Science

Science education contributes to the growth and development of all students, as individuals, as responsible and informed members of society, and as productive contributors to Botswana’s economy and future. 

The aim of science education in the Thornhill School curriculum is to advance learning in science by: 

• helping students to develop knowledge and a coherent understanding of the living, physical, material, and technological components of their environment; 
• encouraging students to apply scientific skills;
• providing opportunities for students to develop the skills on which practical scientific investigation depends; 
• promoting a questioning and investigative approach to the world around them;
• portraying science as both a process and a set of ideas which have been constructed by people to explain everyday and unfamiliar phenomena; 
• encouraging students to consider the ways in which people have used scientific knowledge and methods to meet particular needs; 
• developing students’ understanding of the evolving nature of 
• science and technology; 
• assisting students to use scientific knowledge and skills to make decisions about the usefulness and worth of ideas in all areas of the learning environment and everyday life;
• helping students to explore issues and to make responsible and considered decisions about the use of science and technology in the environment; 
• developing students’ understanding of the different ways people influence, and are influenced by, science and technology; 
• nurturing scientific talent to ensure a future scientific community; 
• developing students’ interest in and understanding of the knowledge and processes of science, which form the basis of many of their future careers. 

Science education, along with the other essential learning themes, contributes to the development of the essential skills that will be of use to the individual throughout their lives.