Biology

Head of Department: Ms S Patel

Head of Biology: Dr D Egan

The Science faculty consists of 18 experienced teachers, many with science related masters degrees and PhDs. All teachers teach Biology, Chemistry and Physics at Key Stage 3 and their science speciality at Key Stage 4 and 5.

The department has 17 well equipped laboratories that are purpose built for theory and practical work. In addition, we have a brilliant technician team who are fantastic at supporting pupils and staff with all practical requirements.

The science teachers pride themselves in ensuring high quality teaching and learning takes place in line with the curriculum and whole school vision and values. Teachers build outstanding relationships with pupils and are always willing to give up their time outside of lessons to help pupils progress.

Biology is the scientific study of life, biology is a rich and diverse field of study. Biology is versatile and ever-changing making it a study subject that is full of excitement and wonder. Our students study life at various levels, from the tiniest of cells, and organisms to entire ecosystems. Studying biology promises students an exciting and rich curriculum with a wide array of opportunities to develop various skills. Students are offered a mixture of theory and practical lessons, and a challenging and dynamic syllabus. Biology offers out students a wide array of skills which will allow them to access a plethora of different courses and career paths. 

Curriculum Intent

Biology is the scientific study of life, a rich and diverse field of study. Biology is versatile and ever-changing making it a subject that is full of excitement and wonder. Our students study life at various levels, from the tiniest of cells and organisms to entire ecosystems. Studying biology promises students an exciting and rich curriculum with a wide array of opportunities to develop their investigative skills. Students are offered a mixture of theory and practical lessons, and a challenging and dynamic syllabus. This leads to many potential career and higher education pathways.

Key Stage 3

Please visit our Key Stage 3 and Combined Science page.

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4 pupils will build on knowledge and skills from key stage 3. Topics taught are in line with the specification and provide an excellent foundation for those wanting to study Biology at A Level. Throughout year 10 and 11, core concepts will be elicited through retrieval and built upon in different topics. Concepts are also underpinned by practical and mathematical skills. Pupils experience working in a laboratory and pay close attention to health and safety. They have opportunities to carry out investigations, evaluate data, carry out calculations and draw conclusions based on scientific evidence.

The skills we expect our pupils to gain are a knowledge of topic specific content, exam technique, extended writing, core laboratory practical skills, collaboration, solving mathematical problems in biology and the ability to make cross-curricular links. This will help students become well rounded individuals with knowledge and understanding that are transferable to everyday life.

Course and Exam information:

• The exam board we follow is Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) in Biology
• All assessment at GCSE is by examination at the end of Year 11
• There is no coursework but there are 9 topics and 8 compulsory Biology core practicals that may be assessed in the written exams
• Students sit two exam papers at the end of Year 11
• Paper 1 assesses Topics 1-5 and Paper 2 assesses Topics 1 and 6-9
• Exams are 1 hour 45 minutes and worth 100 marks each
• GCSEs are awarded under the 9-1 grading system
• Higher tier (grades 4-9) and Foundation tier (grades 1-5) are available

Topics:

Content from topic 1 and 2 are taught in year 9 as it overlaps with the KS3 curriculum. Content from these topics are embedded throughout the course.

Topics 1-5 are taught in Year 10 and topics 6-9 are taught in Year 11.

During Year 10 topics 1-5 are taught and in Year 11 topics 6-9.

At the end of each topic pupils sit an end of topic assessment.

At the end of Year 10 there is an end of year exam.

During Year 11 there are two mock exam sessions.

Links to each topic checklist:

Topic 1 – Key concepts in biology

Topic 2 – Cells and control

Topic 3 – Genetics

Topic 4 – Natural selection and genetic modification

Topic 5 – Health, disease and the development of medicines

Topic 6 – Plant structures and their functions

Topic 7 – Animal coordination, control and homeostasis

Topic 8 – Exchange and transport in animals

Topic 9 – Ecosystems and material cycles

The full specification for the Edexcel GCSE Biology can be found here:

GCSE Biology Specification

Resources

There are various resources available to support pupils:

• Pearson Active Learn - a digital learning environment that provides students with an online version of the textbooks and access to interactive online tasks (pupils should have their own log in to access this)
• Revision guides and workbooks – provided to pupils
• ScienceFocus - interactive version of all the core practicals learnt at GCSE (found on Teams)
• Teachers - students can come and see their teacher outside of lesson time with any queries or questions. 
• Websites – “BBC Bitesize” and “Physics and Maths tutor”