Biology at Bootham is taught in modern, specialist laboratories. Our labs have a wide range of equipment – microscopes, video microscopes and data projectors in all rooms and we have a vast array of technical  resources including the latest apparatus for practical work with DNA including electrophoresis tanks and a thermal cycler (PCR machine). We have desktop computers and a set of laptop computers to support learning. Biology is taught by five fully qualified Biologists.

Handling a stick insect

All students study Biology from Year 7 onwards. In years 7 and 8, students cover the core areas of Biology – ranging from cells, through digestion, respiration, excretion, photosynthesis, food chains, genetics, evolution, reproduction, locomotion. This gives our students a thorough grounding in the subject that forms the foundation on which GCSE Biology will build. Biology is taught through extensive practical work both in and out of the lab.

The majority of students take Biology at GCSE (AQA 4411), those remaining take Biology as part of the GCSE science course (Science and additional science - AQA 4462). Group sizes never exceed 24. GCSE Biology is a very successful subject at Bootham and this is reflected in the popularity of Biology at A level. In GCSE Biology, our students cover traditional areas of the subject including plant and animal physiology. The GCSE also covers a study of how science works in which students study scientific methods and the wider applications of Biology. Biologists at Bootham are encouraged to question the science they encounter in the media and to see both sides of the many ethical implications of the new Biology.

We follow the Salters Nuffield Advanced Biology (SNAB) course (Edexcel 8048/9048) in which Biology is placed into everyday contexts. SNAB is an exciting and engaging course that includes many of the key current biological issues of the 21 century including global warming, stem cell research, bioethics, conservation, forensic science and heart disease. Students make extensive use of internet based activities and self directed learning. Approximately 30 students study AS Biology (in groups of 15) and about 25 continue through to A2 level (taught in two groups). As part of the A level course, students engage in several visits including a field trip in the Upper Sixth form and visits to Biology related industry/research facilities during the Lower Sixth year. Many of our students study for Biology related degrees and a significant number go on to do Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary Science.

Bootham Biology incorporates the Bootham School Natural History Society, one of the oldest school societies in the country. We meet on a weekly basis and hold annual expeditions to study natural history in the UK. The society holds an extensive collection of specimens gathered throughout the last 200 years or so. The Biology department organises regular conservation expeditions throughout the world including recent rips to Central America and South Africa. The Bootham Biology lecture series involves eminent speakers visiting School on a termly basis, giving lectures to Sixth form biologists.

The study of Biology is becoming increasingly important as the World faces up to the threats posed by climate change. Furthermore, our children are growing up in a world where genetic modification , stem cell research and reproductive technologies are becoming the norm. Biology at Bootham prepares our students for these issues and equips them with the powers to debate the ethics and implications of such technologies.

Fieldwork is an important part of our education