Biology

GCSE Biology 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.

GCSE Biology is a linear course that lasts two years, with exams at the end of the second year. First year of GCSE covers Cell biology, Organisation, Infection and response, and Bioenergetics. Second year of GCSE covers Homeostasis and response, Inheritance, variation and evolution and Ecology. You will sit two exam papers at the end of the second year, either the foundation or higher tier, your teacher will decide which tier you will sit according to your ability and performance during the study of the course.

The foundation tier goes all the way up to a grade 5 and the higher tier goes all the way up to grade 9. Each exam is 1 hour and 45 minutes in duration and can include multiple choice, structured, closed short answer and open response questions. There is no coursework on this course. However, your performance during practicals will be assessed. At least 15% of the marks for GCSE Biology are based on what you learned in your practicals.

There are ten required practicals to complete including using a microscope to view cells, aseptic technique to study microbial growth, the effect of different factors on the rate of photosynthesis on aquatic organisms and using sampling techniques to investigate the effect of a factor on the distribution of common species in a habitat. 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 A-Level or university, you’ll have the practical skills needed to carry out successful experiments. The top seven degree courses taken by students who have a GCSE in Biology are; Biology, Psychology, Sport and exercise science, Medicine, Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy Chemistry.

Studying GCSE 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.”