About the course
Biology provides you with great enjoyment and a respect for all living things. It will introduce you to the new advances being made including the influence of genes on our development, environmental issues and ethical and technical aspects of the subject. It is a practical subject which involves experiment, analysis and evaluation of experimental procedures.
We follow the OCR A specification in Biology which is a linear course and is examined at the end of the two years. We will build on the topics you have studied at GCSE but will cover these in much more detail. In the first year we cover cell structure, biological molecules, DNA and cell division, enzymes, communicable diseases, disease prevention and the immune system, biodiversity and classification and evolution.
In the second year of the course we cover homeostasis, excretion, nervous and hormonal communication, plant and animal responses, photosynthesis and respiration as well as some of the newer areas of biology such as cloning, biotechnology and manipulating genomes.
This new linear course now includes quite a high mathematic content and there is also some biochemistry in both years of the course.
We also offer a wide range of extracurricular opportunities such as the Biology Olympiad competition and two practical based enrichments; Lab Rats and Free Range Rats.
This year in the Biology Olympiad our students did extremely well. Two of our students gained gold medals, four students were awarded silver medals and two were awarded bronze medals. A further three students were highly commended or commended.
Student at work
Biology supports a wide range of careers including medicine, health care, food science, conservation and sports science.
Here are some of the topic areas we cover:
- Organs and cells in animals
- Transport in plants and animals
- Biological molecules
- Biodiversity
- Conservation
- Health and immunisation
- Biotechnology
- Nervous systems and much more
I really enjoy biology and my teacher gives up so much of their time to help me if I want to be helped.
Read the case study on Biology student Lydia (pictured above), and Sian, who hopes to become a Vet.
Watch the film of Olivia talking about Biology and view Jodi's film here.
