aqa a level biology essay 2023

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AQA A-Level Biology Past Papers

The AQA A-Level Biology (7402) and AS-Level Biology (7401)  past exam papers section of Revision Science. You can download the papers and marking schemes by clicking on the links below. Scroll down to find papers from previous years.

June 2023 AQA A-Level Biology (7402) 

June 2023 - A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper      -     Download Marking Scheme

June 2023 - A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2023 - A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2023 AQA AS-Level Past Papers (7401)

June 2023 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2023 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2022 AQA A-Level Biology (7402) 

June 2022 - A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper      -     Download Marking Scheme

June 2022 - A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2022 - A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2022 AQA AS-Level Past Papers (7401)

June 2022 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2022 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2021 AQA A-Level Biology (7402) and AS-Level Past Papers (7401) (Labelled as June 2021)

November 2021 - A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper      -     Download Marking Scheme

November 2021 - A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2021 - A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2021 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2021 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2020 AQA A-Level Biology (7402) and AS-Level Past Papers (7401) (Labelled as June 2020)

November 2020 - A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper      -     Download Marking Scheme

November 2020 - A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2020 - A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2020 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

November 2020 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2019 AQA A-Level Biology (7402) and AS-Level Past Papers (7401)

June 2019 - A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper      -     Download Marking Scheme

June 2019 - A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2019 - A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2019 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2019 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2018 AQA A-Level Biology (7402) and AS-Level Past Papers (7401)

June 2018 - A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2018 - A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2018 - A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2018 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1) -  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2018 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2) -  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2017 AQA A-Level Biology Past Papers (7401 and 7402)

June 2017 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2017 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2017 - A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2017 - A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2017 - A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2016 AQA AS-Level Biology Past Papers (7401)

June 2016 - AS Biology – Paper 1 (7401/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

June 2016 - AS Biology – Paper 2 (7401/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

AQA A-Level Biology (7402) Specimen Papers

A-Level Biology – Paper 1 (7402/1)  Download Paper    -    Download Marking Scheme

A-Level Biology – Paper 2 (7402/2)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

A-Level Biology – Paper 3 (7402/3)  Download Paper     -    Download Marking Scheme

AQA A Level Biology - 25 Mark Essays

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AQA A-Level Biology Past Papers

AQA A-Level Biology covers a wide range of biological concepts and topics, including cell structure, biochemistry, genetics, ecology, and evolution. The exam dates usually fall in May/June and October/November sessions.

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AS and A-level Biology

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Specification at a glance

• 3.1 Biological molecules
• 3.3 Organisms exchange substances with their environment
• 3.4 Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms
• 3.5 Energy transfers in and between organisms (A-level only)
• 3.6 Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments (A-level only)
• 3.7 Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems (A-level only)
• 3.8 The control of gene expression (A-level only)
• Scheme of assessment
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These qualifications are linear. Linear means that students will sit all the AS exams at the end of their AS course and all the A-level exams at the end of their A-level course.

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Core content

• 1 Biological molecules
• 3 Organisms exchange substances with their environment
• 4 Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms
• 5 Energy transfers in and between organisms (A-level only)
• 6 Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments (A-level only)
• 7 Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems (A-level only)
• 8 The control of gene expression (A-level only)

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GCSE results 2024: English and maths pass rate down

GCSE results have been released today across England, revealing that the percentage of students achieving pass grades in English and maths has fallen compared with last year - and that the gap between top grades achieved in private and state schools has increased.

The results are broadly similar to those of 2023 overall, with similar proportions of both top grades and students achieving a grade 4 or better.

However, there was a marked drop in the pass rate for English language GCSEs, which has mostly been driven by results for candidates aged 17 or over who were resitting the qualification.

Around four in five students aged 17 who took English language failed to achieve a grade 4 or better this year. (You can find our in-depth subject-by-subject breakdown here .)

Speaking in a Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) briefing this morning, Claire Thomson, AQA’s director of regulation and compliance, said the drop in pass rates was “largely around the 17-year-olds and over who are skewing the distributions. If you look at just the 16-year-olds, they are very stable with minimal movement over the years.

“The 17-and-over cohort has grown and come back over pre-pandemic levels, which is altering the results.”

Ofqual told examiners to proceed with “back to normal” grading standards this year after the two-step process to return to pre-pandemic grading was completed last year.

For 2024, examiners were asked to ensure the standard of work was comparable to 2023.

The 2023 GCSE results had seen a fall in the proportion of top grades awarded from 2022, bringing grade distribution more in line with 2019 levels. The proportion of top grades remained slightly above 2019 levels.

This year, examiners were asked by Ofqual to “bear in mind any residual impact of disruption on performance”.

Below are the key takeaways from this year’s GCSE results:

• GCSE grade spread similar to 2023
• English language resit passes down
• Private and state top grades gap increases
• Regions gap remains stable
• Gender gap narrows slightly
• Results in Wales and Northern Ireland

1. Grade spread similar to last year

Overall this year, 67.4 per cent of entries were awarded a grade 4/C or above. This is only slightly lower than last year, when 67.8 per cent of entries received a grade 4 or above.

