Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Sixth Form: A Level Courses: Psychology

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Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. Psychologists aim to understand and predict how people might behave or feel and the factors affecting their behaviour.

The teaching objectives are to provide students with an accessible and interesting introduction to some of the topics/debates of the discipline of
Psychology.

No prior knowledge of the subject is necessary. However, a grade C in Maths at GCSE is essential for the completion of the Research Methods and Statistics module. Also, students should have good written skills and an ability to critically analyse information.

At BRGS we try to understand how people develop, behave or feel and we do this over a two year
period in our A' level course. It is also possible for students to familiarise themselves with a number
of very important psychological issues in a one
year AS level course.

AS Course (Year 12)

This course covers three units:

» Unit 1: Introducing Psychology
» Unit 2: Social and Cognitive Psychology
» Unit 3: Practical Investigation
Assessment takes the form of two 1.5 hour exams for units 1 and 2 and one 1,500 word practical report. The report covers 30% of the total AS
marks.

A2 Course (Year 13)

This comprises a further two units and one more practical investigation:

» Unit 4: Child Development. This includes topics such as social development, cognitive development, moral development and exceptional development as well as disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, autism and other atypical development.
» Unit 5: Perspectives, debates and methods. This covers past and current research issues in psychology.
» Unit 6: A practical report using inferential statistical analysis.

	More:
	» Psychology Staff » Psychology Links

Higher education and career opportunities:
Students will acquire a qualification which can be relevant to a wide range of occupations including teaching, nursing, counselling, marketing, management and advertising.

Professional fields of Psychology also include Educational, criminal/Legal, Clinical, Development, Cognitive and Occupational Psychology.

	Case Studies: students who studied Psychology at BRGS Sixth Form
	» Rachel: Broadcasting, University of Leeds » Louise: Business Management, University of Manchester » Laura: Multimedia Design, University of Huddersfield » Pam: Veterinery Medicine, University of Glasgow