Welcome to Biology

In Year 12, the course includes the following topics of study, and practical experiments relating to biological modules, cells, organisms exchanging substances with their environment, genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms.

Then, in Year 13, these are developed into the study of the following modules, with their related practical experiments including energy transfers in and between organisms, organisms responding to changes in their internal and external environments, genetics, populations, evolutions and eco systems, as well as the control of gene expression.

Assessment

There are three external assessments for our Biology course.

• Paper 1: Year 12 Content
  This is a two-hour written exam on Year 12 content. There are 76 marks available on short and long-answer questions, and 15 marks available on extended response questions.
• Paper 2: Year 13 Content
  This is a two-hour written exam on Year 13 content. There are 76 marks available on short and long-answer questions, as well as an additional 15 marks on a comprehension question.
• Paper 3: All content
  This is a two-hour written exam on all taught content. There are 38 marks available on structured questions, including practical techniques, 15 marks available for critical analysis of given experimental data and 25 marks available from one essay from a choice of two titles.

Career & Progression Opportunities

Biology students go on to study medical-related degrees such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, radiography, pharmacology, optometry and various biomedical science courses.

Other Biology students follow biology-related degrees such as natural sciences, biology, biochemistry, genetics, ecology, microbiology and zoology.

Entry Requirements

If you’d like to study Biology, then you’ll need at least a Grade 6 on a higher paper of Trilogy Science, or a Grade 6 in Biology if Separate Sciences are taken.

Additionally, you will need at least a Grade 5 or above in Mathematics on a higher paper.

If you’d like to, you can download this information as a PDF file. Download the Biology course information sheet (opens in a new tab) →