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.

“The environment is stimulating – lots of choice of professional lab apparatus to hand – and the atmosphere calm and highly conducive to the development of strong practical and investigative skills.”

BioGrad Examination Centre Monitoring Visit – 2019
“The group size of students is restricted on courses to ensure that each student has access to their own apparatus and bench space to work. This also had the added advantage of allowing a great working relationship between Kathryn and her students so that they knew they could ask her for help when they did need it.”

BioGrad Examination Centre Monitoring Visit – 2019
“Students come from a range of different backgrounds to experience the required practical work offered at BioGrad. It is clear from conversation with them that they are very much enjoying the course, they can see how the methods they are provided with become less descriptive over time which demands more from them as individuals.”

BioGrad Examination Centre Monitoring Visit – 2019
“One student mentioned that the experience had made her want to follow a career path in STEM, she said that she would love to live her life in the lab! Another said that she would miss this experience when going home. When I asked how the course could be improved they found it hard to suggest anything. Their confidence levels and engagement with practical sciences were sound.”

BioGrad Examination Centre Monitoring Visit – 2019
“Their [BioGrad Staff] enthusiasm for this work is impressive, the practical courses not only providing the minimum experience for students but, with independent investigation opportunities and an insight into potential career pathways for students. I am really pleased to see such outstanding provision available for students who are not in a routine school or college environment. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to supporting them to develop their practical skills in such a stimulating environment.”

BioGrad Examination Centre Monitoring Visit – 2019

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!"

Head Of BioGrad Examination Centre, Dr Martin McWatt
martin.mcwatt@biograd.co.uk

How to book

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

- - St Gregory’s Catholic School - Kent, England

- - Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School - Buckinghamshire, England

- - Walworth After-school club - London, England

000000 - Smart Ed Uk

000000 - K T Tuition, Cumbria

000000 - Holy Trinity College

000000 - Ark Education Centre - Essex

000000 - The Kings School - Cheshire

000000 - K T Tuition - Cumbria

01324 - Bestgrade Education - Essex, England

08237 - Decca Group LTD / ARC Education - Essex

10488 - Excel Tutors - Greater London, United Kingdom

10693 - Excel Centre Dalston - London, England

10776 - Catford After School Club - London, England

10777 - Excel Centre New Cross - London, England

10780 - Walworth After School Club - London, England

10780 - Sydenham After School Club - London, England

11057 - Summit Saturday School, Greater London

13261 - Excel Centre Stratford - London, England

13280 - AEC Tutors - London, UK

13289 - Merit Tutors - London, United Kingdom

14123 - WinA Tutorial College - London, UK

14216 - Apex Education Services

15163 - Sharnbrook Academy - Bedfordshire

16412 - Ace Tuition , United Kingdom

17314 - Top Grades Learning Centre

20134 - Flexible Learning School

22183 - National Extension College - Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

25320 - Alpha Tutorials - Leicestershire

29025 - Bridgenorth Endowed - Shropshire, England

29365 - Thomas Adams School

33151 - Intuition Exam Centre - Cheshire, United Kingdom

34206 - Assess Education - Merseyside, United Kingdom

34732 - BSFC Centre

37357 - Calder High School - West Yorkshire, UK

37601 - Woodhouse Grove School - West Yorkshire, England

41214 - Teesside High School

42233 - The Whitehaven Academy

43304 - Enter CIC - Durham, England

46445 - The Spanish Learning Centre , Lancashire

46906 - Jay Em Studios - Lancashire

47219 - Moorland Private School - Lancashire, UK

52230 - The Exam House

54321 - Teign School - Devon

55153 - Talbot Heath School - Dorset, England

56320 - Beacon Academy - East Sussex, United Kingdom

58116 - Faregos Home Education Group - Hampshire, England

61961 - Mascalls Academy - Kent

62311 - Cherwell College Oxford - Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

66605 - The Kingsbury Green Academy - Wiltshire, United Kingdom

68239 - Pembrokeshire College , SA61 1SZ

68350 - Monmouth School for Girls

68601 - Interhigh

68803 - Swansea Sixth Form College

69744 - Basil Paterson College - East Lothian, Scotland

69808 - Merchiston Castle School - East Lothian, Scotland

69854 - Wallace College - East Lothian, Scotland

74694 - TutorASAP International Study Centre, Spain

75751 - Archimedes Training Centre

90241 - The Old School, France

[exam centre number pending] - Liverpool School of English with Premier International College - Merseyside, England

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 Form

Further Information

For further information please contact us using this form or email us at info@biograd.co.uk.

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WHAT DO OUR STUDENTS SAY?

“My lab tutor was a skilful and talented teacher. He was able to simplify complex topics so all of the students could understand and then followed up to ensure we all fully grasped the techniques being taught. He made sure that any errors were rectified immediately so that we were always learning the correct techniques"

Lucy - Introduction to Genetics
"I attended the course because I wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry but didn't have enough lab based experience. After the course I had experience in some of the most up to date techniques, taught by researchers working in the pharmaceutical industry. During the lunch time I was able to chat with all of the tutors and seek their advice for securing the job I wanted. Through the experience and advice I received I managed to secure a graduate level job in a small pharmaceutical company. I cannot recommend this course enough!"

Josep (Graduate researcher) - Practical skills in drug discovery
"I received excellent tuition from a patient teacher who had an incredible enthusiasm for laboratory research. Under her tutelage and supervision, I acquired many laboratory skills in the area of cell culture techniques and high throughput screening for pre-clinical drug discovery."

Akang (Research Scientist) - Introduction to mammalian cell culture and Practical drug discovery
"This was the first time I had the chance to perform practical laboratory techniques which I had only seen in lectures before this point. The tutors let us try a number of different ways to quantify cells and gave us the time and guidance to perfect our own techniques."

Mark - Introduction to mammalian cell culture
"I was taught by an experienced researcher who gave us the opportunity to work with many different cell types. I was able to see the differences between the morphology and growth rates of different cells for myself. I also had the opportunity to try a number of different techniques which gave me confidence to apply for PhD's requiring cell culture experience."

Gail (PhD researcher) - Introduction to mammalian cell culture