---
title: "Science education in England"
chunk: 4/14
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_education_in_England"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:21:10.973540+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== State of science education in primary education ===
There is evidence that primary school pupils, that is, KS1 and KS2, in the UK get very little science education. The reason for this appears to be a lack of science expertise in primary schools. This has three implications: First, primary school pupils in state schools (that is, publicly funded schools) generally do not start getting regular science classes till KS3 (the first stage of secondary education). This leads to the second implication, in that there is likely to be a wide variation in pre-secondary school science knowledge among pupils at the start of KS3. And the third implication, as lack of science education does not appear to be an issue for pupils in prep schools (recall that prep schools are private or independent schools), it means that pupils that have done their primary education in state schools, wishing to transfer to independent schools at senior level, are likely to face a significant disadvantage when attempting the Science Common Entrance Examination (since the state primary school pupils would have done relatively little science unless supplemented by private tutorials).

=== KS1 ===
Key stage 1 (KS1) covers the first two years of compulsory school education in the National Curriculum. As such, the years are referred to as years 1 and 2. Children are typically in the age range 5–7. If a full science curriculum is offered as prescribed by the National Curriculum, then the emphasis of science at this stage should be observation and describing or drawing things that the child can see, either around them or from a book or photograph or video; the feel of materials is also an important feature of KS1 science. Abstract concepts in science are not introduced at this stage (at least not on the basis of the National Curriculum). As a result, the science curriculum at KS1 should be more or less plants and animals, and materials, with the emphasis on what can easily be seen or described by feeling things.

=== KS2 (including SATs, 11+ CEs, and teacher assessments) ===
Key stage 2 (KS2) covers years 3, 4, 5 and 6 of compulsory school education in the National Curriculum. It is the longest stage of compulsory school education in England. Children are typically in the age range 7–11. The National Curriculum divides KS2 into lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) and upper KS2 (years 5 and 6). If a full science curriculum is offered as prescribed by the National Curriculum then year 3 should continue from KS1, but with more complex observations for the child to do on plants and animals, and materials—rocks, fossils and soils, are brought in. Setting up simple experiments and recording data should become increasingly important at this stage. Hazards and dangers of certain scientific experiments (such as feeling things after they have been heated) should be drilled into pupils; necessary precautions against such dangers/hazards are taught. New areas should be introduced: light (and the dangers of looking directly at sunlight with necessary precautions), forces and magnets. In year 4, classification of living and non-living things come to the fore; additional areas introduced include:

Environmental change
Digestive system and food chains
States of matter
Sound
Electricity
In years 5 and 6 (upper KS2), the National Curriculum states that the emphasis should be on enabling pupils develop a deeper understanding of scientific ideas. The need to read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly is emphasised by the National Curriculum. This emphasis probably reflects the fact that by the age of 9, 10, or 11, a child in England should be able to read and write properly. Year 5 should continue on from year 4, studying increasingly more complex aspects of what was introduced in year 4. Also, the pupil should start learning to accept or refute ideas based on scientific evidence. Additional areas should include:

Life cycles
Reproduction in some plants and animals
Growing old
Properties and changes of materials
Earth and space
Year 6 not only continues on from year 5, adding more complex aspects of what was learnt in year 5, but should also prepare the pupil for KS3 science; additional areas include:

Circulatory system
Drugs and lifestyle
Evolution and inheritance

==== SATs and teacher assessments ====
Between the early 1990s and early 2010s, state school pupils had to take statutory SAT exams at the end of KS2 science although teacher assessments were also allowed. The KS2 SAT science exam consisted of two papers (forty-five minutes each). The scores from both papers were combined to give a final score. This score would then be converted into a numerical level, which would in turn be converted into an expectation level. The conversion scale for the levels at KS2 SAT science is shown in the table below.

Level 6 (exceptional) was also available, but only in mathematics and English (reading); a separate test for level 6 assessment had to be taken, which had to be marked externally. Science KS2 SATs were discontinued in 2013 and replaced by teacher assessments (which were already allowed during the time of SATs). In addition to teacher assessments, a SAT replacement assessment called key stage 2 science sampling test is now offered to five randomly selected pupils in a school every two years. The test comprises three papers: ‘b’ for biology, ‘c’ for chemistry, and ‘p’ for physics (each twenty-five minutes). The aim of the tests is to assess how well children are getting on with the curriculum. The first test of this kind was in the summer of 2016.