In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, 67 per cent received a grade 4 or above.

For the higher grades, the overall proportion of entries achieving a grade 7/A or higher was 21.7 per cent. This is very similar to 2023, when it was 21.6 per cent.

And finally, in 2024, a very slightly higher proportion of entries managed to achieve grade 9 (5 per cent). In 2023 and 2019, 4.9 per cent and 4.5 per cent of overall entries got a grade 9 respectively.

2. English language resit passes down

Pass rates for English and maths GCSEs were down on last year. However, this was in part because of a marked drop in the number of students aged 17 or over who did achieve a grade 4 in English language.

Overall in English language, 61.6 per cent achieved a grade 4/C or higher, compared with 64.2 per cent in 2023 and 61.8 per cent in 2019.

The pass rate in English language for candidates who were 17 or older was 20.9 per cent this year in England - down from 25.9 per cent last year.

The results only for 16-year-old candidates saw 71.2 per cent of entries awarded grade 4 or above - very slightly down from 71.6 per cent last year.

The percentage of students achieving the grade they need to pass in maths (4) has fallen this year to 59.6 per cent. Last year, 61 per cent of students achieved grade 4 in maths.

The results for 16-year-old entries show that 72 per cent of students achieved grade 4 in maths this year, slightly down from 72.3 per cent last year.

For entries among students who are aged 17 or over, 17.4 per cent of entries achieved grade 4 or above - up from 16.4 per cent last year.

Overall, 40.4 per cent of entries failed to achieve grade 4 in maths, and 38.4 per cent in English language.

In English literature, 73.7 per cent of entries received a grade 4 or above, very slightly down from 73.9 per cent last year. However, this was still slightly above the last set of pre-pandemic results, as 73.4 per cent passed in 2019.

Last summer’s GCSE results saw an increase in the number of students failing to achieve a pass mark for English and maths, and therefore an increase in those having to resit in November.

However, less than a quarter of the students who took GCSE maths in November 2023 passed - meaning the majority failed their resits .

Leaders across the sector have called for reform to the GCSE resit system, as many students currently never pass. Earlier this week, Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said that the current system is “soul-destroying” , and called on the government to make a change.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that the current GCSE resit policy for English and maths “must be scrapped”.   “Those students who haven’t achieved the required grade are forced into repeated resits that are demotivating and can lead to disengagement with their learning,” he said.

Instead, Mr Whiteman said alternative qualifications in maths and English would be a more positive way for some students to demonstrate their achievements.

3. Private and state top grades gap increases

This year has also seen the gap between entries from academies and independent schools grow for achieving the top grades. Nearly half of entries from private schools achieved a grade 7/A or above (48.4 per cent), compared with 21.2 per cent of academies - a 27.2 percentage point gap.

Last year, there was a 26.5 percentage point gap between the proportion of entries from academies (21 per cent) and entries from independent schools (47.5 per cent) being awarded a grade 7 or above.

At secondary comprehensives, 19.4 per cent of entries achieved the top grades.

Statistics for independent schools also include city training colleges.

There was a slightly larger gap in 2023 between secondary comprehensive entries hitting the top grades (19.3 per cent) and independent schools of 28.2 percentage points.

However, the gap between school types was slightly lower in 2024 than in 2019, when there was a 27.5 percentage point between academies and independent schools and a 29.3 percentage point gap between comprehensive and private schools.

Schools minister Catherine McKinnell congratulated students and teachers on their achievements today but added: “While this is a moment to celebrate, I am deeply concerned about the inequalities in our education system with where you live and what type of school you attend still being too big an influence on your opportunities.”

4. Regions gap remains stable

The attainment gap between the North and South of England has also remained very similar to last year in terms of top grades.

The proportion of entries achieving a grade 7/A or above was lowest in the North East at 17.8 per cent. This is compared with London, where 28.5 per cent of entries made the grade 7/A.

Last year, the North East also saw the lowest proportion of top grades, with 17.6 per cent achieving a grade 7 or above. London remained the highest, with 28.4 per cent of entries being awarded those top grades.

That 10.8 percentage point gap was up from 9.3 percentage points in 2019. It has remained constant this year at 10.7 percentage points.

Senior leaders said earlier this year they were concerned about Year 11 exam readiness as absence remained high this spring term.

Absence has been particularly high among the most disadvantaged students. There is a higher proportion of disadvantaged students in the North.

Last week, education secretary Bridget Phillipson pledged to turn around “baked-in” educational inequalities and accused the previous government of leaving a legacy of regional “disparities” in exam outcomes and an attainment gap between private school students and their peers in state schools.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that the results show “significant differences” in regional outcomes for GCSEs in England.

“This suggests that relative levels of prosperity and socioeconomic disadvantage continue to play a huge part in educational outcomes,” he said. “Addressing these gaps must be a key priority for the new government working alongside the education sector.”

He added that “funding and teacher shortages, combined with post-pandemic issues around mental health, behaviour and attendance, have made circumstances particularly challenging”.

