Biology

Head of Department: Mike Hobbs. Email: M-Hobbs@epsomcollege.org.uk

The Biology Department is housed in a light and relatively new building which is well resourced and recently refurbished.  It is staffed by a core team of five highly experienced and enthusiastic Biology teachers, two part-time teachers and three technicians. 

The Department houses six large laboratories and two prep rooms. There is also a registered museum, which provides a wealth of teaching resources.

A great strength of the Department for many years has been the high quality of it's A Level and IGCSE teaching which has produced a consistently high level of top grades. 

Most of the pupils go on to further studies in traditional science courses, or medicine which is historically a highly significant subject at Epsom, with more doctors produced than any other school over the recent decades.

The GCSE years consist of seven teaching sets. Currently there are 370 pupils studying IGCSE (Edexcel) and 95 doing AS and A2 (AQA) in the Sixth Form. The Department is also involved in a cross-curriculum PSHE programme and the successful applicant has the opportunity to contribute to this.

In Lower Sixth between 50 and 65 pupils take Biology AS Level each year as one of their 4 option choices.  They are taught for 6 lessons of 50 minutes per week, and undertake both core and practical lessons over the year.  To complete the practical coursework they take their module exams in June. 

All pupils study Biology, Physics and Chemistry to IGCSE and a high proportion of students choose to study A level Biology (AQA) in the Sixth Form. The Department organises a lively programme of speakers, visits and events. The school maintains its historic association with The Royal Medical Foundation and the Biology Department continues to prepare a significant number of candidates for entry to leading medical schools.