What the Grade 11 Chemistry curriculum design is
The Grade 11 Chemistry curriculum design is the official KICD document that sets out what a Senior School learner studying Chemistry learns in Grade 11. It lists the strands and sub-strands of the year and, for each sub-strand, gives the specific learning outcomes, suggested learning experiences and key inquiry questions. A Grade 11 Chemistry scheme of work, lesson plan, practical or assessment is built from it.
2027 is the first year Grade 11 is taught under the CBC. The learners who began Senior School in Grade 10 in 2026 move up on 4 January 2027, so there is no earlier CBC Grade 11 Chemistry scheme to work from. The design is where a Chemistry teacher starts.
Where Chemistry sits in Grade 11
Chemistry is one of the 15 electives in the STEM group, and a learner who takes it gives it 5 of the 40 lessons in the Senior School week. Each lesson is 40 minutes. Learners on the STEM pathway take Core Mathematics rather than Essential Mathematics.
Strands and sub-strands of Grade 11 Chemistry
The Grade 11 Chemistry design has three strands and six sub-strands. This is the design's own summary table:
| Strand | Sub-strands |
|---|---|
| 1.0 Inorganic Chemistry | 1.1 The Mole · 1.2 Non-metals |
| 2.0 Physical Chemistry | 2.1 Salts · 2.2 Gas Laws · 2.3 Reaction Rates |
| 3.0 Organic Chemistry | 3.1 Hydrocarbons |
Two things are worth knowing when you plan from it:
- Organic Chemistry is the third strand. If your copy's contents page shows only two strands, go by the summary of strands and sub-strands and the strand tables, which include Organic Chemistry with its Hydrocarbons sub-strand.
- The summary gives no lesson counts. The suggested number of lessons for each sub-strand is in the strand tables, so read those before deciding how many weeks each sub-strand gets.
Planning Grade 11 Chemistry for 2027
With 5 lessons a week, a 13-week Senior School Term 1 gives about 65 Chemistry lessons before assessment time is taken out. The 2027 terms for Senior School are:
- Term 1: 4 January to 2 April (13 weeks), half term 19 to 28 February.
- Term 2: 3 May to 30 July (13 weeks), half term 9 to 20 June.
- Term 3: 30 August to 5 November (10 weeks).
The design does not assign strands to terms; the school decides that in the scheme of work. Because Chemistry is practical, a scheme should also plan time for laboratory work against the suggested learning experiences in each strand table. Our Kenya School Calendar 2027 has every date.
What is inside the design
Every Senior School design follows the same order. The Chemistry design opens with the national goals of education, Senior School in the CBC and the Senior School learning outcomes. It then gives the subject list and the lesson distribution, the Chemistry essence statement and subject general learning outcomes, the summary of strands and sub-strands shown above, the full strand tables and the appendices. The strand tables carry what a teacher plans from: the specific learning outcomes, the suggested learning experiences, including practical work, and the key inquiry questions.
Who this page is for
This page is for anyone preparing to teach or support Grade 11 Chemistry in its first CBC year. Chemistry teachers can see the year's three strands and six sub-strands before opening the full design. Heads of science and timetablers can plan from the 5-lesson allocation, the 2027 term lengths and the laboratory time the practical work needs. Trainee teachers get the Senior School structure and the strand table in one place. Learners and parents can see what Grade 11 Chemistry covers. And anyone downloading for a teacher at a cyber café or school office should check that the file says Chemistry, Grade 11.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the strands in Grade 11 Chemistry? Three: Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry.
What are the sub-strands in Grade 11 Chemistry? Six: The Mole and Non-metals (Inorganic Chemistry); Salts, Gas Laws and Reaction Rates (Physical Chemistry); and Hydrocarbons (Organic Chemistry).
How many Chemistry lessons are there per week in Grade 11? Five lessons of 40 minutes, the same as every Senior School elective.
Is Chemistry compulsory in Grade 11? No. Chemistry is an elective in the STEM group. Each learner takes three electives alongside the four compulsory learning areas.
When does Grade 11 start in 2027? On 4 January 2027. Senior School Term 1 runs 13 weeks to 2 April.
More Grade 11 curriculum designs
This page covers Chemistry. For every Grade 11 subject, the Senior School structure and the 40-lesson week, see our Grade 11 Curriculum Designs guide. Core Mathematics, the Mathematics design for the STEM pathway, has its own page: Grade 11 Core Mathematics Curriculum Design. For every other grade, start from CBC Curriculum Designs.
Download the Grade 11 Chemistry curriculum design (PDF)
The Grade 11 Chemistry curriculum design is in our catalogue as a PDF. Use the link below to open it.