Oundle School
The Scanning Electron MicroscopeAAAS Annual Meeting Biology
Head of Department: Mr A.E. Langsdale
View Gallery of images of recent 2nd Form Fossil hunting.
The Biology Department currently occupies the first floor of the Scott Building and has eight laboratories and a large prep room. Ultimately the department will move to the new SciTec development just across the road. Biology is a core subject at GCSE and attracts high numbers of students at AS and A2 and is equally at home amongst science options or as a stand-alone science amongst arts and social sciences. We have a very strong and healthy tradition of supporting theoretical concepts, wherever possible, with practical work that ranges from traditional experiments and field trips to gene technology. Trips and expeditions are also a hallmark of the Biology department, ranging from our annual badger watching outings in a local wood, to expeditions to Borneo and Ecuador.
Biology AS is often a prerequisite for a medical application and increasing numbers of universities are requiring A2. The Biology department prepares large numbers of medical applicants every year and we have increasing numbers of students choosing biology or a related biological science at university.
The department is staffed by:
Dr R. Barnes BSc PhD (Research Fellow)
Ms V.G.Bateson MA
Mr W.W.Gough BSc
Mr D.J. Higgins MBiochem
Mrs M. Holmstrom BSc MSc
Dr W.F.Holmstrom BSc PhD
Dr J. Hunt BSc PhD
Mr P.S.C.King BSc MSc
Mr A Langsdale BSc MSc
Dr P. Rowe BSc Ph.D
Course content
GCSE
The lower school are taught the IGCSE in Science (Dual Award for the current 5th form sitting their examination in Summer 2007; click here for the specification) or are covering the Single Award Biology (click here for the specification). The decision as to whether pupils will be entered for either Single Award science subjects or for the Dual Award will be made after collating information about general performance, 5th Form examination results and the likelihood of a high level of achievement in either form of examination. Both examinations and specifications are rigorous and demanding enough to offer a stimulating biological course to all our pupils. There is no coursework component for the pupils but rather practical paper examinations which are set in the summer session.
AS
We teach the AQA(B) specification. For details of course content, and pattern of assessment, follow this link.
The AQA specification covers both contemporary work on gene technology and transgenics through to mammal and plant physiology and represents full and wide-ranging coverage of the subject. Practical and investigative work is an important part of our teaching. The AS course comprises three units ('Core Principles', 'Genes & Genetic Engineering' and 'Physiology & Transport') and it makes for an excellent stand-alone AS subject or as an excellent foundation for A2. Pupils complete one pieces of coursework which they complete in lesson time.
A2
Some areas build directly on knowledge acquired at AS such as inheritance and human physiology (part of 'Energy, Continuity & Control), where other parts of the course are relatively new. One module ('Ecology & the Environment') is covered in detail on an annual field course at the end of the AS year when pupils have the opportunity to complete their A2 coursework. Pupils have the choice of studying 'Microbes & Disease' or 'Behaviour & Populations' as their final module for their A2 and we have about equal numbers of pupils studying both. The department is particulary well-qualified to cover these modules having extensive collective research experience in both areas.
For our best students, we sometimes recommend they sit the AEA in Biology to further demonstrate their ability.
AAAS
Each year members of the Lower and Upper Sixth studying any of the sciences have the opportunity to attend the annual convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This gives them the chance to hear about the latest developments in a wide range of disciplines from leaders in the field from around the world.
Research Fellow
The department also employs a Research Fellow, Dr Rachel Barnes who runs an on-going molecular genetics research programme. Dr Barnes and a team of Upper School pupils work on a gene sequencing project as part of the Arabisopsis genome research group (in conjunction with the Plant Sciences unit at Cambridge University). The project involves contemporary techniques of gene sequencing, transgenics and expression analysis and is available as part of the Great Ideas in Science Course. It represents an opportunity to become directly involved with genuine research and problem-solving in a highly active and fast moving area of biology.