Biology

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Course Description

Biology A-level will give you the skills to make connections and associations with all living things around you. Biology literally means the study of life and if that’s not important, what is? Being such a broad topic, you’re bound to find a specific area of interest, plus it opens the door to a fantastic range of interesting careers.

A-level Biology lasts two years, with exams at the end of the second year. First year of A-level covers Biological molecules, Cells, Organisms exchange substances with their environment, Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms. Second year of A-level covers Energy transfers in and between organisms, Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments, Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems and the control of gene expression.

There is no coursework on this course. However, your performance during practicals will be assessed. There are three exams at the end of the two years for A-level, all of which are two hours long. At least 15% of the marks for A-level Biology are based on what you learned in your practicals.

A-level Biology builds on the work done in GCSE Science and Maths, so you’ll need good GCSE results from both. Written communication is also important and you’ll need to be a strong writer. Biology, like all sciences, is a practical subject. Throughout the course you will carry out practical activities including: using microscopes to see cell division, dissection of animal or plant systems, aseptic technique to study microbial growth, investigating activity within cells, investigating animal behaviours and investigating distributions of species in the environment. These practicals’ will give you the skills and confidence needed to investigate the way living things behave and work. It will also ensure that if you choose to study a Biology-based subject at university, you’ll have the practical skills needed to carry out successful experiments in your degree.

The top seven degree courses taken by students who have an A-level in Biology are Biology, Psychology, Sport and exercise science, Medicine, Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy Chemistry. Studying A-level Biology at university gives you all sorts of exciting career options, including; Doctor, Clinical molecular geneticist, Nature conservation officer, Pharmacologist, Research scientist, Vet, Secondary school teacher, Marine biologist and Dentist. Freeman Dyson, theoretical physicist and mathematician has once said: “Biology is bigger than physics. It enjoys bigger budgets, a bigger workforce, and achieves more major discoveries. Biology is likely to remain the biggest part of science through the twenty-first century.”