BioGrad Examination Centre at Liverpool Science Park offers a unique set of laboratory based practical endorsement courses that support all the requirements of the Biology, Chemistry and Physics assessed practicals for OCR, AQA and Pearson Edexcel.
The programmes have been developed by real research scientists and qualified assessors with input from exam officers to fulfil all criteria of the A-level practical endorsements.
All sessions are taught in very small group sizes so that students have the opportunity to spend quality time with the scientists and have time to make (safe) mistakes, learn and try again until they are confident in their work.
Courses are available for the below subjects:
BioGrad laboratories are world-class research facilities and our courses are held with real scientists. The BioGrad programme is designed for students who wish to invest their time and energy into developing real laboratory skills that will ultimately get them into work/university whilst also developing their theoretical knowledge to support their A-level studies. These courses are more than just obtaining the minimum requirement to pass.
Our staff spend a great deal of time and effort adding ‘extra value’ evening activities, showing students the real experiments that they use in their own work and writing references after the courses.
BioGrad are working with education psychologists to track the progression of our students after they have competed their practical endorsements with BioGrad. We are establishing best practices for teaching laboratory skills and will be inviting all students who attended these courses to help us in this research by allowing us to follow up with them occasional after they have completed their training.
"Practical work brings science to life; indeed, fundamentally, it is the origin of all scientific enquiry. Without our natural curiosity and practical investigation of the universe in which we live, the theories and concepts we currently study in science would not exist. The importance of practical work to underpin scientific theory is at the heart of modern education, and to this end, all examination boards require that their candidates pass the Practical Endorsement in all A-level science subjects for full certification.
The Examination Centre at Biograd enables students to undertake these endorsements in each of the sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Each five-day course involves a minimum of 12 practical investigations, providing numerous opportunities for students to meet the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPACs) needed to pass the endorsement. The courses are designed not only for the assessment of these criteria, but also for students to enjoy their practical work, and to learn good laboratory practice. Furthermore, under the supervision of our experienced and knowledgeable staff, students are made to feel welcome and supported as they explore the practical aspects of topics they may have met only in the classroom.
I hope that you are able to join us; whether you are looking to enhance your qualifications or simply wishing to gain hands-on experience in a real-life laboratory setting, I am confident that your time with us will heighten your understanding of your subject, and stimulate ideas about the myriad opportunities a career in science would provide.
We look forward to seeing you soon!"
Places are strictly limited to a maximum of 15 students per week. We can only accept bookings from students from exam centres that have working agreement in place with BioGrad. Students can check the current list of partner exam centres below:
If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact BioGrad Examination Centre at Liverpool Science Park Limited on 0151 482 9695 where a member of the team will be happy to help.
Click here to view BioGrad Partner Exam Centres
If your centre of choice is not currently on this list, simply ask them to complete the below form and send it to exams@biograd.co.uk or call 0151 482 9695 for further information.
Exam Centre Application FormWe don't have any of these courses planned at the moment, please check back soon or get in touch.
