A levels are hard, else they wouldn't be worth doing. Biology A level has a lot of content, yes. But, if you have a good approach, and are keen to succeed, then you can handle it. You will have to work hard, and do a lot outside of lessons, but students do well at QE. Why shouldn't you?

We ask that students have a 6 in their sciences - whichever science GCSE you've done. Also a 6 in maths, and an average GCSE score of 5.5.

No. Really, you won't. There might be a few concepts that you have less knowledge about, but that's easily addressed. If you didn't do triple, it honestly doesn't matter.

It's a very broad biology course, covering humans, plants, other animals, microorganisms, biochemistry, ecology, and lots more. Inevitably you will 'like' some bits more than others, like you would in any course. The thing to do is be positive and enthusiastic about all the topics - they'll all be on the exam!

Dissection is one of the PAGs - the core 12 practicals, and we do 4: fish head, lamb's heart, celery and lamb's kidney. If you really struggle, then that's fine - we won't force you to dissect anything, and we would talk to you about it beforehand. You will notice that celery is there - most people are OK with this one, even if they aren't with the others!

We are proud of our results. The last time students sat the exams (2019) 100% of students passed, and 54% achieved High Grades - A* - B. That's significantly higher than the national average.

If you have a good attitude, and are prepared to work hard, QE is a great place for you to get excellent results.

We are always on the lookout for extra-curricular opportunities, and work closely with the other sciences and the careers department to offer them when we can. Recent examples have included visits to universities to use complex practical equipment, a talk by a wildlife biologist specialising in elephants, and a visit to a research facility in Darlington.

Students are also encouraged to take on work experience, and our careers department are excellent at using their contacts to secure placements.

Our classes are generally between 18-24 students - we are 100% set up and resourced for teaching classes of this size, and have been doing it for many years.

Generally you will just have 1 biology teacher, though sometimes we have a split class which has 2 teachers.

You will have 4 lessons per week - 2 x 1 hour lessons, and 2 x 1.5 hour lessons. 5 hours per week in total.

To be really successful, you should be doing the same time independently - so 5 hours. That means an A level takes 10 hours per week.

You will be doing 3 A levels, so that's 30 hours per week, plus 2.5 hours with your progress tutor. Being an A level student is a full time job, and managing your time between home and college, and your work / life balance is quite a challenge. You need to think hard about this.