Palaeontology

Explore our courses and start your journey into the history of life on the planet and become fascinating by the world’s that came before us.

  • Embark on an incredible journey through the 4.5-billion-year history of our planet. Discover how life evolved from simple microorganisms to the astonishing diversity of plants and animals that inhabit Earth today.

  • Explore the great mass extinctions that reshaped life on Earth. Discover what caused these catastrophic events, which species survived, and how each extinction paved the way for new forms of life to evolve.

  • Visit some of the world's most extraordinary fossil localities and discover the incredible discoveries that have transformed our understanding of prehistoric life, from the Burgess Shale to Hell’s Creek to the Gobi Desert and beyond.

  • Travel back over 540 million years to witness the Cambrian Explosion, when complex animal life rapidly diversified and many of the major animal groups first appeared in Earth's oceans.

  • Discover a world dominated by rich marine ecosystems as early fish evolved, reefs flourished, and life continued its remarkable expansion before Earth's first major mass extinction.

  • Explore the age when plants and arthropods first began to colonise the land, forever changing Earth's landscapes and laying the foundations for terrestrial ecosystems.

  • Known as the "Age of Fishes," the Devonian saw the evolution of forests, sharks, and the first vertebrates to venture onto land. Discover how these innovations changed life forever.

  • Journey through vast tropical forests filled with giant insects, towering club mosses, and the earliest reptiles. Learn how these ancient ecosystems created many of today's coal deposits.

  • Explore the final chapter of the Palaeozoic, where mammal-like reptiles flourished before Earth's greatest mass extinction dramatically transformed life on the planet.

  • Journey to a planet recovering from the greatest mass extinction in Earth's history. Discover how life slowly rebuilt itself, from the first recovering forests to strange reptiles and the ancestors of many modern animal groups, laying the foundations for the Age of Dinosaurs.

  • Meet the remarkable reptiles that came to dominate the Triassic world. Explore the rise of the archosaurs, including rauisuchians, the earliest crocodile relatives, pterosaurs, and the first true dinosaurs, as evolution took an extraordinary new direction.

  • Discover how dinosaurs began their rise from relatively small animals to the dominant land vertebrates on Earth. Along the way, meet the first mammals, explore diverse Triassic ecosystems, and uncover the extinction event that ushered in the Jurassic Period.

  • Step into the Jurassic and encounter some of the largest animals ever to walk our planet. Explore lush forests inhabited by enormous sauropods, armoured herbivores, and formidable predators that ruled an increasingly warm and vibrant world.

  • Look beyond the land to discover the incredible reptiles that conquered the seas and skies. From giant plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs to graceful pterosaurs soaring overhead, experience the extraordinary diversity of Jurassic marine and aerial life.

  • Discover one of evolution's greatest transformations as feathered dinosaurs gave rise to the first birds. Explore the latest Jurassic ecosystems and learn how remarkable evolutionary innovations would shape the future of life on Earth.

  • Witness a changing planet as flowering plants spread across the globe, transforming ecosystems forever. Discover how these new habitats fuelled the evolution of insects, birds, mammals, and many of the dinosaurs that would come to define the Cretaceous.

  • Explore the peak of dinosaur diversity during the Late Cretaceous. Meet giant tyrannosaurs, horned ceratopsians, duck-billed hadrosaurs, armoured ankylosaurs, and many other extraordinary animals that inhabited one of Earth's richest prehistoric worlds.

  • Relive the dramatic final chapter of the Age of Dinosaurs. Discover the thriving ecosystems of the latest Cretaceous before examining the asteroid impact that triggered one of Earth's greatest mass extinctions and paved the way for the Age of Mammals.

  • Journey into the world that emerged after the extinction of the dinosaurs and discover how mammals rapidly diversified to fill newly vacant ecosystems. Meet the earliest primates, horses, whales, and giant flightless birds as the Age of Mammals begins.

  • Explore a changing world where cooling climates and evolving landscapes gave rise to many of the mammal groups we recognise today. Discover the origins of elephants, whales, carnivores, and hoofed mammals as modern ecosystems began to take shape.

  • Discover how expanding grasslands transformed life on Earth, driving the evolution of grazing mammals, powerful predators, giant sharks, and the earliest apes. Explore a world that increasingly resembled the ecosystems we know today.

  • Follow the extraordinary evolutionary journey of our own ancestors as changing climates shaped the earliest hominins. Discover how environmental change, adaptation, and natural selection paved the way for the emergence of the genus Homo and, ultimately, modern humans.

  • Journey through the Ice Ages to meet mammoths, sabre-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, and early humans as dramatic climate changes shaped the modern world.

  • Examine humanity's growing influence on the planet and explore how climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and conservation are shaping the future of life on Earth.

  • Trace the extraordinary story of human evolution, from our earliest ape-like ancestors to the emergence of modern Homo sapiens. Discover how millions of years of environmental change, adaptation, and innovation shaped our bodies, behaviour, and intelligence, and explore the remarkable fossil evidence that reveals humanity's place within the tree of life.

Design Your Course!

Learn Your Way!

Individual Sessions

Perfect for exploring a new topic without committing to a full course.

Our Individual Sessions are designed for learners who want to discover a specific area of biology in a single, engaging lesson. Each one-hour session focuses on a fascinating topic, combining expert knowledge, real-world examples, and captivating stories from the natural world. Whether you're trying Academy WC for the first time or simply have a passion for one particular subject, these sessions offer an enjoyable and flexible way to learn at your own pace.

Charge - £45 (Live Lessons With Your Online Expert) or £15 (Pre-Recorded Lessons)

Beginner Courses

Perfect for complete beginners, curious minds, and anyone looking to build confidence in biology.

Our Beginner Courses assume no previous scientific knowledge. We start with the fundamentals, introducing key concepts in an engaging, jargon-free way through stories, demonstrations, real-world examples, and fascinating animals. Whether you're a home-educated learner, a family discovering science together, or an adult returning to education, these courses provide the perfect foundation for exploring the natural world.

Charge - £120 (Live Lessons With Your Online Expert) or £50 (Pre-Recorded Lessons)

Intermediate Courses

Ideal for learners who already understand the basics and are ready to explore biology in greater depth.

Intermediate Courses build upon existing knowledge by introducing more detailed scientific concepts, evolutionary theory, ecology, anatomy, behaviour, and conservation. Learners are encouraged to think critically, make connections between different biological disciplines, and develop a deeper appreciation of how life on Earth is interconnected. These sessions are well suited to enthusiastic hobbyists, older students, and anyone wanting to move beyond introductory biology.

Charge - £150 (Live Lessons With Your Online Expert) or £60 (Pre-Recorded Lessons)

Advanced Courses

Designed for passionate learners seeking college-level or university-level scientific discussion in an accessible environment.

Our Advanced Courses delve into specialist topics using current scientific understanding, evolutionary principles, primary research, and detailed biological theory. Complex ideas are presented clearly without sacrificing scientific accuracy, making these sessions suitable for aspiring biologists, university students, educators, professionals, and lifelong learners. Expect challenging discussions, thought-provoking questions, and a deeper exploration of the remarkable science that shapes our understanding of life on Earth.

Charge - £190 (Live Lessons With Your Online Expert) or £70 (Pre-Recorded Lessons)

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