NORTON - Norton High School ultimately hopes to grow its one-semester biotechnology elective into a full-year course.

The school committee approved new textbooks for the current course this week, as well as an anatomy and physiology elective. The courses run back-to-back, with anatomy and physiology running during the second semester, Grade 6-12 Physical Science, Meteorology and Oceanography Academic Coordinator Peter Leddy said.

Leddy said he envisions the biotech course running all year.

"The more we can introduce students to this at this level, the more likely they are to carry on and find jobs," Leddy said.

"I certainly think we need to get more equipment," he said. "We now have four students on a piece of equipment, as opposed to two." Dedicated lab space would benefit both the biotech and biology courses, Leddy said.

School board Vice Chairman Andrew Mackie called biotech "one of the cutting edges of sciences among sciences."

"It's great that we're able to offer this to students," Mackie said.