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Science is a hands-on, core subject at Pembroke through which all students experience ways of understanding the natural world.

Fundamental to Science at Pembroke is the aim that all students develop good scientific skills to enable decision-making and an awareness of the scientific issues facing our society, including climate change, use of resources, medical interventions, biodiversity, and the origins of the universe. The importance of these areas of science is further emphasised in the middle and senior years through Science as Human Endeavour investigations.

Our outstanding facilities for Science learning include the new Shipsters Road building for Art, Science and Technology (Middle School) and Old Watulunga on the Finniss River (Pembroke's Outdoor Education property).

In the Senior School, students are given the opportunity to specialise in various scientific disciplines and have the chance to explore scientific phenomena through extensive practical activities.

Within the SACE program, students can select from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology and Scientific Studies. In the IB Diploma Programme, in which a Science subject must be chosen, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Sports, Exercise and Health Science as well as an interdisciplinary subject, Environmental Systems and Societies are offered.

Pembroke has a stellar history of Year 12 achievements in Science, including multiple subject merits received in both SACE and IB for each of several years.

Pembroke offers many activities to enrich students’ understanding of Science. Scientific learning, exploration and investigations take place at Monarto Zoo, the Adelaide Zoo, the Botanic Gardens, Urrbrae Wetlands, SAHMRI, the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, and the South Australian Museum – just to name a few. Our Science program is further enhanced by a range of outstanding experts-in-residence, visiting speakers and presentations. In addition, students are given the opportunity to expand their horizons by participating in the Oliphant Science Awards, the Australian National Chemistry Quiz, the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools: Science (ICAS Science), the Science and Engineering Challenge and the Australian Science Olympiad Program. Students work on interdisciplinary projects such as the CO2 Dragster project between Technology and Science, as well as the Meta Praxis project between Science, Drama, Music and Art.

My sci­ence expe­ri­ence at Pem­broke has been tru­ly incred­i­ble. Not only were teach­ers more than will­ing to go above and beyond the cur­ricu­lum, but the vari­ety of knowl­edge I have gained from sci­ence class­es is astound­ing. From intri­cate details about the quan­tum com­po­nents of atoms to how the dif­fer­ent sys­tems in our bod­ies inter­con­nect, I have tru­ly enjoyed the broad scope of 

infor­ma­tion. Sci­ence can be quite chal­leng­ing, but the class­room dynam­ic was always struc­tured to bring out my full poten­tial. My favourite part would be the inter­est­ing exper­i­ments I have 

con­duct­ed in con­junc­tion with the the­o­ry aspect of the course­work. I found that this inte­grat­ed envi­ron­ment of prac­ti­cal work and the­o­ry allowed me to firm­ly con­sol­i­date what I was learn­ing in a fun yet hard­work­ing atmosphere.

Amber, Pembroke old scholar