler.
What about practical work?
Sometimes we’ll use simulations of experiments that can be found online. You’ll also be able to do quite a lot of practical science in your kitchen or garden under adult supervision. Any hazards and safety precautions will be clearly pointed out in the practical instructions, but your safety is ultimately the responsibility of the adult supervising you, and if they are not completely satisfied about the safety of the activity, then it should not be
attempted. For your practical science it would be helpful to have kitchen scales that measure to the nearest gram, a stopwatch or a clock with a second hand, a thermometer (not mercury!) measuring from -10 to 100o C, a 50ml measuring cylinder and a small quantity of pH paper. At the time of writing, all these items were available to buy new on Ebay and/or Amazon with a total cost of less than £20.
- Examples of practical activities you might carry out are:
- Heating some water in a saucepan and measuring the temperature of it every minute until it boils.
- Making models of plant and animal cells using jelly and other foodstuffs
- Observing the reaction of vinegar with baking powder and measuring the temperature during the reaction.
- Investigating which of kitchen towel and toilet paper is more absorbent
- Surveying an area of grass and recording the plant species present
Where can this course take me?
Our Key Stage 3 science course is an excellent preparation for all GCSE and IGCSE courses. Net School students can continue their scientific journey with us by moving on from their Key Stage 3 studies to our IGCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics courses.
Course Summary
The topics taught in each year of the course are as follows:
Year 7 (First year of secondary school)
- Being a scientist
- Cells and organisms
- Materials and Matter
- Energy
- Human reproduction
- Rocks
- Populations and the environment
- Electricity and magnetism
- Elements
- Forces
Year 8 (Second year of secondary school)
- Acids and alkalis
- Light
- Sound
- Food and digestion
- Breathing and circulation
- Earth and space
- Healthy lifestyle
- Metals
- Elements 2
- Heat transfer
- Being a scientist 2
Year 9 (Third year of secondary school)
- How science works
- Dynamics
- Variation and inheritance
- Electricity and energy
- Plants
- Chemical reactions
- Pressure and moments
- Environmental chemistry
Will there be homework?
Key Stage 3 students can expect to be given around 30-60 minutes of homework every week for each subject they study. But homework takes many forms and will not always involve writing – it could just as easily be a research or reading task, a creative activity or even preparing a speech! We also understand that not all children will find homework beneficial and we are happy to accommodate what works best for your child.
Flexibility for Home Educating Families
We know that home educating families have many different models for how their children learn, but the flexibility offered by Net School allows parents to choose just the courses that are right for their child and that fit around their existing commitments.
Fees
Key Stage 3 Science on its own
2 hours of live teaching a week, for the 2026/27 school year. 10% off the whole timetable at ten hours a week or more. There is no minimum — take this subject by itself if that is what suits.
All fees include VAT. Charged termly, by bank transfer, at least a week before term starts — invoices go out at the end of the previous term.
- Autumn term£421.20
- Spring term£356.40
- Summer term£291.60
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Talk to us
Tell us about your child
We will be very happy to discuss your needs and arrange a demonstration of how online teaching can work for you and your family.