SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING

Our Sixth Form Open Evening takes place on Wednesday 26th November 2025.  

Please arrive from 6pm, the Headteacher's talk for external students will take place at 6.15pm and then subject areas will be open for you to visit to discuss the A Levels of your choice.

Last admittance is 7.30pm.

Internal families - we will be emailing you directly with your timings for the Open Evening.

Applications will open on 27th November.

We look forward to seeing you.

Sociology

Curriculum Intent

To build a world which is tolerant, equal and just we must learn to identify intolerance, inequality and injustice, then set to the work of making them right. The purpose of Sociology  is to develop each student’s understanding of the social and cultural environments which humans have built and thereby arm them with the skills to thrive within, to put right and to improve upon those environments. GCSE Sociology students will focus on social issues within the UK, equipping themselves for positions of responsibility and consequence within Britain. In the A Level course they will broaden this and prepare themselves with the knowledge and skills to work with global audiences, organisations, partners and clients.

By introducing students to core social issues and debates we develop their knowledge of our society and foster skills of analysis, consideration and judgement making required to succeed in a diverse and interconnected global world. Students of the social sciences become well trained in the strengths and the intricate limitations of applying scientific and statistical approaches to many levels of organisational decision-making. We also nurture, and then hone the ability of students to put forward their arguments in discussion, but most importantly in formalised and evidenced academic essays.

Sociology is offered as:

  • GCSE Sociology in Years 10 & 11
  • A Level Sociology in Years 12 & 13

KS4

KS5

Key Stage 4 Sociology

Curriculum Overview

Students at Key Stage 4 have two lessons a week studying the AQA GCSE Sociology qualification

 Term 1Term 2Term 3Term 4Term 5Term 6
Year 10The Sociology of EducationThe Sociology of EducationResearch Methods in Social ScienceFamily in the UKFamily in the UKApplied Research Methods
Year 11Crime and DevianceCrime and DevianceInequality and Social StratificationInequality and Social StratificationRevision Resources/ Exam Practice

 

Year 10

Initially students will learn the core principles of the Sociological approach and the three main theoretical schools used to understand social phenomena. They will then explore the institution of education, questioning its overall purpose, how well it achieves its goals, how genders, social classes and ethnicities experience it differently and debate whether the current UK educations system is fit for purpose. Each section of this will be constantly linked back to the core principles, the theoretical schools and assessed through regular and tailored examination style questions.

In the third term students will learn about Sociology’s primary methods for collecting data, as well as how data is dissected, assessed and evaluated. Each of these methods will be learnt through their application to the education setting covered in the first two terms and assessed using exam style questions.

For the fourth and fifth term, students investigate how the institution of the British family has changed, including the liberation of women, ethnic diversification, new laws, shifting social expectations, the rise in divorces and the fall of marriage. Similarly, links will be made back to the core principles, the theoretical schools and assessment carried out through regular examination style questions.

In the final term students will recover research methods, now applying them to the topic of families. They will then consolidate their knowledge and revise for the end of Year Mock examinations. In the run up to these mocks, students will be guided on how to create and use revision resources for the first half of the GCSE course.

Year 11

For the first two terms of the second-year student will learn how the criminal justice system operates in the UK, some of the causes of crime and how they are policed and punished including their differences for genders, classes and ethnicities. They will apply the core principles of Sociology and the main theoretical approaches to these topics and debate whether the criminal justice systems are working well and how they can be improved. The application of research methods and the use of examination style assessment is integrated into the teaching of this unit as it is delivered.

For the third and fourth terms of the year students will move on to their final unit. This unit is the broader and more encompassing subject of social stratification, particularly social class and how individual’s life chances differ between genders, socio-economic groups, ethnicities and regions. They will then address poverty, welfare and the mechanisms of political power from a largely theoretical standpoint, integrating the learning from the previous units to create a strong overview of the structure of contemporary British Society.

The final term of Year 11 is spent creating revision resources for the latter two units. Students will practice a range of examination questions and will fine tune their understanding with the help of their specialist class teacher.

Assessment at GCSE

  • Paper 1: 50% of qualification. 1 hour and 45 minute examination made up of two topics, Families and Education. There are a series of short answer questions and two essay questions on each topic. Research Methods and Theory questions are integrated into each unit.
  • Paper 2: 50% of qualification. 1 hour and 45 minute examination made up of two topics, Crime and Social Stratification. There are a series of short answer questions and two essay questions on each topic. Again, Research Methods and Theory questions are integrated into each unit.

Further Reading/Resources

Class Textbook:

  • AQA GCSE (9-1) Sociology, Updated Edition Paperback, (2019), David Brown.
    • ISBN13; 978-1510470286

Examination Preparation Materials:

  • AQA GCSE 9-1 Sociology Workbook (Collins GCSE 9-1 Revision), (2018), Collins GCSE.
    • ISBN13; 978-0008227456
  • Grade 9-1 GCSE Sociology AQA All-in-One Complete Revision and Practice (with free flashcard download) (Collins GCSE 9-1 Revision) Paperback, (2017), Collins GCSE.
    • ISBN13; 978-0008227456

Wider Reading Materials:

  • Essential Concepts in Sociology Paperback – 24 Mar, (2017), A. Giddens, P. Sutton.
    • ISBN13; 978-1509516674
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning Hardcover – 16 April 2020, (2020), J. Reynolds, I. Kendi.
    • ISBN13; 978-0316453691
  • Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (and other lies): Amazing women on what the F-word means to them, (2018), S. Curtis.
    • ISBN13; 978-0241357187

Key Stage 5 Sociology A Level

(AQA - A Level)

Curriculum Overview

Paper 1: Education with Theory and Methods 

  • Education 

Students are expected to be familiar with sociological explanations of the following content: 

  • the role and functions of the education system, including its relationship to the economy and to class structure 
  • differential educational achievement of social groups by social class, gender and ethnicity in contemporary society 
  • relationships and processes within schools, with particular reference to teacher/pupil relationships, pupil identities and subcultures, the hidden curriculum, and the organisation of teaching and learning 
  • the significance of educational policies, including policies of selection, marketisation and privatisation, and policies to achieve greater equality of opportunity or outcome, for an understanding of the structure, role, impact and experience of and access to education; the impact of globalisation on educational policy. 
  • Theory and Methods 

Students must be able to apply sociological research methods to the study of education. 

