Psychology

Level 3 Pathway - In order to enrol onto our Level 3 courses, students must have achieved a minimum of 5 grade 4s at GCSE Level across 4 different subject areas; this should ideally include a Grade 4 for English Language and Mathematics.

It is important that students also pay attention to any individual subject entry requirements.

It may be that a small number of students are recommended to sit AS qualifications at the end of Year 12 in order to inform decisions about progression into Year 13, however these AS examinations are standalone and do not contribute to the overall A Level qualification.

Why?

This course will provide an insight into many aspects of human behaviour and the effect that genetics and the environment have on the way we behave. It is a STEM science that encourages students to develop transferable skills in research, evaluation, analysis, comparison and many other areas. There are many specialist careers in Psychology including; clinical, educational, sports and forensic to give some examples.

Psychology is a good foundation subject for other university courses and excellent preparation for many careers. Examples include the caring professions such as medicine, nursing, social work, child care and counselling; legal professions including police and solicitors; areas of business, especially advertising, marketing and human relations; teaching at both primary and secondary levels.

Course Structure

In Year 1 students will complete the topics for paper 1 and some research methods for paper 2 which will give them a good introduction to psychology and a good foundation in the skills required for the rest of the course. Then in Year 2 students will complete papers 2 and 3.

To complete the A level students will sit three exam papers. Paper 1; Social Influence, Memory, Attachment and Psychopathology. Paper 2; Approaches, Biopsychology and Research Methods. Paper 3; Issues and Debates, Stress, Cognitive Development and Addiction. Each paper is 2 hours long and is made up of a range of short answer and essay questions.

Extended Learning

Students are encouraged to extend their knowledge of the topic areas through specified extension activities to their classwork, or through reading more in-depth articles on the topics they are studying in the Psychological Review.

Ideally Grade 5 GCSE English Language, Grade 5 GCSE Mathematics and Grade 5 GCSE Science