Choosing subjects & tiers
What's on the GCSE biology specification?
GCSE Biology is two written papers and nothing else - there is no coursework. Every English board covers the same seven areas: cells, organisation, infection and response, bioenergetics, homeostasis, inheritance and evolution, and ecology. Required practicals are taught in class and then examined inside those papers. Foundation and Higher sit different papers of the same topics. Download your board’s specification PDF and tick topics off it as you go.
Last updated 19 August 2026 · Written and fact-checked by the GCSEwiz team
The seven areas every board examines
The national content is shared, so AQA, Edexcel and OCR are examining the same biology even when they number the topics differently. Use this as a checklist; your board PDF is the version that is actually examinable.
| Area | What it actually covers |
|---|---|
| Cell biology | Animal, plant and bacterial cells, microscopy and magnification, mitosis and stem cells, and movement in and out of cells (diffusion, osmosis, active transport). |
| Organisation | Cells to organ systems: enzymes and digestion, the heart, blood and breathing, non-communicable disease, and transport in plants. |
| Infection and response | Pathogens, how disease spreads and is prevented, immunity and vaccination, and how new drugs are developed and tested. |
| Bioenergetics | Photosynthesis and its limiting factors, and aerobic and anaerobic respiration including the response to exercise. |
| Homeostasis and response | The nervous system and reflexes, hormones, blood glucose and diabetes, the kidneys, reproduction and contraception, and plant hormones. |
| Inheritance, variation and evolution | DNA and the genome, genetic crosses, variation, natural selection, genetic engineering and classification. |
| Ecology | Ecosystems and interdependence, sampling, material cycles, biodiversity and human impact on the environment. |
How the papers work (and why there is no coursework)
On AQA (8461) - the most-entered Biology specification - both papers last 1 hour 45 minutes, carry 100 marks and are worth 50% each. Paper 1 covers cells, organisation, infection and bioenergetics; Paper 2 covers homeostasis, inheritance and ecology. Edexcel (1BI0) and OCR Gateway (J247) use the same two-paper, end-of-course shape with their own topic splits. There is no NEA and no coursework mark. Practical work is mandatory, but it is examined by questions in those papers, not by a write-up you submit.
Foundation (grades 1–5) and Higher (grades 4–9) sit different papers of the same topic list. You are entered for one tier across both papers. Calculators are allowed.
Required practicals: taught in class, examined on paper
AQA lists ten required practicals; Edexcel lists eight core practicals; OCR groups them as Practical Activity Groups. Typical activities include microscopy, osmosis, enzymes, food tests, photosynthesis, microbiology, reaction times and sampling with quadrats. The exam will not ask you to recite a script. It will ask what you changed, what you measured, what you kept the same, and how you would improve the method. Revise each practical by interrogating it, not by memorising the lesson.
Is this the same as Combined Science biology?
The topic names are the same. The depth is not. Separate (triple) Biology covers the same seven areas in more detail, with extra content on several topics - plant hormones, the kidneys, and more demanding genetics are the usual extras, though the exact list is in your PDF. Combined Science is a dual award: biology, chemistry and physics together, two grades, less of each science. If you are sitting Combined Science, use the Combined Science specification, not this one - the extra triple content will not appear on your papers, and some Combined-only packaging of the topics will.