Students must examine the following areas: 

  • quantitative and qualitative methods of research; research design 
  • sources of data, including questionnaires, interviews, participant and non-participant observation, experiments, documents and official statistics 
  • the distinction between primary and secondary data, and between quantitative and qualitative data 
  • the relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of ‘social facts’ 
  • the theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of research 
  • consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories 
  • the concepts of modernity and post-modernity in relation to sociological theory 
  • the nature of science and the extent to which Sociology can be regarded as scientific 
  • the relationship between theory and methods 
  • debates about subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom 
  • the relationship between Sociology and social policy. 

 

Paper 2: Topics in Sociology (2 optional units, one of which TBC, the other The Media) 

The Media: Students are expected to be familiar with sociological explanations of the following content: 

  • the new media and their significance for an understanding of the role of the media in contemporary society 
  • the relationship between ownership and control of the media 
  • the media, globalisation and popular culture 
  • the processes of selection and presentation of the content of the news 
  • media representations of age, social class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability 
  • the relationship between the media, their content and presentation, and audiences. 

 

Paper 3: Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods 

Crime and Deviance 

Students are expected to be familiar with sociological explanations of the following content: 

  • crime, deviance, social order and social control 
  • the social distribution of crime and deviance by ethnicity, gender and social class, including recent patterns and trends in crime 
  • globalisation and crime in contemporary society; the media and crime; green crime; human rights and state crimes 
  • crime control, surveillance, prevention and punishment, victims, and the role of the criminal justice system and other agencies. 

Theory and Methods 

  • As per Paper 1 

 

Term 1 

Term 2 

Term 3 

Term 4 

Term 5 

Term 6 

Year 12 

What is Sociology, Education, Thoeries & Research Methods 

Education, Theories & Research Methods 

Education, Theories & Research Methods 

Optional Units (Media + Families or Culture) 

Optional Units (Media + Families or Culture) 

Optional Units (Media + Families or Culture) 

Year 13 

Crime & Research Methods 

Crime & Research Methods 

Crime & Research Methods 

Revision 

Revision 

Exams 

Assessment

Examination only 

3 x 2hr written examinations each wroth 33.33% of the A-Level course 

Complementary Subjects

PsychologyHistoryEPQBusinessPoliticsReligious Studies

 

British Values:

British Values in Anthropology and Sociology

Democracy:

  • GCSE: In Unit 4 Social Stratification, we deal directly with democracy in the UK, problems with democracy, alternatives (only in brief) and power groups within a democratic system.
  • IB: Anthropology; in the Unit the Language of Anthropology, we look at political power in different societies; this includes democracy in the UK.

Rule of law:

  • GCSE: In Unit 3 Crime and Deviance, we deal directly with law and order, including how we define criminality, the justice system, causes of criminality and debates over the specific legal boundaries that exist in the UK.
  • A level: In Unit 3 Crime and Deviance we deal directly with law and order, including how we define criminality, the justice system, causes of criminality and debates over the specific legal boundaries that exist in the UK. We just do it to far more depth at A level including a Theoretical dissection of causes and solutions.
  • IB: Anthropology; in the Unit the Language of Anthropology, we look at law in different societies; this includes law in the UK.

Individual Liberty:

  • GCSE: In The Introduction to Sociology, and throughout the course we debate Structure vs Agency. These ideas are a fundamental part of the course and question the level of Liberty that we experience/ should experience as UK citizens.
  • A level: Throughout the course we debate Structure vs Agency. These ideas are a fundamental part of the course and question the level of Liberty that we experience/ should experience as UK citizens.
  • IB: Anthropology; Throughout the course we debate Structure vs Agency. These ideas are a fundamental part of the course and question the level of Liberty that we experience/ should experience as UK citizens.

Mutual respect:

  • GCSE: In all four Units, we deal directly with diversity in the UK. These topics require a direct and sensitive investigation of issues of diversity, promotion of a shared understanding, respect for each other’s views and a constructive debate about unity and collaboration in a Multicultural society.
  • A level: See GCSE. We also go into far more depth at A level including a Theoretical dissection of causes and solutions.
  • IB: Anthropology; this is effectively the central tenant of Anthropology. It forms a core part of our methodology for the entire course. We debate it directly in the Ethics Unit covered on the Higher-level course as well.

Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs:

  • A level Sociology; Unit 3 Beliefs In Society deals directly with this topic. We study religious tolerance and cosmopolitanism within Western Multicultural society. We also investigate religious intolerance and fundamentalism, as well as secular fundamentalism and intolerance.
  • IB: Anthropology; this is effectively the central tenant of Anthropology. It forms a core part of our methodology for the entire course. We debate it directly in the Ethics Unit covered on the Higher-level course as well.