You get a much better response explaining cyclic AMP when you draw it as a hat that makes enzymes happy and working harder when they wear it! One-page revision notes on cAMP for the OCR specification, combining the different places it’s used on the course (adrenaline receptors, ADH in the kidney collecting duct, lac operon of bacteria). Also has links to YouTube videos of some of the processes discussed. I’m thinking of expanding this into a larger resource covering this topic-contact me if that’s something you’d particularly want. It’s offered for free in the meantime.

You get a much better response explaining cyclic AMP when you draw it as a hat that makes enzymes happy when they wear it! One-page revision notes on cAMP for the AQA specification, with links to YouTube videos of some of the processes discussed. I am thinking of expanding this into a more full set of notes including details of the adrenaline receptor and with more diagrams-please comment if that’s something you’d want. It’s offered for free in the meantime.

Two-page link-up-the-boxes worksheet and two-page written worksheet recapping definitions of community, habitat, ecosystem and biotic/abiotic factors, along with case study questions. For the Edexcel 9-1 biology GCSEs. The link-up-the-boxes worksheet is deliberately written to be very easy for students with low knowledge and confidence. The written worksheet covers biotic factors, quadrats, transects and competition, along with a calculation question and practice identifying types of habitat. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a mark scheme are included. Could also be suitable as a quick recap exercise for A-level students. These worksheets are very similar to my set for AQA, if you tutor both courses you don’t really need the other version.

Two-page link-up-the-boxes worksheet and two-page written worksheet recapping definitions of community, habitat, ecosystem and biotic/abiotic factors, along with case study questions. For the OCR 9-1 biology twenty-first century science GCSE. The link-up-the-boxes worksheet is deliberately written to be very easy for students with low knowledge and confidence with ecology. The written worksheet covers biotic factors, quadrats, transects and competition, along with a calculation question and practice identifying types of habitat. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a mark scheme are included. Could also be suitable as a quick recap exercise for A-level students. These worksheets are very similar to my set for AQA, if you tutor multiple courses you don’t really need the other version.

Teaching AQA 9-1 GCSE photosynthesis is difficult: with its emphasis on the inverse square law and light intensity data, it’s different to other courses and standard worksheets that haven’t been targeted don’t cover these points. Two-page worksheet with answers targeted at AQA specifically, covering a range of common questions and problems. Questions consulted for research include 8464B1H 2018 Q3 and 2021 Q1 and 84652H 2021 Q7, which would make great follow-ups.

This two-page resource lists pathogens, transmission routes, disease effects, treatment methods and other facts for the human diseases on the Eduqas A-level biology course. The large number of disease case studies on the course is something students need a lot of help with. To help students build up a common sense knowledge of the kind of issues surrounding these diseases that could be important in future and likely topics of exam questions, there’s a section on “other things to know” explaining issues like malaria potentially being spread by global warming. That should make this set of notes particularly useful for students aiming high and looking to study medicine, nursing and biosciences degrees in future or getting ready for interviews. It wasn’t possible to fit every topic onto two pages (e.g. flu recombination is skipped) but this worksheet gives a good concise summary of the key ideas of the topic. A blank worksheet version is also included for students to fill in themselves. This worksheet should also be suitable for WJEC A-level biology students, although I don’t teach people for that course currently.

Worksheet for AQA A-level biology plant tropism on two pages, covering IAA, phototropism, gravitotropism, the acid growth hypothesis and an experiment design question. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a detailed mark scheme. Written for the new 2015 specification.

Worksheet for Cambridge iGCSE biology plant hormones on two pages, covering IAA, phototropism, gravitotropism, the effects of auxin and an experiment design question. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a detailed mark scheme.

Two-page worksheet on plant hormones for the Edexcel 9-1 biology GCSE. Covers phototropism, geotropism, gibberellins and their industrial uses, ethene and an experiment design questions. Versions in colour and for black and white printing. There’s an in-depth mark scheme. Doing AQA GCSE? I have a separate version. Doing Edexcel iGCSE? This pack isn’t needed, the course doesn’t go into so much detail.

Two-page worksheet on plant hormones for the AQA 9-1 GCSE. Covers phototropism, geotropism, gibberellins and their industrial uses, ethene and an experiment design question. Versions in colour and for black and white printing. There’s an in-depth mark scheme.

Worksheet on homeostasis and thyroid function, covering thyroxine, TSH and nutrient deficiencies as well as revising homeostasis and negative feedback generally. This two-page worksheet has plenty of illustrations and diagrams to help students remember the topic. Targets the AQA 9-1 biology GCSE. There’s versions of the worksheet for colour and black and white printing and an in-depth mark scheme. Doing Edexcel GCSE? I have a separate version targeting that course specifically.

Worksheet on homeostasis and thyroid function, covering thyroxine, TSH and nutrient deficiencies as well as revising homeostasis and negative feedback generally. This two-page worksheet has plenty of illustrations and diagrams to help students remember the topic. Targets the Edexcel 9-1 biology GCSE. There’s an in-depth mark scheme and versions for colour and black and white printing. Doing AQA? I have a separate version of the worksheet for the AQA course. Doing the Edexcel iGCSE? This worksheet isn’t needed, that course doesn’t go into so much depth on the topic.

Two-page worksheet for students to fill in covering reflex actions, case studies, synapses and drop tests, targeting the AQA 9-1 biology GCSE but suitable for other courses like Edexcel. An in-depth mark scheme is included. Questions consulted include the 84612H specimen paper and the 2018 paper. Update, December 2023: based on student feedback, added more hints and re-ordered some questions to make the pack flow more naturally.

