Teaching staff:

Miss P. Haigh - CTL of History/Psychology

Miss F. Hand - Teacher of English/Psychology

Why choose this subject?
Psychology is a social science that offers students the opportunity to investigate the motivations behind the human mind.

The first year comprises of two modules, one of which is taken in January the other which is sat in June. The content covers social, developmental, Cognitive, biological and abnormal Psychology. The students will also look at a range of research methods and techniques used to investigate Psychology. Students will be examined on their ability to recall factual information and to evaluate and draw conclusions from this. The second year also comprises of a further two modules. These modules are synoptic and will expect the student to use and build on the information they have learnt in year 1.

Entry requirements: C grade or higher in Maths and English and science at GCSE.

Combine this course with: Law, Media Studies, English Literature, Biology, Chemistry, and Maths

Essential if you go on to:
It will be useful in a wide range of careers as it equips you with the ability to understand people and behaviours as well as developing evaluative and communicative skills which are useful in a range of environments.

Support for your learning

Our aim in Psychology is to enable students to be able to comprehend a wide range of Psychological theory with the ability to critically analyze them. Students develop these skills through a wide range of media promoting students to become independent learners and guiding them away from text book reliance.

There is also a practical element to psychology where students will be expected to plan conduct and analyze their own psychological research. This will enable the students to learn kinesthetically and deepen their understanding of how science plays an important role in Psychology.

Students will be expected to work in small groups to prepare presentations and to conduct investigations but will also be expected to work autonomously on research and essay writing tasks.


To improve their understanding of Psychological concepts and how they play a role in human interaction it is important that the students broaden their reading from their textbook. Students should complete extra reading throughout their course that gives detailed examples of Psychological theory at work in real life.