The Psychology curriculum fits with our whole school aims by providing a challenging A-level curriculum to Year 12 and Year 13 Grange students via the AQA exam board. The teachers within the programme deliver the course with various methods of instruction suited to the sixth form learner, in which will enable the students to gain an excellent understanding of psychology and able to achieve high outcomes at the end of Year 13.
At The Grange School, learning psychology encourages students to become independent thinkers and investigate how our behaviours influence everyday thoughts and how these impact our day to day lives. Students will study a range of different topics which include psychopathology (mental health disorders such as OCD, Phobias and Depression), schizophrenia and its treatments, social influence (how do people encourage others to conform and be obedient to rules and authority).
They will further study the history and underpinnings of psychology including all the fundamental theories required in psychology such as the biological, behaviourist, cognitive and humanistic approaches. Further topics include memory (how do old memories interfere with new, how accurate is eyewitness testimony), attachment (why do we attach to our mothers, why does deprivation and privation do to human behaviour), forensic psychology (is criminal behaviour learnt or inherited, how do we analyse a crime scene from a psychological point of view), biopsychology (what areas of the brain are associated with language comprehension and production), as well as research methods which adds to the scientific and mathematic nature of psychology, and in which students will learn to become independent researchers and carry out research based enquiry.
The course enables students to analyse the world around them, being able to evaluate key research studies, as well as developing their curiosity within the topic and of people around them. The use of debates and discussion is key within our psychology course and students are encouraged to share their enthusiasm of the course through the sharing of opinions and stretching and challenging their learning through active speaking and listening.
Students are supported throughout the course with experts in the field, by using up to date knowledge, as well as regular end of module tests and interventions to increase the students’ grade averages, and expectations of high achievement at the end of the two-year course. Students are taught in a linear manner across the two years, in which they will take three two-hour exams at the end of Year 13.
By completing a course of study in Psychology it enables students to seek further career opportunities in the area such as health psychologist, human resources manager, statistician etc. Psychology provides a well-rounded academically rigorous qualification for future use; it forms a grounded basis for further study at university level in a variety of degrees, as well as for the world of work and their future careers.