Biology
Biology is an exciting and challenging subject that has an immediate relevance to our daily lives. It is the scientific exploration of the vast and diverse world of living organisms; an exploration that has expanded enormously within the last four decades revealing a wealth of knowledge about ourselves and about the millions of other organisms with whom we share this planet Earth. Today, biological research, worldwide, spans an almost infinite spectrum of studies from molecules to landscapes.
- Are you intrigued with the incredible variety of organisms that inhabit our planet?
- Have you wondered about their origin and how they have evolved?
- What lies ahead for the future of genetic engineering?
- Why do cells divide, and how do tissues age?
- What are clones and transgenic animals?
In Years 7 and 8 we follow the Science National curriculum, which is designed to be relevant and stimulating. The scheme is interactive and provides many opportunities to develop a range of important skills essential for GCSE. Topics studied include Cells, Reproduction, Respiration and Ecology.
In Year 9, teaching of the GCSE Biology material begins with a common unit. At the end of the year, students can then choose to study either Biology or Core/Additional Science.
Fascinating FactsFascinating Facts
Did you know...
- The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.
- It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.
- One human hair can support 3 kg (6 lb).
- Human thighbones are 20x stronger than concrete.
- A woman’s heart beats faster than a man’s.
- There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
- Women blink twice as often as men.
- The average person’s skin weighs twice as much as the brain.
- Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.
- If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.
- A kind of jellyfish (Turritopsis nutricula) upon reaching adulthood can transform itself back to childhood by converting its cells. It may repeat this to live forever.
- The fungus Cordyceps is able to "mind-control" other insects like ants to climb plants and attach there to become its food.
- Dolphins cannot stay long underwater because they breathe through their blowholes above water.