A blog providing ideas and resources for those teachers hoping to teach the new GCSE Specification, first announced in April 2022. Draft subject content released for consultation in June 2026 - for first teaching from 2028 or 2029.
As well as potential visits by students who are completing the course, they also run CPD events.
There are also exhibitions and activities such as the VR experience: 'Visions of Nature' - only until October 2026 so ending before it will be of use to teachers for the GCSE Natural History.
Discover how our decisions today can influence the natural world a hundred years from now in this interactive, mixed-reality experience.
Put on your headset and be transported a century into the future to meet the virtual plants and animals that are thriving. They’ll scuttle, swim and soar around as you journey across the globe learning about their survival.
Along the way, you’ll experience eight different ecosystems, from harmonious highlands to resilient rainforests, and even down to the depths of the Arctic Ocean. As you interact with the wildlife, you’ll see how human intervention and scientific ingenuity has helped these species and habitats recover.
You’ll leave feeling inspired, knowing that the actions we take today will help build a better tomorrow.
After a life spent travelling the globe, the world’s most famous naturalist turns his attention closer to home to explore the wildlife of England’s iconic capital. Having lived in London for 75 years, Sir David has an intimate knowledge of the city’s natural history, and there's no better guide to introduce us to its most spectacular wildlife secrets.
London is considered the greenest major city in the world, with a surprising variety of animal dramas playing out in the most unexpected places. Whether it’s herds of deer invading gardens, pigeons commuting by tube, snakes slithering along Regent's Canal, parakeets raiding green spaces, or seagulls learning new ways to make a killing in the city, Sir David reveals the incredible wild encounters to be experienced across his hometown.
Sir David celebrates the extraordinary ways in which animals are adapting to survive in the urban jungle, whether it be the fortunes of a pair of peregrines nesting on the Houses of Parliament as their chicks attempt their first flight, or a family of foxes living in the heart of Tottenham struggling to get to grips with fierce rivals and dangerous streets. He is inspired as he learns how people across the capital are ensuring some of Britain’s most-loved species can continue to call London home, and he even joins efforts to bring back animals that have disappeared from the city.
Captured over his centennial year, this personal and poignant film is a timely insight into how cities can become homes for wildlife as well as ourselves.
Some new resources from Kate Stockings as part of her role as a National Park Ranger for the London National Park City. She has looked at a number of projects which aim to make London greener, healthier and wilder.
A recent report in The Guardian gave some information on the latest developments at the Natural History Museum, which has spent a lot of time and money overhauling its outside spaces recently.
It has announced plans to overhaul four galleries - including the iconic dinosaur exhibit - as they add a permanent display on “climate messaging”.
The Museum will raise £150 million to revamp their programming and join “a global mission to create 100 million advocates for the planet”.
The new exhibition, Fixing Our Broken Planet, will have the express aim of “nudging” visitors to change their behaviour.
The piece quotes the Director Doug Gurr:
Until recently, Gurr told the Guardian, the museum had seen itself as a “passive observer … our job was to collect, to conserve, to research, to display”.
“[Then] we stepped back a bit and said: ‘Well, hang on, if your subject matter is planet Earth and it’s under that much threat, you’ve got to do something about it. If you want the sporting analogy: how do you get off the sidelines and get on the pitch?”
In 2020 the museum declared a planetary emergency, and Gurr said the redevelopment was part of its continuing response. “The best contribution we can make is to create what we call ‘advocates for the planet’. And what that really means is: how do you inspire people at scale to care about nature and to care enough to want to do something about it?
“Of course, we still want people to have a brilliant, fun family day out. But if you can come out of that being a little bit more interested in nature and a little bit more aware of some of the challenges, you’re a bit more likely to want to do something about it.”
Image: Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license
Will be interesting to see what stance the specification will take on the ability to include events like this in the teaching, or will this be classed as 'political'... The logos on the bottom suggest that this is something a lot of important nature conservation groups take very seriously.
Best wishes to all those making their way to London today.
Biodiversity isn't just found in the countryside. There is a great deal of biodiversity in many cities. In fact some may be more biodiverse than the surrounding countryside which may have a monoculture of particular crops.
The designation of London as the world's first National Park Cityshows that there is plenty of wildlife in cities as well, and this was at the heart of the original campaign - developed by Daniel Raven Ellison.
This is a term which students may be asked to engage with, and certainly be prepared to define the word itself.
Cities and towns have a smoothing effect on biodiversity, tending to favour generalist species like feral pigeons. Those that require a particular habitat, or are intolerant of disturbance or pollution, often can't survive. This is called biotic homogenization.
Back in October 2022, I was alerted to the fact that the end credits of Eastenders on a Wednesday episode were subtly (ish) changed to act as a trailer for Frozen Planet II, which was showing at the time.
The new end credits saw London’s East End transformed to show the river Thames bursting its banks with parts of the capital under water in a hypothetical scenario of what London could look like in the future.
It then zoomed out to capture a satellite image of the Arctic and point to the last episode of Sir David Attenborough’s series, underlining the message that the challenge of melting ice in this frozen region could one day affect us all close to home.
There are going to be many changes to the world that we have become used to in the coming decades, and most of them are not going to be welcome changes.
There will be a list of people whose work students should be introduced to during their studies in Natural History. The specification will no doubt include a list of these prominent people and we will also suggest one here on the blog and in the resources that emerge for teachers using the new specification.
Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) is one of the people who will appear on the list.
He is the father of modern taxonomy: a system for classifying organisms.
This New Scientist profile is a useful summary of his life and work, and the importance of taxonomy for biologists.
The Systema Naturae is another name for this.
The Linnean Society is based at Burlington House - to the left as you head towards the Royal Academy through the arch off Picadilly.
I last visited in 2019, just ahead of the lockdowns.
The Linnean Society of London is the world’s oldest active society devoted to natural history. Founded in 1788 by Sir James Edward Smith (1759–1828), who was its first President, the Society takes its name from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) whose botanical, zoological and library collections have been in their keeping since 1829.
As the Society's website says:
These unique collections are of continuing fundamental importance as a primary reference for naming of plants and animals. They are enhanced by the Society's own rich library which provides key resources for scientific and cultural research.
Our vision is a world where nature is understood, valued and protected. To do this we aim to inform, involve and inspire people about nature and its significance through our collections, events and publications. Thanks to the wide ranging expertise of our Fellowship and our unique collections, we are a hub for science communication through interdisciplinary learning and engagement.
The Society encourages the debate and discussion of natural history including taxonomy, evolutionary biology and ecology. We strongly support all efforts to address some of the most urgent issues facing the natural world, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. We also support the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We aspire to inspire by bringing together diverse communities and increasing engagement with scientists, historians, artists and all those interested in nature.