Fill-in-the-blanks two page worksheet covering blood glucose regulation for AQA GCSE 9-1 biology. Topics covered include the meaning of homeostasis, type I and II diabetes, treatments and effects if not treated. The worksheet is particularly written for supporting one-on-one and small group tuition where the tutor can continuously guide the student, as there’s a lot of answers to fill in to practice spelling and writing key words. A diagram of blood glucose regulation and a full mark scheme is included. Based on personal experience, the worksheet was written with a goal of sensitivity to any students who have diabetes or relatives who do; links to trustworthy medical sources are given for students who want/need more information. The worksheet was written based on checking mark schemes such as the 2019 paper.

I’ve found respiration is one of the most important things for students to get right studying biology. The equations are so important, but many GCSE and even some weaker A-level biology students can’t instantly give them. I explain to students that they’re an instant grade boost. Here’s a worksheet and set of notes on one page on the most common respiration questions. There’s the word equations, a guide through the standard question about how your heart and breathing rate change with exercise, and there’s links to some recommended videos. Versions included for colour and black and white printing. Full mark scheme included with the worksheet. Remembering the equations for respiration is one of the last things I always go over with students just before their exams, because it’s such a morale booster to instantly get full marks on one of these questions. I will never forget what one student told me in 2021: “It came up! Exactly what you said, it came up!” This set of notes targets Edexcel 9-1 iGCSE biology and uses lactate as the standard term rather than lactic acid. I have a version targeted towards other GCSEs such as the AQA course as well. Questions consulted as models for answers included the 1B 2019 and 1BR 2020 papers and 2B 2017.

When doing tuition using an online platform like Zoom or Skype, you often need to put formulas into the chat box or onto an online whiteboard that wasn’t designed for scientific use and doesn’t support constructing superscript and subscript characters. Also, you may need to write out formulas very quickly if your student asks something unexpected. So this is a list of a huge number of formulas for the major GCSE and iGCSE chemistry courses using the Unicode superscript and subscript characters, indexed and ready to go for tuition. (For other countries, it should be suitable for tuition of students up to around age 16.) Covering thirteen pages, sections include: common ions organic chemistry: combustion, alkene hydration, alcohol oxidation acid-base: acids with metals, carbonates, oxides, hydroxides, ammonia reactions common reversible reactions: Haber process, syngas, the Contact process inorganic reactions: thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate, electrolysis (water, sodium chloride, copper sulfate with graphite or copper electrodes), displacement, thermite, metals reacting with oxygen and water, halogen displacement, both with overall and ionic and half-equations) the chemical tests: precipitation, hydroxide tests the chemical reactions of biology: respiration and photosynthesis core maths equations that might be needed in science, such as area of a circle, volume of a sphere, volume of a cylinder etc. some prebuilt unit conversions Versions of important equations are included in multiple forms, such as with or without state symbols, so you can select one that matches the level you’re working at with the student and keep the lesson flowing. I’ve used these formulas for a huge number of paid tuition jobs, and couldn’t do anything without them-they’ve really helped me make things clear to students, keep lessons moving and give a professional impression. Many students have asked me how I make equations appear looking good in the chat of a call, or even asked me for this document to use themselves! The document is an editable rtf and docx file with the equations and all the superscripts and subscripts and some common symbols at the start. You can build your own equations if you need them or edit or reorganise the document to suit your way of working.

A-level osmosis required practical notes, targeting courses including AQA 3.2.3 and required practicals 3 and 4 and OCR A 2.1.5. The notes include diagrams on how to plot a graph of the data and some exam technique practice on how to answer questions on getting valid data, and links to good videos. The notes are bullet point style and easy to read. This set of notes is particularly targeted towards revising the practical come exam time and doesn’t include a detailed practical methodology. NOTE: my apologies, the original uploaded version had some words missing explaining the effect of evaporation on water potential, this has now been corrected.

I’ve found respiration is one of the most important things for students to get right studying biology. The equations are so important, but many GCSE and even some weaker A-level biology students can’t instantly give them. I explain to students that they’re an instant grade boost. Here’s a worksheet and set of notes on one page on the most common respiration questions. There’s the word equations, a guide through the standard question about how your heart and breathing rate change with exercise, and there’s links to some recommended videos. Versions included for colour and black and white printing. Full mark scheme included with the worksheet. Remembering the equations for respiration is one of the last things I always go over with students just before their exams, because it’s such a morale booster to instantly get full marks on one of these questions. I will never forget what one student told me in 2021: “It came up! Exactly what you said, it came up!” Although this worksheet and set of notes works for students taking any exam board and A-level students who need a recap, it was particularly written with an eye to AQA 9-1 GCSE mark schemes. Questions consulted included: 8461/1H 2021, question 7 8461/1F 2020, question 4 8461/2F 2018, questions 7 and 11 BL2HP 2017, question 5 I’ve got a separate set of notes for Edexcel iGCSE which uses the term “lactate” instead of lactic acid.

Notes and diagrams on epigenetics for the AQA course, starting from some simple analogies to the real world. I also give the core definition AQA have asked for of epigenetics, which isn’t clearly stated in the textbook but came up on a specimen paper. There’s links to tons of YouTube videos explaining how epigenetics works, and a mnemonic for remembering euchromatin and heterochromatin. Length is two very well-filled pages: you could print it double-sided as a resource for students to keep. Could also be useful for students taking OCR as extension material.

Notes on capture mark, release and recapture population estimates, suitable for courses including A-level biology and Edexcel GCSE statistics. Covering one page, the assumptions and the idea of a reciprocal are explained and there’s two model calculations.