Complete biology revision for Science and Additional Science GCSEs
FAQs about the SciFly site
If you can’t find the answer to your question on this page, visit the Help page where more detailed instructions can be found about subscribing and using the site.
SciFly is a unique teaching and assessment resource for schools and their pupils who are studying the new Science GCSEs offered by AQA, Edexcel and OCR. Every biology topic in the four main Science GCSEs is assessed in detail together with a bank of How Science Works material. With hundreds of biology questions and detailed answers, SciFly is the perfect biology revision tool, whether you’re a pupil revising at home or a biology teacher preparing pupils for their Science GCSE in school.
Just click on these links to try the short sample Science tests:
AQA (foundation); AQA (higher); Edexcel (foundation); Edexcel (higher); OCR-G (foundation); OCR-G (higher); OCR-21 (foundation); OCR-21 (higher)
AQA, Edexcel and OCR-G Additional Science GCSEs are now available on the site, with every topic in the biology units assessed in full.
Just click on these links to try the short sample Additional Science tests:
AQA (foundation); AQA (higher); Edexcel (foundation); Edexcel (higher); OCR-G (foundation); OCR-G (higher)
However, SciFly is far more than just a comprehensive bank of assessment tests. Pupils’ marks are stored online and can be viewed by the teacher. Year group or teaching group results for every test can be accessed quickly and securely.
At the heart of SciFly lies a series of tiered multiple choice tests, each one written to test a pupil’s knowledge and understanding of every biology topic in
- AQA Science A or B (8 tests offered at F and H tiers)
- Edexcel 360Science (8 tests offered at F and H tiers)
- OCR Gateway Science (6 tests offered at F and H tiers)
- OCR 21st Century Science (8 tests offered at F and H tiers)
- AQA Additional Science (7 tests offered at F and H tiers)
- Edexcel Additional Science (8 tests offered at F and H tiers)
- OCR Gateway Additional Science - (8 tests offered at F and H tiers)
(See the next FAQ for a full list of all the tests currently available on the site.)
SciFly tests are 10 to 25 questions in length which cover one area of the course in detail. As soon as a test is completed, it is marked. Pupils can see detailed feedback on each one of their answers, right or wrong. By itself, this powerful feedback tool covers a substantial amount of the biology course material.
SciFly offers pupils the facility to immediately resit any questions which were answered incorrectly. At the end of each session, pupils should have answered every question correctly improving not only their knowledge and understanding, but also their confidence.
Their first and best mark for each test are stored and can be viewed at any time by both pupil and teacher on any computer connected to the internet. Teachers can view pupil lists and the performance of each pupil whether at school or at home. No complex networks with hardware or software problems! Just sign in and the power of the web does the rest.
SciFly also offers pupils the chance to sit a full module exam. These are longer than the individual topic tests with a sample of questions drawn at random from the database. This means that no matter how often pupils sit a module exam, it will always comprise a different set of questions.
- Test 1: The Nervous System and Hormones (F + H)
- Test 3: Drugs (F + H)
- Test 2: Healthy Eating (F + H)
- Test 4: Disease (F + H)
- Test 5: Adaptation (F + H)
- Test 6: Variation (F + H)
- Test 7: Evolution (F + H)
- Test 8: How people affect the planet (F + H)
Click here to try a free sample AQA foundation tier test
Click here to try a free sample AQA higher tier test
- Test 1: Food chains and populations (F + H)
- Test 2: Evolution, classification and changing species (F + H)
- Test 3: Genes 1 (F + H)
- Test 4: Genes 2 (H)
- Test 5: The nervous system (F + H)
- Test 6: Blood, hormones and fertility (F + H)
- Test 7: Disease (F + H)
- Test 8: Drugs (F + H)
Click here to try a free Edexcel sample foundation tier test
Click here to try a free Edexcel sample higher tier test
- Test 1: Fitness and diet (F + H)
- Test 2: Disease and drugs (F + H)
- Test 3: Nervous system, homeostasis and hormones (F + H)
- Test 4: Genes (F + H)
- Test 5: Ecology and classification (F + H)
- Test 6: Photosynthesis and competition (F + H)
- Test 7: Adaptations and evolution (F + H)
- Test 8: Population and sustainability (F + H)
Click here to try a free OCR Gateway sample foundation tier test
Click here to try a free OCR Gateway sample higher tier test
- Test 1: Variation and inheritance (F + H)
- Test 2: Genetic disorders and testing (F + H)
- Test 3: Microbes and disease (F + H)
- Test 4: Circulation and heart disease (F + H)
- Test 5: Evolution, extinction and the environment (F + H)
- Test 6: Nervous system and hormones (F + H)
Click here to try a free sample OCR 21C foundation tier test
Click here to try a free sample OCR 21C higher tier test
AQA Additional Science
- Test 1: Cells and osmosis (F + H)
- Test 2: Photosynthesis (F + H)
