Course begins on 29th January 2005.

This is a change of pace for me, having studied mainly computing courses over the past four years. S103 has a course weighting of 60 points, so there will be plenty to do.

The first course materials have already arrived (in mid-November!), and I have just made an early start on them as the workload increases as the year progresses, or so I am told. The S103 First Class conferences are closed to people outside the course, so no sneak previews are available, I'm afraid. There is an OUSA Ex-S103ers conference, though, if you are looking to find out more about the course before it starts and you already have First Class access.

Update

The conferences have just opened as of 12th January, very exciting, lots of new people to meet. There are a number of conferences, amongst them one for each Block (already the first two Blocks are there, containing many FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) which look to be very helpful. Other conferences are set to appear as needed.

Course Structure

S103 consists of 12 Blocks:

• Block 1 - Water for life.
  
  
• Block 2 - A temperate Earth?
  
  
• Block 3 - The Earth and its place in the Universe.
  
  
• Block 4 - Unity within diversity.
  
  
• Block 5 - Energy.
  
  
• Block 6 - Our world and its atoms.
  
  
• Block 7 - The quantum world.
  
  
• Block 8 - Building with atoms.
  
  
• Block 9 - Continuity and change.
  
  
• Block 10 - Earth and life through time.
  
  
• Block 11 - Universal processes.
  
  
• Block 12 - Life in the Universe.
  
  

Other course materials.

• Study Files. Each Block has an associated Study File. This contains additional notes on the activities outlined in the Blocks.
  
  
• Course Calendar. Quite a packed programme ahead, this shows when you need to start the Blocks and TMA cut-off dates. TV programme times are there, too.
  
  
• CD-ROMs. These contain activities for you to carry out, some being quite long.
  
  
• TV programmes. These are screened throughout the year, and are of 30 minutes duration.