5. Gender gap narrows slightly

For 2024, the gender gap very slightly narrowed with 70.8 per cent of entries from girls achieving a grade 4/C or above compared with 64.1 per cent of boys - a 6.7 percentage point gap.

Last year, 71.3 per cent of all entries from girls achieved a grade 4 or above, compared with 64.4 per cent of entries from boys - a gap of 6.9 percentage points.

This 6.9 percentage point gap was narrower than in 2019, when 71.4 per cent of girls achieved a grade 4 or above compared with 62.7 per cent of boys.

Entries from girls were also more likely to receive top grades, with 24.4 per cent being awarded a grade 7/A, compared with 18.9 per cent of boys this year.

This was a slight narrowing of the gap from last year, when there was a 5.8 percentage point gap between girls and boys getting the top GCSE grades.

Girls continue to get more grade 9s than boys at 5.8 per cent of entries compared with 4.2 per cent.

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) highlighted recently that the gender gap that has seen girls generally attain higher for many years has been narrowing since the pandemic.

Up to 2023, this narrowing has not only been driven by some increases in attainment for boys at key stage 4, but also some falls in attainment for girls.

6. Wales and Northern Ireland: slight rise in top grades

In Northern Ireland, 31 per cent of GCSE students achieved a grade A/7 or above in 2024, compared with 30.5 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, 82.7 per cent of exam entries received a grade C/4 or above, similar to the 82.2 per cent of entries in 2019.

In Wales, 19.2 per cent of students achieved an A/7 or above, compared with 18.4 per cent in 2019. This year, 62.2 per cent of exam entries received a C/4 or above - only slightly lower than the 62.8 per cent of entries that achieved this in 2019.  

• GCSE results 2024: how did each subject perform?
• GCSE resits: everything you need to know
• How much does attendance really affect GCSE results?
• Government ‘should rethink soul-destroying resits’
• Concern over exams’ impact on student mental health  

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Blog The Education Hub

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/20/gcse-results-day-2024-number-grading-system/

GCSE results day 2024: Everything you need to know including the number grading system

Thousands of students across the country will soon be finding out their GCSE results and thinking about the next steps in their education.   

Here we explain everything you need to know about the big day, from when results day is, to the current 9-1 grading scale, to what your options are if your results aren’t what you’re expecting.  

When is GCSE results day 2024?  

GCSE results day will be taking place on Thursday the 22 August.     

The results will be made available to schools on Wednesday and available to pick up from your school by 8am on Thursday morning.  

Schools will issue their own instructions on how and when to collect your results.   

When did we change to a number grading scale?  

The shift to the numerical grading system was introduced in England in 2017 firstly in English language, English literature, and maths.  

By 2020 all subjects were shifted to number grades. This means anyone with GCSE results from 2017-2020 will have a combination of both letters and numbers.  

The numerical grading system was to signal more challenging GCSEs and to better differentiate between students’ abilities - particularly at higher grades between the A *-C grades. There only used to be 4 grades between A* and C, now with the numerical grading scale there are 6.  

What do the number grades mean?  

The grades are ranked from 1, the lowest, to 9, the highest.  

The grades don’t exactly translate, but the two grading scales meet at three points as illustrated below.  

The bottom of grade 7 is aligned with the bottom of grade A, while the bottom of grade 4 is aligned to the bottom of grade C.    

Meanwhile, the bottom of grade 1 is aligned to the bottom of grade G.  

What to do if your results weren’t what you were expecting?  

If your results weren’t what you were expecting, firstly don’t panic. You have options.  

First things first, speak to your school or college – they could be flexible on entry requirements if you’ve just missed your grades.   

They’ll also be able to give you the best tailored advice on whether re-sitting while studying for your next qualifications is a possibility.   

If you’re really unhappy with your results you can enter to resit all GCSE subjects in summer 2025. You can also take autumn exams in GCSE English language and maths.  

Speak to your sixth form or college to decide when it’s the best time for you to resit a GCSE exam.  

Look for other courses with different grade requirements     

Entry requirements vary depending on the college and course. Ask your school for advice, and call your college or another one in your area to see if there’s a space on a course you’re interested in.    

Consider an apprenticeship    

Apprenticeships combine a practical training job with study too. They’re open to you if you’re 16 or over, living in England, and not in full time education.  

As an apprentice you’ll be a paid employee, have the opportunity to work alongside experienced staff, gain job-specific skills, and get time set aside for training and study related to your role.   

You can find out more about how to apply here .  

Talk to a National Careers Service (NCS) adviser    

The National Career Service is a free resource that can help you with your career planning. Give them a call to discuss potential routes into higher education, further education, or the workplace.   

Whatever your results, if you want to find out more about all your education and training options, as well as get practical advice about your exam results, visit the  National Careers Service page  and Skills for Careers to explore your study and work choices.   

You may also be interested in:

• Results day 2024: What's next after picking up your A level, T level and VTQ results?
• When is results day 2024? GCSEs, A levels, T Levels and VTQs

Tags: GCSE grade equivalent , gcse number grades , GCSE results , gcse results day 2024 , gsce grades old and new , new gcse grades

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