Psychology is well suited to pupils who are inquisitive and enjoy thinking about and researching questions such as ‘what is abnormal behaviour?’ ‘How is our behaviour influenced by those around us?’ And ‘how do our early attachments affect the relationships we form in later life?’
The Psychology department, following the AQA specification, encourage pupils to develop a thorough understanding of the core psychological principles and how these can be applied to everyday situations. The subject promotes curiosity and encourages pupils to apply their knowledge to real life and personal examples, endorsing a better understanding of many social, scientific and contemporary issues involved in our daily lives. Due to the scientific nature of the subject, Psychology enhances skills of analysis and critical thinking as well as developing literacy and communication skills.
As Psychology is an experimental discipline and pupils have a mixture of practical-based and theory-based lessons. The majority of lessons involve class discussions about aspects of psychological research and theories. In addition, pupils carry out their own research project in their first year, on a topic of their choosing.
Due to the cross-curricular nature of Psychology with strong links to Biology, the humanities subjects, Mathematics and Physical Education, pupils with an A Level in this subject have gone on to study a wide variety of different courses at university. This makes Psychology A Level an excellent pairing for both Science and the humanities subjects. If chosen at degree level it can lead onto a whole host of career options including medicine, law, advertising, teaching and police work, as well as specialising in specific areas such as Forensic, Educational, Clinical or Sport Psychology.