The Biology department is staffed by 7 full-time and 3 part-time staff. The staff are highly qualified and come from a range of educational, research and business backgrounds. Their wide ranging experience and interests ensure students have passionate advocates of many different aspects of this diverse subject within the department. There are typically 150 students studying Biology at A Level and a similar number studying at GCSE. Our staff are flexible practitioners and many have additional responsibilities such as inspiring students to undertake individual research projects, mentoring potential medical students, or completing a Duke of Edinburgh expedition. A student’s biology teacher will not just teach them in a classroom, but will be a part of their rounded education. Students are encouraged to become involved in competitions and extra-curricular clubs to widen their appreciation and knowledge of the subject and the range of activities on offer in the department are always changing and developing to meet the interests of the students.

At GCSE all students study Biology following the AQA course. This is examined in two papers sat in the Summer Term of Form 5. The content is wide ranging and gives a good foundation to those students who want to study this subject at A Level. It also provides an excellent basis for understanding ourselves and our place in the world for those students who may not carry this subject on further. The GCSE results are noteworthy with 87% achieving grades 7-9 and 68% achieving grade 8 or 9 in 2018.

At A level students follow the AQA Biology course. The AS is examined in two papers and the A level in three papers sat in the summer of 6.1 or 6.2. There is also a practical component that is examined throughout the two year course. Students study a diverse range of topics which enables them to choose a variety of different university courses for further study. We have a large number of students going on to study medicine, dentistry, veterinary or natural science. The department’s results have been excellent with a high proportion of A level students achieving A* or A (on average 82% in the last 4 years). At AS our results have been equally impressive with on average 78% achieving grade A since the introduction of the new specification.