10th October 2011
This is a copy of a letter, originally sent out on 20th September, which might or might not have found its way home. If you do
not wish to purchase these revision guides I would be very grateful if you would complete the reply slip, tick the second box,
and return the slip to school as soon as possible. If you would like to purchase the guides, we are still accepting orders - but
the sooner the better, as students will find the guides useful on a day-to-day basis, not just for last minute revision!
Dear Parents/Carers
Edexcel Biology/Chemistry/Physics GCSE Courses
I am delighted to be able to report that our two classes of ‘triple scientists’ have made a strong and enthusiastic start to their
GCSE courses with Mr Tilson (Biology), Mr Clarkson/Mr Arkwright (Physics) and Mr Atkinson/myself (Chemistry). These three
separate GCSEs can provide an excellent basis for the students’ future, particularly for those who wish to pursue science
further, post-16.
As you may know, the courses are modular, with examinations and assessments (that count towards GCSE grades) taking place
at various times throughout Year 10 and Year 11. Details of these are provided overleaf; the first external exams, based on the
work done since the start of this term, will be in March 2012.
The purpose of this letter is to offer you the opportunity to purchase the relevant revision guides (one each for Biology,
Chemistry and Physics, covering all the Year 10 and Year 11 work), the advantages of this being:
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students will always have their own personal copies of the guides readily available to them
students can make their own notes and annotations within the guides
in due course students will have these guides available for reference as they pursue their education and careers beyond
Church Stretton School (or alternatively they might be able to pass on the guides to younger siblings or friends)
we are able to pass on the discount that we have secured and can therefore offer these guides at the reduced price of
£2.75 each, compared with the standard retail price of £5.95 (i.e. £8.25 for all three guides, instead of £17.85).
For those who do not wish to purchase the guides, there will always be a number of copies available for students to borrow
from the school library - but I do hope you will agree that these guides represent an excellent investment.
If you do wish to purchase the guides, I would be very grateful if you could return the slip below together with your payment of
£8.25, by Thursday 29 September at the latest. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at school.
Yours sincerely
Dr A J Wood
Head of Science
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
PLEASE RETURN TO RECEPTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Name of Student……………………………………………………………………………………………….. Tutor Group………………………
 I wish to purchase the Triple Science revision guides as detailed in the letter. I enclose £8.25 in payment (please make
cheques payable to Church Stretton School).
 I DO NOT wish to purchase the Triple Science revision guides as detailed in the letter.
Signed (Parent/Carer)……………………………………………………………..
EDEXCEL BIOLOGY/CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS GCSE COURSES
Exams & Assessments
These are three separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, each lasting two years and
taken over the course of Year 10 and Year 11.
In each GCSE, 75% of the marks are awarded via three 1-hour external exams (25% for each
exam). The external exam dates, so far as they are known, are as follows:
Biology GCSE
Chemistry GCSE
Physics GCSE
Thurs 1 March 2012 (a.m.) “B1” Exam
Thurs 1 March 2012 (a.m.) “C1” Exam
Fri 2 March 2012 (a.m.) “P1” Exam
November 2012 “B2” Exam
November 2012 “C2” Exam
November 2012 “P2” Exam
May 2013 “B3” Exam
May 2013 “C3” Exam
May 2013 “P3” Exam
In each course the remaining 25% of marks are available via two practical-based Controlled
Assessment Tasks (i.e. two such tasks for Biology, two for Chemistry and two for Physics). The
dates of these are yet to be set, but the first will take place no earlier than the March 2012
external exams.
Clearly, as these are three separate GCSEs, only Biology marks count towards the Biology GCSE similarly for Chemistry and Physics. Therefore, with the Triple Science course, it is not possible
for a strong performance in (say) Biology to counter-balance a weak performance in Chemistry
or Physics.