Welcome to the Science area of our website!

The subject leader for Science at St James' is Mrs Malik.

Our Christian Vision for Science:

In science lessons at St James’ all children are encouraged to ask questions and be inquisitive about themselves and the world around them.  We give students the freedom within a safe environment to pursue their own inquiries and support them in looking for answers to their own questions allowing them to prosper as individuals.   This reasoning approach to science allows all children to develop confidence in their abilities as there is no right or wrong answer in science.  All children can succeed.

The children at St James’ are given opportunities to work practically in various environments such as inside and outside the classroom and in the surrounding areas around school, developing their enquiry and scientific skills.  These opportunities value diversity and inclusion for all types of learners. Our aim is that all children leave St James’ with an inquisitive mind, the confidence to explore and ask questions and a broad scientific knowledge will help them to succeed in their chosen path.

         Snapshot of Science

The three aims of our Science curriculum at St. James Lower Darwen are:

• to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics
• to develop an understanding of the nature, processes and methods of Science through different types of scientific enquiries that help children to answer scientific questions about the world around them
• to be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science today and for the future.

Teachers use clearly defined Progression of Knowledge and Progression of Skills documents to provide structure so that pupils’ understanding and scientific ability build as they move through the year groups.

Science through stories

At St James we celebrate diversity and enjoy cross curricular reading!  If you are interested in learning about science through stories, have a look at some of the recommendations below. We'd love to hear about any books you have read!

British Science week 2026 - What are you curious about?

We celebrated British Science Week this year with a fantastic whole-school Science Day at St James, inspired by this year’s theme: Curiosity.

Across the school, every child was encouraged to ask questions and wonder about the world around them. Our Wonder Walls were filled with thoughtful and imaginative questions from pupils in every class – showing just how curious our young scientists are!

Throughout the day, classes took part in a range of exciting investigations, encouraging discussion, teamwork and oracy as pupils explored ideas, shared predictions and discovered new things together. There was a real buzz of excitement as children experimented, observed and talked about their learning.

We finished the day with a wonderful science showcase in the hall, where classes shared their investigations and discoveries with one another. It was a brilliant way to celebrate learning and curiosity across the whole school.

The mystery object table was a huge success with both children and adults too!

A huge well done to all of our pupils and staff for making the day such a success – and for showing that great science always begins with a question!

Science CREST after school club 2026

Children in KS1 are working towards their CREST Star Award. These awards provide an excellent introduction to problem-solving in STEM, giving children the chance to explore hands-on challenges that connect to real-life situations. The children must complete 8 hours of scientific investigation to be awarded with the CREST Star award.

British Science week 2025 - St James' Science Fair

British Science Week was celebrated by the whole school as we investigated the question,

'Which biscuit makes the best dunker?'

Children designed their own experiments, made predictions, carried out a fair test and recorded their results.  They showcased their oracy and team working skills and had a fun, scientific day was had by all!

British Science week 2024 - St James' Science Fair

To celebrate British Science Week, the children at St James’ hosted their very own science fair today.  The theme for 2024 is ‘Time’ and as a school we focussed on STEM careers and our future aspirations.  The children learned about a diverse range of scientists and people who work in science-related jobs.

Each class concentrated on an area of science and used their oracy skills to present their learning to other classes throughout the afternoon. There was a lovely buzz around school today and we loved sharing information about our inspirational STEM people too! We can all be scientists! Well done everyone!

Science CREST after school club 2024

Children from year 2 and year 3 are working towards their CREST Star Award.  Star Awards are a great introduction to problem-solving in STEM. They offer children the opportunity to learn through hands-on challenges that focus on their everyday lives.

Virtual visit by a STEM Ambassador 23.03.23  

In Year 5, we were lucky to have a virtual visit by a STEM Ambassador, Drew Steele. He talked to us about his love of flying and how he has worked with aeroplanes throughout his life even though he never achieved his ambition of flying as a pilot. He explained the science of flight, linking this with our learning about gravity. He showed us images of some iconic planes as well as the biggest and smallest planes ever built. We have learnt so much, both about flight and the sorts of jobs that are available in this industry.

STEM Day - 17th March 2023

To celebrate British Science Week, the whole school took part in STEM Day. We learnt that STEM includes science, technology, engineering and maths. We were also introduced to the wide range of jobs that STEM embraces, from civil engineering to crime scene investigator, vet to psychologist. 

The theme for British Science Week this year is Connections. Our link was the connection between Earth and Space. Each class researched a different woman famous in their STEM field before completing a practical science experiment. Throughout the school, we used a variety of different enquiry skills. For their main science activities, Reception built and launched stomp rockets, Years 1 and 2 made balloon rockets, Years 3 and 4 investigated heat shields whilst Years 5 and 6 designed and made a variety of paper aeroplanes. Year 5 are adamant that their design was the most successful!

We all had an amazing day.

Mars Day 7th March 2023

Year 5 took part in various events to celebrate Mars Day.

After completing a maths challenge, we watched a live lesson entitled “To the Moon and Mars”. This was very interesting! We were introduced to the space programme Artemis and met the UK astronauts who have been chosen to take part. The group includes the first para-astronaut to travel to space. We were then shown a range of different rockets. Saturn 5 is a heavy launch rocket that has been used in the past to go to space. An SLS has been built for the new Artemis mission, which is bigger than the old Saturn 5. The tallest and most powerful rocket is a starship type, although this is still in the design and test phase. We watched in awe as a rocket blasted off into space.

Finally, we learnt that a British company is involved in the design and provision of satellites to be placed around the Moon. These will enable communication with the Lunar Gateway, Earth and around the Moon itself.

After watching videos about the Mars explorers, our next activity was to make a prototype extending arm. We were provided with the instructions, cardboard and split pins. Working in our Kagan groups, we investigated how the cardboard pieces had to be of the optimum size in order for our task to be successful.

We also learnt a little about the binary coding language that is used by computer scientists to send instructions to the explorers that have landed on Mars. In our books, we have written our names in binary code.

Thinking about how to survive on Mars, we investigated what types of food would be best to grow on the planet.

Cross curricular links

Children have the opportunity to make many cross curricular links within science.  

In reception class, science is developed through the following Areas of Learning.

Communication and Language

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Understanding the World

Children develop their scientific skills, observations and understanding of the world through outdoor learning, continuous provision and a mixture of adult led and child led learning. Children's experiences are enriched by hands on activities linked to the real world.  Our local area provides a supportive environment, allowing children to develop their curiosity and working scientifically skills, laying the foundation skills for Key Stage 1.