Psychology

Head of Department:

Miss Terry (mterry@allsaintsschool.co.uk)

 

Key skills (subject specific) that are developed:

The Psychology curriculum aims to inspire students to develop a deep understanding of human behaviour and social constructs. The subject is academically rigorous; incorporating scientific, mathematic and subject specific content in order to develop students as critical thinkers and evaluative learners. The subject is framed around the students understanding of the world around them and applying new knowledge to human behaviour in the real world and learning about real life examples through case studies, experiments etc. All students will develop key skills such as analysis, discussion and evaluation, and apply their knowledge to a variety of scenarios both inside and beyond the classroom. This will allow our students to become truly independent thinkers, regardless of background, previous psychological knowledge or attainment. 

All students are provided the opportunity to develop their cultural capital by interacting with contemporary psychologists, sampling careers and future studies within Psychology. We pride ourselves on preparing students to apply their knowledge and skills in all aspects of life, guiding them in their future career pathways.

 

 

KS5

Summary

AQA exam board. Assessment is through three external examinations. Each written exam is 2 hours and comprises of 96 marks in total, weighted as 33.3% of overall A-Level. Students will be guided towards their target/predicted grade by teacher marking and feedback. 

Students will sit 6 half-termly assessments in Year 12, including a mock exam in the Summer term. Students in Year 13 will sit 5 half-termly assessments, including two mocks exams; one in December and one in March.

Summary:

In year 12, students will be introduced to a wide range of psychological topics that will give them an insight into many explanations for a variety of behaviours/processes. Students will study topics that will help them understand many questions: What is memory? Why do we forget? How do we build attachments with our parents and why are they important in later life? Why do people suffer from OCD, depression or phobias? How does our brain affect our behaviour? These questions and so many more will be answered to allow students to have a basic understanding of human behaviour. By the end of year 12, students will have covered all topics for both Paper 1 and Paper 2 for their A level exams, leaving plenty of time for revision in year 13.

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Approaches

Memory

Attachment 

Research Methods

Biopsychology

Research Methods continued

Social Influence

Psychopathology

Research Methods (Yr2 content) 

Approaches (Yr2 content)

Summary:

In Year 13, students will study one compulsory unit; Issues and Debates, and 3 optional topics, in All Saints these topics are: Schizophrenia, Relationships and Aggression. Students will have more detailed focus in these topics, learning a wide range of explanations for these behaviours and being able to apply these behaviours to real life examples. They will answer questions such as: Why do I form relationships with certain people? How do relationships breakdown? How do individuals develop schizophrenia? What are the biological explanations for aggression? What else can cause aggression? These topics will be included in Paper 3 of their A Level exam and will complete their preparation for further study in Psychology and other subjects.

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Issues and Debates

Schizophrenia



Aggression

Relationships

Revision

 

Additional Reading:

The Lucifer Effect – Philip Zimbardo

The Psychopath test – Jon Ronson

The little book of psychology – Emily Ralls

Interpretation of dreams – Sigmund Freud

 

Useful websites:

https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology

https://www.simplypsychology.org/

https://www.spring.org.uk/

https://www.bps.org.uk/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb