A famous painting proves a jumping-off point for examining ecology and national heritage in this worksheet for students applying to study biology, environmental sciences and geography at university. There’s two formats: a worksheet for students to take home, but also if you want to replicate the format of a university interview with an interviewer posing questions, a sheet containing the painting to show the student as stimulus material and a set of questions and answers for the interviewer, with some possible extra hints if the student’s struggling. There’s questions about experiment design and statistical test to choose too. On a difficulty scale, I’d put this as about a three out of five: it’s an interesting case study with a nice, evocative stimulus material to get students thinking, but doesn’t really go beyond the A-level courses.

Notes on capture mark, release and recapture population estimates, suitable for courses including A-level biology and Edexcel GCSE statistics. Covering one page, the assumptions and the idea of a reciprocal are explained and there’s two model calculations.

You get a much better response explaining cyclic AMP when you draw it as a hat that makes enzymes happy when they wear it! One-page revision notes on cAMP for the AQA specification, with links to YouTube videos of some of the processes discussed. I am thinking of expanding this into a more full set of notes including details of the adrenaline receptor and with more diagrams-please comment if that’s something you’d want. It’s offered for free in the meantime.

You get a much better response explaining cyclic AMP when you draw it as a hat that makes enzymes happy and working harder when they wear it! One-page revision notes on cAMP for the OCR specification, combining the different places it’s used on the course (adrenaline receptors, ADH in the kidney collecting duct, lac operon of bacteria). Also has links to YouTube videos of some of the processes discussed. I’m thinking of expanding this into a larger resource covering this topic-contact me if that’s something you’d particularly want. It’s offered for free in the meantime.

Two-page worksheet on plant hormones for the Edexcel 9-1 biology GCSE. Covers phototropism, geotropism, gibberellins and their industrial uses, ethene and an experiment design questions. Versions in colour and for black and white printing. There’s an in-depth mark scheme. Doing AQA GCSE? I have a separate version. Doing Edexcel iGCSE? This pack isn’t needed, the course doesn’t go into so much detail.

Flow diagram showing the menstrual cycle on one page. Suitable for AQA 9-1 GCSE, Edexcel 9-1 GCSE, Edexcel iGCSE and Cambridge iGCSE exam boards, among others. Clean modern design, easy to follow. Explains roles of follicle stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, oestrogen and progesterone, the pituitary gland, ovaries and corpus luteum. I have a separate version for OCR Gateway GCSE science-that course has slightly different content.

Flow diagram showing the menstrual cycle on one page, suitable for OCR Gateway GCSE biology. Clean modern design, easy to follow. Explains roles of follicle stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, oestrogen and progesterone, the pituitary gland and ovaries, as well as the hormonal contraception methods. Two versions are included. One includes details of contraception methods, one doesn’t to give you a version with less text. This version of these notes is designed for OCR Gateway GCSE biology. I have an alternative version of this diagram for the AQA and Edexcel courses (amongst others) which contains some extra content, including more details about progesterone.

Two-page worksheet for students to fill in covering reflex actions, case studies, synapses and drop tests, targeting the AQA 9-1 biology GCSE but suitable for other courses like Edexcel. An in-depth mark scheme is included. Questions consulted include the 84612H specimen paper and the 2018 paper. Update, December 2023: based on student feedback, added more hints and re-ordered some questions to make the pack flow more naturally.

Fill-in-the-blanks two page worksheet covering blood glucose regulation for AQA GCSE 9-1 biology. Topics covered include the meaning of homeostasis, type I and II diabetes, treatments and effects if not treated. The worksheet is particularly written for supporting one-on-one and small group tuition where the tutor can continuously guide the student, as there’s a lot of answers to fill in to practice spelling and writing key words. A diagram of blood glucose regulation and a full mark scheme is included. Based on personal experience, the worksheet was written with a goal of sensitivity to any students who have diabetes or relatives who do; links to trustworthy medical sources are given for students who want/need more information. The worksheet was written based on checking mark schemes such as the 2019 paper.

Teaching AQA 9-1 GCSE photosynthesis is difficult: with its emphasis on the inverse square law and light intensity data, it’s different to other courses and standard worksheets that haven’t been targeted don’t cover these points. Two-page worksheet with answers targeted at AQA specifically, covering a range of common questions and problems. Questions consulted for research include 8464B1H 2018 Q3 and 2021 Q1 and 84652H 2021 Q7, which would make great follow-ups.

It’s a real difficulty for students that the AQA A-level biology textbook doesn’t include a diagram of an ELISA. So here’s notes on one page covering the ELISA stages, with a diagram of the specific type of ELISA on the AQA course (an indirect ELISA), and explaining how it links to other things students may know about like pregnancy tests and COVID lateral flow tests. There’s an explanation of what monoclonal antibodies are, explanation of artificial passive immunity as an extension, and links to some good videos. 9/3/2024 update: new version! Clearer numbering of the stages to link diagram to text, shortened URLs, brighter colours and better paragraphing. Also added a version tuned to print better in black and white.

Two-page link-up-the-boxes worksheet and two-page written worksheet recapping definitions of community, habitat, ecosystem and biotic/abiotic factors, along with case study questions. For the OCR 9-1 biology twenty-first century science GCSE. The link-up-the-boxes worksheet is deliberately written to be very easy for students with low knowledge and confidence with ecology. The written worksheet covers biotic factors, quadrats, transects and competition, along with a calculation question and practice identifying types of habitat. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a mark scheme are included. Could also be suitable as a quick recap exercise for A-level students. These worksheets are very similar to my set for AQA, if you tutor multiple courses you don’t really need the other version.

One-page reference giving a case study of how to answer questions on experiment design. Suitable for GCSE and A-level students. The case study is testing catalase-catalysed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at different temperatures. This set of notes is oriented towards exam technique and how to answer multi-mark questions on this kind of topic: the need to define and set up an independent variable, to measure a dependent variable, define some control variables, and maybe plot the data and mention some safety precautions. I specifically mention that you don’t need to give too many control variables-students often think they can get more marks listing dozens.

I’ve found respiration is one of the most important things for students to get right studying biology. The equations are so important, but many GCSE and even some weaker A-level biology students can’t instantly give them. I explain to students that they’re an instant grade boost. Here’s a worksheet and set of notes on one page on the most common respiration questions. There’s the word equations, a guide through the standard question about how your heart and breathing rate change with exercise, and there’s links to some recommended videos. Versions included for colour and black and white printing. Full mark scheme included with the worksheet. Remembering the equations for respiration is one of the last things I always go over with students just before their exams, because it’s such a morale booster to instantly get full marks on one of these questions. I will never forget what one student told me in 2021: “It came up! Exactly what you said, it came up!” This set of notes targets Edexcel 9-1 iGCSE biology and uses lactate as the standard term rather than lactic acid. I have a version targeted towards other GCSEs such as the AQA course as well. Questions consulted as models for answers included the 1B 2019 and 1BR 2020 papers and 2B 2017.

I’ve found respiration is one of the most important things for students to get right studying biology. The equations are so important, but many GCSE and even some weaker A-level biology students can’t instantly give them. I explain to students that they’re an instant grade boost. Here’s a worksheet and set of notes on one page on the most common respiration questions. There’s the word equations, a guide through the standard question about how your heart and breathing rate change with exercise, and there’s links to some recommended videos. Versions included for colour and black and white printing. Full mark scheme included with the worksheet. Remembering the equations for respiration is one of the last things I always go over with students just before their exams, because it’s such a morale booster to instantly get full marks on one of these questions. I will never forget what one student told me in 2021: “It came up! Exactly what you said, it came up!” Although this worksheet and set of notes works for students taking any exam board and A-level students who need a recap, it was particularly written with an eye to AQA 9-1 GCSE mark schemes. Questions consulted included: 8461/1H 2021, question 7 8461/1F 2020, question 4 8461/2F 2018, questions 7 and 11 BL2HP 2017, question 5 I’ve got a separate set of notes for Edexcel iGCSE which uses the term “lactate” instead of lactic acid.

When doing tuition using an online platform like Zoom or Skype, you often need to put formulas into the chat box or onto an online whiteboard that wasn’t designed for scientific use and doesn’t support constructing superscript and subscript characters. Also, you may need to write out formulas very quickly if your student asks something unexpected. So this is a list of a huge number of formulas for the major GCSE and iGCSE chemistry courses using the Unicode superscript and subscript characters, indexed and ready to go for tuition. (For other countries, it should be suitable for tuition of students up to around age 16.) Covering thirteen pages, sections include: common ions organic chemistry: combustion, alkene hydration, alcohol oxidation acid-base: acids with metals, carbonates, oxides, hydroxides, ammonia reactions common reversible reactions: Haber process, syngas, the Contact process inorganic reactions: thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate, electrolysis (water, sodium chloride, copper sulfate with graphite or copper electrodes), displacement, thermite, metals reacting with oxygen and water, halogen displacement, both with overall and ionic and half-equations) the chemical tests: precipitation, hydroxide tests the chemical reactions of biology: respiration and photosynthesis core maths equations that might be needed in science, such as area of a circle, volume of a sphere, volume of a cylinder etc. some prebuilt unit conversions Versions of important equations are included in multiple forms, such as with or without state symbols, so you can select one that matches the level you’re working at with the student and keep the lesson flowing. I’ve used these formulas for a huge number of paid tuition jobs, and couldn’t do anything without them-they’ve really helped me make things clear to students, keep lessons moving and give a professional impression. Many students have asked me how I make equations appear looking good in the chat of a call, or even asked me for this document to use themselves! The document is an editable rtf and docx file with the equations and all the superscripts and subscripts and some common symbols at the start. You can build your own equations if you need them or edit or reorganise the document to suit your way of working.

A-level osmosis required practical notes, targeting courses including AQA 3.2.3 and required practicals 3 and 4 and OCR A 2.1.5. The notes include diagrams on how to plot a graph of the data and some exam technique practice on how to answer questions on getting valid data, and links to good videos. The notes are bullet point style and easy to read. This set of notes is particularly targeted towards revising the practical come exam time and doesn’t include a detailed practical methodology. NOTE: my apologies, the original uploaded version had some words missing explaining the effect of evaporation on water potential, this has now been corrected.

This two-page resource lists pathogens, transmission routes, disease effects, treatment methods and other facts for the human diseases on the Eduqas A-level biology course. The large number of disease case studies on the course is something students need a lot of help with. A blank worksheet version is also included for students to fill in themselves. To help students build up a common sense knowledge of the kind of issues surrounding these diseases that could be important in future and likely topics of exam questions, there’s a section on “other things to know” explaining issues like malaria potentially being spread by global warming. That should make this set of notes particularly useful for students aiming high and looking to study medicine, nursing and biosciences degrees in future or getting ready for interviews. It wasn’t possible to fit every topic onto two pages (e.g. flu recombination is skipped) but this worksheet gives a good concise summary of the key ideas of the topic. This worksheet should also be suitable for WJEC A-level biology students, although I don’t teach people for that course currently. I’ve had positive feedback from students who found it interesting and felt that it gave them a sense of issues in modern medicine-one student studying history A-level said it helped put studying AIDS in history in context.

This two-page resource lists pathogens, transmission routes, disease effects, treatment methods and other facts for human diseases on the OCR A-level biology A course. The large number of disease case studies on the course is something students need a lot of help with. A blank worksheet version is also included for students to fill in themselves. To help students build up a common sense knowledge of the kind of issues surrounding these diseases that could be important in future and likely topics of exam questions, there’s a section on “other things to know” explaining issues like malaria potentially being spread by global warming, and multi-drug resistant TB. That should make this set of notes particularly useful for students aiming high and looking to study medicine, nursing and biosciences degrees in future or getting ready for interviews. I’ve mentioned recent developments since the specification was published that would be worth knowing for interviews. I’ve had positive feedback from students who found it interesting and felt that it gave them a sense of issues in modern medicine-one student studying history A-level said it helped put studying AIDS in history in context.