Biology

Assessment

The objectives behind the assessments are to test your biological knowledge and understanding as well as your ability to analyse and evaluate information and apply it. Six hours of A Level examination time (three 2 hour exams.) There will be a mixture of question styles including one essay. • 10% of the question paper assessment covers mathematical skills at grade 6 GCSE level or above. • At least 15% of the question paper assessment covers knowledge and understanding of practical work. There is no coursework. Practical work is at the heart of biology and there are 12 practical activities specified by the exam board which all pupils must carry out. Written papers will test pupil knowledge and understanding of these, and the skills developed within each practical. Our course provides a rich practical experience and you will carry out a much wider variety of practical investigations than just these 12. Alongside the terminal written papers there will be an assessment of practical competence on a pass and fail basis.