Little Red Riding Hood and the big, bad wolf: Biochemical pathways in advanced level biology

Many students learning biology at advanced level (16 to 19 year olds) find biochemistry difficult. This is despite the fact that they say the topic is interesting and important1. Our contention is that students find it difficult to see the wood for the trees. They may be able to learn aspects of biochemistry off by heart, but find it difficult to have a memorable overview of the subject.