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 23 September 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.
What's on Biology Paper 1 and Paper 2?
Every board splits the course across two papers, but not in the same place. Genetics, for instance, is a Paper 2 topic on AQA and a Paper 1 topic on Edexcel. The table uses each board's own topic names, the ones printed in your specification:
- Maths skills and practical method are examined on both papers, whichever topics they cover.
- OCR numbers its Higher papers 3 and 4, so a Higher student's "Paper 1" is printed as Paper 3.
- Revising for a mock that is "Paper 1 only"? The Paper 1 column is your checklist. Mocks often borrow the real split.
| Board | Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
|---|---|---|
| AQA (8461) | 1 Cell biology; 2 Organisation; 3 Infection and response; 4 Bioenergetics | 5 Homeostasis and response; 6 Inheritance, variation and evolution; 7 Ecology |
| Edexcel (1BI0) | 1 Key concepts in biology; 2 Cells and control; 3 Genetics; 4 Natural selection and genetic modification; 5 Health, disease and the development of medicines | 1 Key concepts again; 6 Plant structures and their functions; 7 Animal coordination, control and homeostasis; 8 Exchange and transport in animals; 9 Ecosystems and material cycles |
| OCR Gateway (J247) | B1 Cell level systems; B2 Scaling up; B3 Organism level systems | B4 Community level systems; B5 Genes, inheritance and selection; B6 Global challenges |
Which board and specification code am I on?
Most searches for this page name a board ("AQA biology spec", "Edexcel biology specification", "OCR gateway biology"), and the answer is the same for all of them: one national content list, examined in two end-of-course papers. The code tells you which PDF to download and which past papers are yours:
- The code is printed on the front of every past paper and on your statement of entry. If you are sitting Combined Science, none of these codes is yours: see the section below.
| Board | Specification | Papers | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | Biology 8461 | Two papers, 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks each | The most-entered version; ten required practicals |
| Pearson Edexcel | Biology 1BI0 | Two papers, 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks each | Eight core practicals; the Key Concepts topic is examined on both papers |
| OCR | Gateway Science Biology A (J247) | Two papers, 1 hour 45 minutes, 90 marks each | Six teaching topics plus a practical-skills strand grouped as Practical Activity Groups |
| OCR | Twenty First Century Science Biology B (J257) | Two papers, 1 hour 45 minutes, 90 marks each | Context-led chapters rather than topic headings; a much smaller entry than Gateway |
| Eduqas / WJEC | No GCSE sciences | - | Eduqas's current GCSE list has no biology, chemistry, physics or Combined Science, so an "Eduqas biology" search usually means WJEC's Wales-only GCSE Biology (graded A* to G) or the Eduqas A-level |
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.
Keep reading
- How do I revise for GCSE biology?
- Triple or combined science - is triple worth it?
- What's on the GCSE chemistry specification?
- What are the GCSE Biology grade boundaries?
- What are the GCSE science required practicals?
- What's on the GCSE physics specification?
- What's on the GCSE business specification?
- What's on the GCSE Combined Science specification?
- What's on the GCSE English Language specification?
- GCSE Biology on GCSEwiz