Aims 

As an integral part of the RBAI Science Department, the aims of the Biology department are common to the Science subjects: 

1.      To stimulate and maintain student curiosity, interest and enjoyment in science.

2.      To enable students to be familiar with a body of scientific knowledge, principles and vocabulary.

3.      To enable students to see science in the context of a wider body of knowledge and skills, with emphasis on how these skills and the knowledge base can prepare them for a wide range of careers.

4.      To enable students to understand and use scientific method, with safety being a major consideration.

5.      To enable students to develop a range of personal skills such as politeness, perseverance, initiative and independence.

6.      To enable students to cooperate and negotiate with others and thus work as an effective part of a team.

7.      To employ teaching methods and resources which allow all students irrespective of their academic ability, to have equal access to science and to experience success and enjoyment in their science work.

8.      To develop an awareness in students of the implications of science (past and present) for the individual, the economy, the community and the environment.

9.      To allow students to develop informed opinions and to be able to support them by reasonable arguments.

 Staffing and Accommodation 

There are four full-time Biology teachers in the Science Department:

Mrs J. Muise (Senior Biologist)

Mr G. Hamilton

Mr D. Scott

Mr G. Russell

In addition we have one Biology technician, Mr G. Lomax.

The accommodation in the Biology department

 is situated on the upper floors of the C block.

It consists of four classrooms (C12, C13, C15 and C16)

which are well resourced to Advanced Level.

Each classroom is equipped with an interactive

whiteboard and each is connected to the school

C2K network.

Structure of Classes

Key Stage 3 Year 8

Biology is taught as part of General Science. There are eight Year 8 classes which are not streamed. Each class is taught General Science four periods per week by one teacher. All notes are in the form of booklets which allow the pupils to be introduced to all three sciences in a stimulating and productive sequence. Continuous assessment in the form of Topic Tests is used for formative and summative purposes. There is also an end of year examination.  All end of session tests and end of year exam are used to inform decisions regarding classes for Year 9.

Topics studied include:

·         What is Biology?

·         Organs of the body

·         Nutrition & Food tests

·         Healthy Brain & Sense organs 

Year 9

There are eight Year 9 classes which are partially streamed (as part of 2 timetable blocks). Each class is taught for four periods per week in three sessions of approximately nine week duration of each science. Biology is the first science subject taught in Year 9. Summative testing occurs at the end of each session and in a Year 9 exam.

Topics studied include:

• Reproductive system
• Energy content of foods
• Digestive system
• Respiratory system
• Circulatory system
• Field trip in cooperation with Geography department

Year 10

There are eight Year 10 classes which are streamed. Pupils have two periods of Biology per week. Pupils will experience trial Key Stage 3 examinations in March of the Spring term, as well as an end of Key Stage 3 examination in the Summer term.

The marks in all assessments allow a final summative evaluation of each pupil.

Topics studied include:

• Health
• Cells
• Plant structure & transport
• Plant reproduction
• Microbiology & Disease

Key Stage 4

Pupils are taught Biology by subject specialists and are timetabled for 4 periods of Biology per week. Pupils can select to do all three Science subjects or alternatively can choose to drop one subject. The majority of pupils choose to study Biology at GCSE level.

At RBAI pupils follow the CCEA GCSE Specification in Biology. The majority of the pupils complete the Higher Tier.

The Internal Assessment focuses on the following skill areas:

Skill Area P - Planning Experimental Procedures

·        Hypothesising Skills - the ability to use hypotheses to predict, assess trends and to make judgements.  An investigation may be used to test a hypothesis – with experimental evidence to support it the hypothesis may become a theory.

·        Organisational Skills - to plan the allocation of time and resources, to carry out practical investigations in an ordered sequence and to organise information coherently.

·        Design Skills - the ability to design effective procedures and to make design decisions.

Skill Area O - Obtaining Evidence

·        Observing/Recording Skills - the ability to observe, select, collect and record information accurately by a variety of practical methods, e.g. apparatus drawings, recording data.

Skill Area I – Interpreting Evidence, Drawing Conclusions and Evaluating work

·        Communication Skills - the ability to describe and explain information clearly using correct scientific terms and techniques with good use of the English language.  Transformation of data to graphs and other diagrams. 

·        Interpretative Skills – the ability to extract, process, analyse and interpret observations and information from data from a variety of sources, including fieldwork, tables and simple statistical data.

·        Evaluation Skills - the ability to evaluate (assess validity and limitations) and draw valid conclusions or reasoned judgements from data, evidence, methods of collecting or methods of presenting. This would include the consideration of more than one point of view, reference to existing theory/literature and suggestions for modifications and further study.

Other skills which are developed during GCSE but not formally assessed

Perseverance - the ability to maintain effort over an extended period of timeOriginality - the ability to display initiative and higher thinking skills.Information Retrieval Skills - the ability to seek out information from a variety of sources, e.g. experimental and fieldwork data, books, photographs, graphs, film, video, statistics and computers.

Various ICT skills are used throughout practical and investigation work (although not for GCSE coursework purposes).

There are currently three classes in both Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. Pupils follow the CCEA GCE Specification in Biology.

 The CCEA specification is designed to promote continuity, coherence and progression within the study of Biology. The A Level award provides a basis for the further study, at tertiary level, of Biology and related courses. For those progressing directly into employment, an AS or A Level award is relevant not only in the fields of science, engineering and medicine, but also to areas of commerce and the public service in which problem-solving and practical skills are valued. The specification helps to provide an understanding of how biological developments affect the environment. The specification also contributes towards an understanding of ethical and cultural issues, thus adding to a full and rounded education. 

The full Advanced GCE comprises the AS level (studied during Lower Sixth) and the second half of the Advanced GCE course referred to as A2 (studied during Upper Sixth).  Although the AS can be taken as a “stand-alone” qualification without progression to A2, the majority of the pupils who complete AS Biology at RBAI continue with their Biology studies to A2 level.

The assessment units can be summarised as follows:

The Advanced GCE award is based on aggregation of the marks from the AS (50%)and the A2 (50%).From 2010, an A* will be awarded to the candidates who attain an overall grade A in the qualification and an aggregate of at least 90% of the uniform marks across the A2 units.

Internal assessments are completed in accordance with the CCEA GCE Specification for Biology:

At AS level Each candidate must be able to apply a wide range of practical, intellectual and communication skills in the context of a practical exercise. Coursework builds on assessment techniques used at GCSE.  The practical tasks to be assessed at AS Level are therefore technically and intellectually more demanding, requiring a higher level of technical expertise and intellectual ability. Two practical tasks are assessed and made available for external moderation.Pupils will be assessed in the following areas:

·        Implementing a sequence of instructions

·        Recording and communicating in an appropriate graphical form

·        Interpretation of the results

·        Evaluation of the experimental design of the practical task  

At A2 level there is a further assessment where students’ problem solving/investigational skills are demonstrated by means of a practical investigation that is planned, implemented, analysed and interpreted by the candidate working independently with minimal guidance. This investigation is centred around the testing of a simple scientific hypothesis derived from the student's own biological knowledge or research. Practical investigations assess the following actions:

·        Al Developing a hypothesis using biological knowledge

·        A2 Planning a procedure to test the hypothesis

·        A3 Planning for analysis

•      B1 Implementing a procedure

·        B2 Recording and communicating in the form of a table

·        C1 Statistical analysis (or graphical analysis)

·        C2 Interpretation of the results

·        C3 Evaluation of the practical procedures Tiers Foundation Higher