Hodder science platinum pupil's book C
Nigel Hislop, David Brodie and James Williams
London: Hodder Murray 2005 | Pp180 | £9.99 each | ISBN0 340 88820 2
Reviewed by Janice Chubb

It is encouraging to see a science textbook aimed at the brightest Year 9 students at a time when many new KS3 books aim to cover a whole topic on a double-page spread with the minimum of words. The introduction makes clear that the key to scientific understanding is the ability to see pictures in your head and this book provides many concrete examples to help provide these pictures, which should then allow students' abstract thoughts to develop. 

The three sections, which are clearly distinguished using a frog, a conical flask and a battery, allow the book to be used in those schools which teach the sciences separately at KS3. The extended writing and the explanations of the derivations of scientific words will increase the level of literacy of the reader. I especially liked the use of symbol equations with the word equations underneath, emphasising the importance of chemical formulae. 

Colour photographs and drawings ensure that a student might choose to read sections of the book without coercion from the teacher. The questions and the summaries build on ideas within each chapter and again promote the use of pictures to aid understanding. 

Unfortunately, there are a few mistakes in the text, eg on page 50 water is flowing the wrong way through a condenser. Nevertheless, this would make for an excellent textbook for gifted and talented students and a useful resource for teachers looking for extension work for their top KS3 groups. The book also could be used in those schools which begin teaching GCSE in Year 9.