Benenden School — 13+ Biology Scholarship 2023
Benenden School set this 13+ Biology paper in 2023. Hearthprep hosts it as an interactive past paper — 6 questions worth 36 marks in 36 minutes, each marked the moment the paper is submitted and backed by a step-by-step worked solution. Most 13+ entrance exams are sat between November and January of the year of entry.
Real 13+ Biology paper from Benenden School (2023). 6 questions, 36 marks. Answer interactively with worked solutions. Covers Cells & Organisation, Ecology & Ecosystems, Health & Disease, Inheritance, variation and evolution, Photosynthesis and respiration.
This is the school's own past paper, reproduced here with worked solutions by Hearthprep. Most 13+ entrance exams are sat between November and January of the year of entry, so a timed attempt at this paper is worth doing early enough to leave room for the topics it exposes. Work through it on screen with instant marking, or print the PDF and sit it under exam conditions.
- School
- Benenden School
- Entry level
- 13+
- Subject
- Biology
- Year
- 2023
- Questions
- 6
- Marks
- 36
- Time
- 36 minutes
- Exam board
- ISEB
Topics in this paper
- Cells & Organisation
- Ecology & Ecosystems
- Health & Disease
- Inheritance, variation and evolution
- Photosynthesis and respiration
Questions in this paper (3 of 6)
- Question 1written answer · 8 marks
The diagram below shows a plant cell. [Diagram: a tall rectangular plant cell. Labels point to the chloroplast (one of several small dark oval bodies scattered in the cytoplasm), the cell wall (the thick outer boundary), the cytoplasm (the jelly-like region inside the cell), the nucleus (a single large dark oval body), the vacuole (the large clear space filling the middle of the cell) and the c…
- Question 2written answer · 4 marks
Sickle-cell anaemia is an inherited disease which can be fatal. People with sickle-cell anaemia have sickle-shaped red blood cells. [Diagram: two microscope photographs side by side. The left one shows normal red blood cells - smooth, rounded discs with a dip in the centre. The right one shows sickle cells - long, curved, pointed crescent shapes mixed with a few rounder cells.] (a) Sickle-shape…
- Question 3written answer · 6 marks
(a) Tom watched birds feeding in his garden. He spotted the birds shown below. [Diagram: drawings of six garden birds, labelled blackbird, blue tit, bullfinch, dove, sparrow and robin; not to scale.] Tom recorded what the birds in his garden ate. His results are shown below. [Table: rows are the six birds and columns are four types of food - fruit, nuts, worms and seeds - with a tick where a bi…
3 further questions in this paper open with any paid plan, along with marking and the worked solutions. See plans.
Frequently asked questions
What is in the Benenden School — 13+ Biology Scholarship 2023?
6 questions worth 36 marks in total, written for 36 minutes. It covers Cells & Organisation, Ecology & Ecosystems, Health & Disease, Inheritance, variation and evolution, Photosynthesis and respiration. Benenden School set it as a 13+ Biology paper.
How long is the Benenden School 13+ Biology paper?
This paper is timed at 36 minutes for 36 marks — roughly 60 seconds a mark. Hearthprep runs the same clock on screen, so your child sees how far through the time they are as they answer.
Can my child answer this paper online?
Yes. Every question on this page can be answered in the browser and is marked the moment the paper is submitted — multiple choice, short answers and written responses alike. Answers are matched leniently, so a correct value written a different way (units, fractions, word numbers) still scores.
Are worked solutions included?
Every question has a step-by-step worked solution and an AI tutor that will talk through it after the paper is submitted. The first 3 questions of this paper are free to try; the remaining 3 and the marking come with a paid plan.
Where does this Benenden School paper come from?
This is the school's own past paper, reproduced here with worked solutions by Hearthprep. Use it to time a full mock attempt, then drill whichever topics your child drops marks on.
Loading the interactive paper…