Summary

Biology engages and inspires students. The fundamentals of Biology help you to understand contemporary issues, such as genetic modification, advances in drug therapy and climate change. A-level Biology is a two year course culminating in three written papers at the end of the second year. We follow a popular, traditional specification which allows you to explore key areas of biology in depth leading to greater understanding.

First Year
Between 'aardvark' and 'zorilla' (yes, there is such an animal!) there are about 30 million different kinds of living organism, yet in spite of this incredible variety, many features of their structure and biochemistry are surprisingly similar. In the first year of Biology you explore fundamentals such as cell structure, biological reactions, enzymes and DNA which help you to make sense of the big picture. You then explore how a range of organisms are adapted to carry out gas exchange, digestion, and transport of nutrients and gases. Disease and the immune system in humans provides scope to relate to a rapidly moving area of biology - the development of vaccines. The course has a large practical component and so you will become expert in using microscopes, testing for biochemicals and making biological measurements.

Second Year
In the second year of A-level Biology you explore new themes, but many build on the core concepts learnt in the first year of the course. Respiration is a feature of all living organisms and is studied in depth. This helps with the understanding of the energy transfer from plants to animals in food chains and the concept of ecosystems, this part of the course will include a field trip to measure biodiversity. You will also develop understanding of human physiology such as the nervous and endocrine systems. We study inheritance and genetic engineering in depth.