Sociology - A Level

Sociology is a broad ranging subject that attempts to explain human behaviour, exploring the extent to which individuals’ life chances are shaped by their wealth, gender and ethnicity. Along the way students will find out some extremely interesting facts about modern Britain and the wider world; they will learn that our society is full of hidden injustices and encounter some very radical views on topical social issues.

Modules include Families and Households, Education, Global Development and Crime and Deviance.

The study of Research Methods also runs throughout the course.

Students will enjoy Sociology if they have a genuine interest in finding out how society works, the causes of social problems and their potential solutions.

The course will help to develop a growing sense of social responsibility with an emphasis on how wider society and world issues influence our relationships with others.

Students should enjoy sharing ideas and interacting with others and have a high standard of written communication. They should also have the ability to both think and work independently.

A Level Sociology will consist of eight elements taught over two academic years:

• Families and Households 
• Research Methods  Education 
• Research Methods in the context of Education 
• Education with Theory and Methods 
• Beliefs in Society 
• Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods

A Level Sociology will be assessed by three exam papers, all at the end of the second academic year incorporating the two years of study:

• Paper 1: Education with Theory and Methods (2 hour written exam, 80 marks, 33.3% of A Level) 
• Paper 2: Topics in Sociology – Families and Households and Beliefs in Society (2 hour written exam, 80 marks, 33.3% of A Level) 
• Paper 3: Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods (2 hour written exam, 80 marks, 33.3% of A Level)

The exam board for Sociology is AQA.

Assessment will be by three exam papers (each 2 hours in length) at the end of the second academic year.

Course Specific Trips & Visits

Sociology students have the opportunity to take part in a variety of course related trips. In the last couple of years, these have included:

• A visit to the Newbridge Conference on Crime and Deviance at which ex-offenders and criminal justice professionals speak about their experiences of crime
• A visit to the annual Women of the World Conference, which students have the chance to engage with some of the world’s leading feminist thinkers
• Humanities trip to the USA (New York and Washington DC) in October 2019

Sociology is a well respected and valued subject by employers, hence Sociology graduates are highly sought after by many professions. Sociology prepares students especially well for careers in Business and Management, the Voluntary and Charitable sectors, Teaching, Social Work, The Police Force, Social Research and International Development, as well as other professions that require the ability to analyse and synthesise, to write with purpose and to argue and present a case well.

Students who have an initial interest in doing a degree in the Social Sciences may want to consider Sociology’s cognate disciplines: Criminology, International Development, Anthropology and Social Policy.

Throughout the course we try to answer questions such as:

• How has the family changed?
• What leads people to commit crimes?
• Is religion still important today?
• What is mental illness?

Studying Sociology also involves looking at human action from a range of different perspectives and students are encouraged to see the world from many different angles. Students are encouraged to work together and use evidence to assess which point of view is the most accurate.

Students will need a satisfactory school reference and also meet the following minimum GCSE requirement if relevant:

• If Grade 4 in English Language then History or Enlgish Literacture at Grade 5 would be needed.