Head of Natural Science – Robert Weatherdon
Welcome to the website of the Chesterhouse Physical Science Department. The University of Cambridge IGCSE and AS Level syllabuses give pupils an excellent grounding for their future careers and are internationally recognised as superior courses.
Our pupils have an advantage because Chesterhouse offers separate courses in Physics and Chemistry. This enables pupils who have an interest in science to specialise in their career subjects thereby gaining deeper insight and a broader spectrum of knowledge. In addition, the courses include a practical examination which builds up personal confidence for those who will be pursuing a science career at a tertiary institution.
The Cambridge syllabi have been developed over a period of more than fifty years and are continually updated to include the latest scientific advances. Candidates are assessed at the end of the course when they write external examinations which use proven traditional examination techniques which are respected worldwide. The assessment is reliable and fair to all candidates because no cumulative test marks assessed by teachers at school level are included in the final external examination mark. The external examination consists of three question papers using different methods of assessment: multiple-choice questions, structured questions and practical work respectively.
At the junior level, the school has developed syllabi for Grades 7, 8 and 9 that give pupils a sound grounding for senior courses. There is also close co-operative with the Junior School to ensure a smooth transition to the High School.
Genshen Ming (9th position in the world) and Alexander Chiu (2nd position in the world) in the 2009 Cambridge IGCSE Physical Science examinations
Although Chesterhouse is a young school, our candidates have performed well both nationally and internationally. At the national level, two pupils were placed in joint third position in the 2009 National Physical Science Olympiad and our top Grade 10 pupil was placed first in South Africa in the 2010 Olympiad. At the international level, two candidates were awarded Brilliance Awards by the University of Cambridge for coming second and ninth in the world in the 2009 IGCSE examinations. Furthermore, sixty-four percent of our candidates attained A* and A symbols in the 2009 IGCSE external examinations and ninety-three percent of candidates attain A* symbols in the 2010 IGCSE examination. It is gratifying to know that our pupils have excelled in external examinations in competition with prestigious independent schools both in England and internationally.
Chesterhouse is fortunate to have a modern and well-equipped laboratory. We have all the apparatus required to teach the syllabi for external practical examinations and for demonstration experiments to make lessons interesting.
Physics is taught by Mr Robert Weatherdon and Jen Patrick-Muller and Chemistry is taught by Jen Patrick-Muller and Robyn Kirsten.
Robert Weatherdon, B.Sc., U.E.D.
Jen Patrick
Teaching the Cambridge courses is enjoyable and rewarding work. The Physical Science teachers look forward to encouraging and motivating pupils to achieve their best according to their individual abilities.
