Biology in the news

Biology in the news: scientists create first cloned human embryo from skin cells. Tell us what you think.

Link - First human clone

Same story in The Guardian newspaper

Off to uni? Time to have "the talk"!

Now, I'm not trying to say that I think you'll all be tom-catting around and getting up to no good at uni, and far be it from me to tell you how to live your lives...

...but, since you're entering a new and exciting phase, one with boundless possibilities and greater personal freedom, here's some free advice:

Link - safer sex

;) Laura

A2 DNA and Gene Technology revision quiz

Review quiz

Where did April go??

Hi all, the sun is shining and we're feeling celebratory so here are a few things we want to highlight.


Well done to:

• All AS and A2 Biology students for surviving the EMPA practical assessments! All over for another year and we are feeling confident that there will be some good grades awarded for Units 3 and 6.

• Everyone who took part in, or attended, the Q&A session with Vivienne Westwood. We were lucky to receive a visit from such an illustrious celebrity and, judging by the feedback I have received, I think it is safe to say that we all now understand why she is such a devisive character. It was clear to see how her Punk spirit has influenced both her career and her personality!

• All BTEC Level 2 and 3 students, who are well on-track to complete their final units to schedule. Some great independent study skills on display and a very mature work ethic demonstrated by the vast majority of you. This year looks set to be the smoothest finish yet for BTEC Science at H6FC! Keep it up guys!

• Our BTEC Level 2 CSI Forensic Science Unit is well underway and all seems to progressing well. I hope you catch the culprit! (Michelle has been looking shifty lately if you ask me...)

The end of this academic year is in sight now, so time to take a deep breath and Go for Gold! We know you won't let us down.

Laura :)


- If you want to thank us for our help and support, PLEASE don't use any of these dreadful ideas (we like chocolate and cake) Tacky teacher appreciation gift ideas *

Vivienne Westwood Visit

Did you hear the news? Have you seen the posters? Do you check your student bulletin each week???

Dame Vivienne Westwood is visiting our college next month! (Squeeeeaaak!) 

This is awesomely exciting news, and for any of you wondering why......this is why:

Who is Vivienne Westwood? You see? VERY famous, VERY influential, VERY exciting!!
Email Zara in Art to book your place in the audience.

The purpose of Vivienne Westwood's visit is to speak about climate change, as this is something she feels really strongly about. We will be talking a lot about environmental issues and climate change to get us in the mood. To start with, what are your thoughts on the issues raised in this article by Leo Hickman? Guardian Blog

Laura :)

Easter work

Hi all,

As you are aware, there will be no formal Easter revision sessions for Biology. There will, however, be plenty of independent study tasks for you to work on during the hols!

Anne and I will let you know what you should be doing and we'll post further details to the blog at the end of next week.

Laura :)

P.S. Take a look at this - it's creepy as heck! Animals hunting slow-mo

AS and A2 Biology

Check the exam dates on the page (to the right of this screen).

Bio team

EMPA Dates

IMPORTANT!! EMPA (Externally Marked Practical Exam) DATES!

A2 Unit 6
Task 1 - Wednesday 20th March 10.45 S2
Task 2 - Friday 22nd March 1pm S2
Task 3 - Monday 25th March 9am S2

AS Unit 3
Task 1 - Wednesday 24th April 9 am S1 & S2
Task 2 - Thursday 25th April 1 pm S2 & S3
Task 3 - Friday 26th April 3 pm S2 & S3

Biology in the news

Hi all,

I saw a story this morning which blew my mind! Take a look:

Virtual model - human metabolism

This idea could be a snapshot of the future for individualised medical treatments. A very clever idea and a fascinating area of research at the moment.

The actual details of Recon 2 are above our level of study, but we can appreciate this project as an inspirational concept.

Laura :)

Resources update

Hi all,

Some of you have been asking me whether we can build a resource-bank a la the superb mathematics department blog.

We do have some generic documents available via the pages tabs to the right of the screen and we often embed links to google documents in our posts, so it is worth you looking through these.

Many of our lesson and reference resources are now available within the "Student Resources" folder on your desktop. We are currently looking at ways to make these resources available to you off-site and we may decide to use WordPress to host a sister-site specifically for our teaching and learning resources.  

Let us know if you have any ideas about this.

Laura :)

Inspiration from within

This week we are very grateful to Martin Lawlor from our Entry and Foundation faculty at H6FC for the excellent Disability Awareness Workshop which he facilitated.

Our perceptions were challenged and we enjoyed a fun communication activity (discovering JUST how competitive certain people on the second floor are!).

Best of all, we stopped for a while to reflect on how lucky we are to be part of a wholly inclusive learning environment. We were reminded that H6FC is a very special place, where staff are truly committed to enabling students to achieve their full potential, and in which any young person can be sure that their starting point will be no limitation to their success.

For us, the highlight of the workshop was watching one of the fantastic films made by Abdi Omar, a student of Haringey Sixth Form Centre.

Abdi uses a communication device called a "Liberator" so that he can speak. He is currently in the second year of a Level 3 BTEC studying ICT - not a "special" class and not "separate". He is on the regular Level 3 vocational course (equivalent to A levels) and he's doing brilliantly.

Here is one of the inspirational videos by Abdi from his YouTube channel.

Abdi Omar - inspirational speech season 1 episode 2


Laura :)

SURGICAL SKILLS WORKSHOP - CANCELLED

For the attention of all:

The planned trip to the Hunterian Museum to attend a surgical skills workshop hosted by medical students and professional surgeons at the Royal College of Surgeons has been cancelled due to lack of participation.

January updates

Hello and a belated Happy New Year to you all!


A few updates:

• Student resources

The Centre student resource bank is growing. Take a look in the biology folders via the "student resources" folder on your desktop.

• Assessment

All students are currently being assessed and given a "working at" grade. This is an indicator of your progress on courses this year and is based on mock exams, coursework, classwork and effort. You will be receiving written reports  from subject teachers soon.

• COMPETITION

Competition now open for one of 5 places on the surgical skills workshop taking place on Wednesday 6th February. See noticeboard outside S2 for details!


Laura :)