General Studies

Staffing

• Miss G Gunn (Head of Department)

General Studies is a compulsory subject for AS students and is taken by the great majority of A2 students (unless they continue with their four other subjects at A2.)

General Studies has a number of benefits:

It is interdisciplinary and provides students with a broad based education about a range of current issues from global warming to the influence of the media, and enables them to master a variety of skills including balanced argument, interpretation of data and creative writing.

It enables students to discuss and form opinions. This prepares them for Higher Education and is always good for interviews.

It raises awareness amongst students of what it means to be a good citizen as much of the syllabus relates to moral and ethical issues.

It can be regarded as an ‘insurance ‘subject. Many universities accept it as an A Level. If they drop a grade in another subject, General Studies may help to get them into the University of their choice.

At AS students take 3 papers in the Summer. They are prepared for this by weekly Enrichment sessions where various speakers are invited into school to talk about a diversity of topics from Islam in the 21st century to the importance of Fairtrade products. Students are also given advice about careers and Higher Education from our HE advisor Mr Tad Musiol during these sessions. Furthermore Enrichment provides an opportunity for students to express their opinions on controversial issues in our Question Time Debates.

At A2 students receive one timetabled lesson of General Studies per week. They sit one exam in the January of Year 13 and the final units in the following Summer. We follow AQA Specifcation B.

At A2 students are encouraged to prepare power point presentations as a means of tackling ‘difficult’ topics in the syllabus that they might be confronted with in the exam. The following was put together by two Year 13 students who left in 2006.