Welcome to the Immersive Practical A-Level Physics courses at BioGrad. These have been designed by working scientists and A-Level assessors with input from the A-level exam boards to provide the best possible opportunity for students wishing to obtain their practical endorsement.
The courses are held in the working research laboratories within Liverpool Science Park and offer real world laboratory experience that exceeds all requirements for the endorsed practical assessments.
BioGrad is able to partner with any registered examination centre to provide the practical endorsement, as long as the centre agrees to a working partnership with BioGrad.
Over the last 12 months BioGrad has provided training for students from the below 431 Schools, Colleges and Universities:
How long is the course?
There are 2 packages available for each of the A-Level practical endorsements. Students may select to attend the basic course that fulfils all criteria for the practical assessments, or the enhanced course that far exceeds the minimum criteria and offers twice the amount of laboratory training, references and additional evening educational activities.
The basic 5 day practical endorsement runs from 9.30am – 4pm each day Monday to Friday. There is an evening social activity programme that students can opt in/out of at their on discretion.
The Enhanced practical endorsement is delivered over 2 x 5 day courses that run from 9:30am – 4pm Monday to Friday. The 2 courses may be attended as 2 consecutive weeks or separated by many months.
Students have the opportunity to perform in-depth studies that go far beyond the minimum practical requirements. These build a greater understanding of the syllabus and allow students to put the more complicated theory into practice instead of just reading the methods in their text books. For this reason not all of the criteria will be met by the end of the first week. It is important to remember that students booking the enhanced package must attend both weeks of the course as some of the requirements are only covered in the second week.
Pre-requisites
Students attending these courses are expected to be studying for their A-level Physics by distance learning or at a further education centre.
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:
>> Click here to view our current exam centres <<
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.
Examinations and Marking
Upon completion of your practical course your laboratory note book will be marked by BioGrad Examination Centre and your grade forwarded to your exam centre.
Evening Activities and Accommodation
Most students who attend BioGrad courses do so as residential students. Luxury accommodation is available from £25 per night including breakfast and can be booked after you have secured your course by selecting the link on your course confirmation email.
Further details are available here.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
BioGrad is an Approved Activity Provide for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
If you want this course to count towards your Gold Residential award please provide your Duke of Edinburgh Award number on your registration form at the time of booking your course.
Students using this course for their GOLD residential must stay for at least 4 nights in dormitory accommodation.
UCAS References
Students who wish to use this course as work experience to support university applications may request a reference to be sent directly to their school/college/exam centre. These references are signed off by the course leader after obtaining feedback from staff teaching during the course. These references help your teachers to create your UCAS reference.
Please provide the name of your school or exam centre on your registration form at the time of booking your course.
Photographs
We will happily take photographs of students working in the laboratory which often serve as excellent profile pictures for work related social networking (such as LinkedIn).
Students are asked not to take photographs of other attendees or staff without consent. Students under the age of 18 years old must provide the completed photo/video consent form on the first day of the course (sent to all students in their course registration confirmation) if they wish to have photographs taken for use on professional or social media.
Groups
Schools, colleges, universities, distance learning providers and DofE centres can book a bespoke course for groups of 10-15 students per week. Full board options are available including evening activities. Please contact info@biograd.co.uk for availability.
International groups may take advantage of our collaboration with Liverpool School of English, booking a 2 week course with English tuition, full board home stay, transfers and insurance. Please contact exams@biograd.co.uk for availability.
Food
Students have an hour for lunch each day. There are many places to purchase food and drink within walking distance of the Science Park, including the City of Liverpool College, Subway, Tesco’s, Costa, The EveryMan theatre and many sandwich/coffee shops. Students wishing to bring their own food have access to a fridge and microwave during the course, plus a break room containing vending machines, a pool table and sky TV on-site.
Students who are attending as a residential course can make the most of their evenings by exploring the huge range of restaurants within walking distance of the Art House Hotel.
Luggage
The BioGrad facilities and The Art House Hotel both have secure facilities for storing luggage on the days of arrival and departure. During the rest of the week students will be asked to store their belongings in locked cupboards opposite BioGrad Student Services (Outside of the laboratories and clinical training rooms) during the training sessions.
Further Information
For further information please contact us using this form or email us at info@biograd.co.uk.
Course Fees
All payments are taken securely with PayPal. All major debit and credit cards are accepted so you don’t need a PayPal account.
There are 2 packages available for each of the A-Level practical endorsements. Students may select to attend the basic course that fulfils all criteria for the practical assessments, or the enhanced course that far exceeds the minimum criteria and offers twice the amount of laboratory training, references and additional evening educational activities.
The basic 5 day package costs £696 per subject. You can reserve your place on this course with a deposit of just £174.00 if you are booking more than 28 days in advance. The remaining balance is due four weeks prior to the course start date.
You can also choose to pay for this course in 6 instalments if you are booking more than 26 weeks in advance, or 12 instalments if you are booking more than 54 weeks in advance.
The Enhanced 2 x 5 day package costs £999 per subject. You can reserve your place on this course with a deposit of just £249.75 if you are booking more than 28 days in advance. The remaining balance is due four weeks prior to the course start date.
You can also choose to pay for this course in 6 instalments if you are booking more than 26 weeks in advance, or 12 instalments if you are booking more than 54 weeks in advance.
Course Availability
Enhanced Course:
Please select a date for attending your 'week 1' course and a date for attending your 'week 2' course below. Both courses must be attended for the practical endorsement.
Basic Course:
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