secondary school biology in Scotland

mxfun

mxfun

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Sean Logie
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I'm keen to help my youngest son who is 14 on his biology(not my favourite) ,poor guy came home tonight a tad distraught , said he had been lowered to what they call "access biology" haven't heard of this ,didn't know there was different categories in biology, but there you go . Anyways whats my best route ?,should i use the internet ,books ,audible , private tuition (last resort) .

Poor chap was so upset ,he's set his heart on going to agriculture collage and feels what he was told today will hurt his chances .

Would like to hear your thoughts ,advice on this .I no academic ,general knowledge not bad ,but on this more specific subject i haven't a clue to be honest ,apart from the birds and the bees ....of course:D
 
mxfun said:
I'm keen to help my youngest son who is 14 on his biology(not my favourite) ,poor guy came home tonight a tad distraught , said he had been lowered to what they call "access biology" haven't heard of this ,didn't know there was different categories in biology, but there you go . Anyways whats my best route ?,should i use the internet ,books ,audible , private tuition (last resort) .

Poor chap was so upset ,he's set his heart on going to agriculture collage and feels what he was told today will hurt his chances .

Would like to hear your thoughts ,advice on this .I no academic ,general knowledge not bad ,but on this more specific subject i haven't a clue to be honest ,apart from the birds and the bees ....of course:D
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I have to be honest I'm not keen on biology (and never pursued it past standard grade) but it didn't hold me back in joining (and being fairly successful) on a healthcare related degree (3/4 of the way through).

I'm not familiar with access but I gather it's the around the level of foundation standard grade (5-6). With a bit of work I'm sure he could get into general/credit biology. Might be worth asking to speak to the head of department and see what they recommend. He's clearly motivated to learn the stuff so with support from the school and yourself I'm sure he can get what he's after.

Some resources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/standard/biology/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leckie-SUCCESS-GUIDE-BIOLOGY-SCHOOLS/dp/1843721716 (I found the Leckie books to be pretty good when I was doing standard grades)
Wikipedia is a good resource and jumping off point (I use it every day for my degree) but use it with caution.
http://www.oronsay.org/SGrade.htm
http://www.hamiltonscience.org/bsgrade.html

Hopefully you'll be able to work something out. Good luck!
 
get a tutor in..............sorted
 
rssmrry said:
I have to be honest I'm not keen on biology (and never pursued it past standard grade) but it didn't hold me back in joining (and being fairly successful) on a healthcare related degree (3/4 of the way through).

I'm not familiar with access but I gather it's the around the level of foundation standard grade (5-6). With a bit of work I'm sure he could get into general/credit biology. Might be worth asking to speak to the head of department and see what they recommend. He's clearly motivated to learn the stuff so with support from the school and yourself I'm sure he can get what he's after.

Some resources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/standard/biology/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leckie-SUCCESS-GUIDE-BIOLOGY-SCHOOLS/dp/1843721716 (I found the Leckie books to be pretty good when I was doing standard grades)
Wikipedia is a good resource and jumping off point (I use it every day for my degree) but use it with caution.
http://www.oronsay.org/SGrade.htm
http://www.hamiltonscience.org/bsgrade.html

Hopefully you'll be able to work something out. Good luck!
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Thanks for that :)
 
Struggled with biology myself, it's not a strong subject for many people.

Get a tutor in, it's the best possible option.
 
what's a tutor going to sting me dare ask?
 
I feel your pain, we are having a (sort of) similar problem with our 14yo and English. The first thing I would do is have a word with his Biology teacher, find out where he is struggling and ask if there are any books or revision notes they would recommend to go along with the way they are teaching. I've found the teachers can be quite co-operative if you persevere.

If you can't speak with his teacher direct, then ask for his guidance teacher who should be able to pass on the message and get the biology teacher to call you. My son's school is a bit funny about putting parents straight through to teachers so this is the initial course I took. Might even be worth suggesting a meeting to see if there's anything more they can do to help him, especially if you explain that he needs a credit pass for his preferred career.

Something else I've found useful is past papers. You can download them from the SQA website. These are great because you can also download the corresponding marking notes which allows you to mark the papers without too much knowledge of the subject. My son has found these useful as it gives insight into the type of answers required and the best way to word them. With the added bonus that I'm getting pretty good at standard grade english & chemistry :thinking: :LOL:

Not sure about the current rate of tutors but would also be interested to know in case we need an English tutor next year.
 
mxfun said:
what's a tutor going to sting me dare ask?
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£20- £25 tops per hour.............money well spent, trust me I've been there.
 
Before going the tutor route I'd agree pretty much with what Gillybaby has said. Get a dialogue going with the teacher and/or head of science.

The key point is to find out what is specified on the curriculum and if you don't already know find out the examination board they use for the subject. Once you have this information you will then be able to get hold of the relevant study guides and past papers.

Once you know what he's meant to be studying you can find out areas of weakness and focus on those and if you do decide to go with a tutor, at least you've narrowed down areas to study. Good luck!
 
admirable said:
£20- £25 tops per hour.............money well spent, trust me I've been there.
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(y)

Me too, same sort of price ... Mine was a young man studying for a degree, doing some Maths tutoring on the side....

Very relaxed, smart, still remembered his own GCSE's clearly... my boy went from bottom to top in six months ...hes now well on his way to a computer science degree.
 
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http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/39316.html

That's the curriculum info. Looks fairly straightforward. The relevant bits to him are the biotech and growing plants.

I'd find him some good course books and online content and see how he gets on. Then decide whether he needs a tutor as he may just grasp it on his own.

OU programmes about the relevant subjects are also worth catching.
 
Most agricultural colleges run courses at National Certificate, Higher National Certificate and Higher National Diploma level, and some also offer degree courses - the NC, HNC and HND can sometimes be used as credits towards these.

I'd check with the admissions departments of the college(s) your son is interested in and see what they advise. Biology may not be necessary.
 
mxfun said:
what's a tutor going to sting me dare ask?
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if its a qualified working teacher they'll probably charge the rate set (recommended anyway) by the teaching unions which is currently £30/hour

if its an under graduate/post grad etc it'll be a bit less £20-25

Its a bit naughty but you'll also find that a lot of them'll discount for cash - probably because they arent declaring earnings to the revenue

(incidentally I got expelled from school at 16 (one of the teachers hit me, so I decked him , then told the headmaster to **** off) and then got an E in A level biology at the FE college - that didn't stop me from doing a bachelors in Environmental science , or eventuially a masters in countryside management - and i'm currently working on an MBA ) - tell your son to keep his chin up .
 
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