Last week A Level Biology students headed out on one of their practical fieldwork trips. This practical work is an important part of their A Level programme.

This trip was to look at the effect of soil moisture content on the plant species native to the North Yorkshire Moors along a slope transect.

Mrs Aldous Summarises The A Level Biology Trip

Our guide, Tanya Eyre, was fantastic and gave a talk on the management of the moors. She showed us how to identify plant species and by the end of the day the group could identify multiple heather, moss and shrub species. We also got to see several Sun dews, a carnivorous plant which gets it’s nutrients from small flies.

We were out for 4 hours in the ever-changing moorland weather – experiencing rain, wind and sunshine. The group were resilient and up beat the whole time. The A Level Biology group all supported each other and worked really well as a team.

On the way back we had the opportunity to look at some of the conservation activities on the moor. We discovered a slow worm which some of the group were brave enough to hold!

The group returned to school and continued their work processing their data- this is now complete. It included completing statistical tests, something that all scientists need to complete when doing research. 

We wish our year 13 students all the best for their upcoming exams.

If you would like to know more about A Level Biology or the Science Curriculum at Fyling Hall please get in touch.