AS / A2 Biology

If you are interested in life you are interested in biology. We answer some of the really fundamental questions such as “How did life begin?”, “What might the future hold?”, and “Am I really related to pond slime?”. At Advanced level we are able to more fully explain many of the interesting facts encountered at GCSE.

The new syllabus is a fresh and exciting blend of biology’s most recent advances and the more traditional topics you need to fully appreciate this science. At AS Level there is also a greater emphasis on human biology and health, and for A2 we look at the developing areas of biotechnology, and environmental biology.

Modular titles are:

• Biology Foundation (cells, molecules, DNA and protein synthesis, cell division, energy and ecosystems)
• Human Health and Disease (diet, exercise, smoking, diseases, immunity)
• Transport (blood, heart, transport in plants)
• Central concepts (respiration, photosynthesis, interacting populations, inheritance, evolution, coordination and homeostasis)
• Human Physiology (nutrition, liver, muscles and bones, nervous system, sense organs, behaviour)

Assessment

In Y12 there is one piece of coursework very similar to GCSE science coursework, plus 3 written exams in the summer term. In Y13 another piece of coursework has to be completed and again there are 3 exams, but this time 1 is taken in January and 2 are sat in the summer term.

The Future

The explosion of biotechnology and the decoding of the human genome has opened many new career paths, some of them potentially very lucrative! New diseases pose new challenges too. Biology provides a foundation for careers in journalism, medicine, environmental studies, food science, farming, caring. What is certain is that biologists, in many different forms, will play an important part in all our futures.

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