Biology

Assessment

There is no coursework on this course but your performance during practicals will be assessed. Practicals will give you the skills and confidence you need to investigate the way things behave and work. It will also ensure that if you go on to study a biology-based subject at university you will have the practical skills needed to carry out successful experiments in your degree. Practical activities will include using microscopes to see cell division, dissection of animal or plant systems, an aseptic technique to study microbial growth, investigating activity within cells, investigating animal behaviors, and investigating distributions of species in the environment. Exams are structured depending on whether you take AS or A Level. The AS course has two exams at the end of the year which are both 1 hour and 30 minutes long. For A Level you are assessed at the end of two years and sit three exams which are all two hours long. At least 15% of the marks are based on what you learned in your practicals.