Shelley College: Biology

Head of Department: Mr P Beaumont

AS and A2 Biology
Level: AS and A Level
Examination Board: Edexcel

Course Content:
Units 1 and 2 are theory units and will be examined in Year 1. Unit 3 is a coursework unit and will take the form of a report on a visit to a place of biological interest. Students practical skills will be assessed by the teacher against criteria provided in the specification. Unit 1 will be assessed in January and units 2 and 3 will be assessed in June.

Units 4 and 5 are theory units and will be examined in Year 2. Unit 6 is a coursework unit which will require students to submit a written report of an experimental investigation. We will aim to complete this aspect through fieldwork on a residential field course at Aberystwyth University to take place early in July of Year 12.

Edexcel developed this specification directly from the Salters Nuffield course developed by the University of York. We were involved directly in the development of the course as a pilot college. It is a fully interactive course that differs significantly from traditional Biology courses in that the topics taught throughout are cleverly built around a context storyline which relates to the application of Biology in the modern world. The course is supported by a comprehensive and fully interactive website which provides downloadable activity resources, interactive tutorials, animations, self-marking tests and discussion forums for all students. Alongside this is a carefully matched textbook, which reinforces all topics covered.