Sociology is the study of society. In Sociology, we ask questions such as:
- Does racism exist in society? How can we measure this?
- Does sexism exist in society? How can we measure this?
- How has society changed over time?
- How should we explain the inequalities that exist in society?
The skills you learn in Sociology are about focusing on questions with sources of text to refer to, writing essays and thinking logically about evidence. You will learn how to use statistics, evidence and theoretical concepts in essay questions. In Sociology essays, you need to present both sides of a debate to get good marks.
- A minimum of 5 GCSEs, 2 at grade B and 3 at grade C including English
- Please click here to see grades conversions in line with the new grading system.
- It is advisable to have a least one grade B in an essay based subject at GCSE.
- Students are not required to have studied Sociology at GCSE as not many schools offer it. Students that have studied Sociology GCSE will find that the A Level course adds much more depth to the topics covered at GCSE.
What will I study?
- Examination - 100%
- Year One
- Socialisation: how do we learn the norms and values of society?
- Culture: What is “Global culture”? What is “Consumer culture”?
- Class Identity - what social class are we?
- Gender Identity – what creates our gender identity in society?
- Ethnic Identity – what creates our ethnic identity in society?
- Age Identity – what creates our age identity in society?
- Research Methods – how can we evaluate methods?
- Family Change and Diversity e.g.: divorce trends and marriage trends. Why has there been a change in family life in society?
- Year Two
- Globalisation: how do we define this? Has it been a positive or a negative change for society?
- Digital Social Media and how has it changed society eg: what are the benefits of on-line communities? Does “Facebook loneliness” exist? Can we measure levels of racist and sexist “trolling”?
- Changes in education: eg measuring the achievement gap between class, gender and ethnic groups.
- Social inequality in society: adding more depth to work in year one.
- Research methods adding more depth to work in year one.
Where does it lead?
Many sociology students have gone on to study sociology or related degrees such as Criminology, Social Policy and Social Work. We have good contacts with several local Universities and organise trips to see Sociology lectures and attend campus tours.
“I studied Sociology with English Language and Psychology at Cadbury College, achieving AAC. I am now studying a degree in Sociology at the University of Liverpool.”