- Test 3: Biomass and energy (F + H)
- Test 4: Decay and the carbon cycle (F + H)
- Test 5: Enzymes (F + H)
- Test 6: Keeping conditions constant (F + H)
- Test 7: Inheritance (F + H)
Click here to try a free sample AQA foundation tier test
Click here to try a free sample AQA higher tier test
Edexcel Additional Science
- Test 1: DNA (F + H)
- Test 2: Respiration and exercise (F + H)
- Test 3: Cell division and growth (F + H)
- Test 4: Biotechnology (F + H)
- Test 5: Energy flow (F + H)
- Test 6: Global warming; Food production (F + H)
- Test 7: Competition and adaptation (F + H)
- Test 8: Pollution (F + H)
Click here to try a free sample Edexcel foundation tier test
Click here to try a free sample Edexcel higher tier test
OCR Gateway Additional Science (Module 3 Living and Growing)
- Test 1: DNA, enzymes and diffusion (F + H)
- Test 2: Blood and the heart (F + H)
- Test 3: Cell division and growth (F + H)
- Test 4: Plant growth and genetic engineering (F + H)
- Test 5: Leaves, photosynthesis and osmosis (F + H)
- Test 6: Plant transport and minerals (F + H)
- Test 7: Energy flow and farming (F + H)
- Test 8: Cycles and decay (F + H)
Click here to try a free sample OCR-G foundation tier test
Click here to try a free sample OCR-G higher tier test
A school subscription to SciFly allows a whole class (or even year group!) to register free using the school username and password. Once pupils have done this, they can access the site at any time from any computer - in school or at home. Analysis of almost 20,000 visits that took place in the Autumn Term last year showed approximately 50% occurring as whole class activity in school computer labs and 50% as individual homework activity at home.
Having subscribed their school, teachers can gain quick access to a list of all the pupils who have registered together with a record of all their test performances. Teachers can view a list of pupils in a whole year group or in a particular teaching group.
Each pupil’s record includes their first score for each test and their best score for each test. This means that each test can be used as an initial assessment of pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Thereafter, pupils can work on topics that they performed poorly at and then resit the test. If they improve, this will be recorded. In this way, teachers can track each pupil’s progress through the biology component of the science course.
This powerful online facility means that teachers can set homework assignments and then track pupil activity at any time of the day or night from any computer connected to the internet! Individual pupil weaknesses in a particular area of the course can be easily identified making SciFly an ideal formative and summative assessment tool.
Finally, SciFly can also be used on an interactive whiteboard as a whole class or group activity, reinforcing a particular topic.
How Science Works lies at the heart of the new GCSE Science courses. An understanding of the way in which scientists collect evidence to support ideas or theories is vital in a world where science and technology are transforming our lives. The six How Science Works tests focus on the skills that pupils need to plan fair tests, collect evidence, present and analyse results to determine whether they support or contradict a prediction.
The tests are challenging, involving considerable reading and data analysis. In this way, pupils are encouraged to develop a disciplined and methodical approach to experimental science.
The broader aspects of How Science Works - the role of science in society and the ethical and moral issues which modern science raises - are covered extensively in the main tests. Many questions focus on recent scientific advances and the dilemmas that they create.
Each SciFly test is available at foundation and higher tier. Foundation tier tests are designed for pupils aiming for grades E to B. Higher tier tests include several more challenging questions which aim to stretch more able pupils. These tests are set at grades C to A*.
SciFly tests precisely mirror the examination board specifications with additional material included in the Edexcel and OCR higher tier tests. While AQA do not differentiate in their Science GCSE content, the level of demand is greater at higher tier and SciFly AQA tests reflect this.
Note: SciFly tests have been written to challenge pupils, both at higher tier and foundation. Many of the questions involve reading information, observing diagrams or photographs, analysing data in tables or graphs. In this way, SciFly helps pupils to develop a far wider range of skills than simple knowledge recall, skills which the examination boards will expect pupils to have gained when they sit their GCSE exams.
SciFly tests are designed to be completed and marked in 25-30 minutes. That’s 15-20 minutes to complete the questions and 10 minutes of feedback. This will vary according to the number of questions – a few tests have 10, some have 15 or 25, most have 20. Higher tier tests offer more challenge and take longer.
Simply email: info@scifly.co.uk and you’ll normally receive an answer within 24 hours.