People & Community Studies
Knowledge Organisers:
Knowledge Organisers provide the core knowledge from our curriculum that the students are required to know to meet curriculum expectations. They are an excellent resource to use for revision in preparation for assessments or examinations.
The KS4 Subject Specific Knowledge Organisers and the link to the KS3 termly booklet can be found in the "In this section" tab at the top right hand side of this page.
Curriculum Information
The P&C Faculty want students in KS3 to really think for themselves through philosophical dialogue with others. In P&C we strive to get our students to develop and foster an appreciation of the diversity of beliefs and actions in the world and an understanding of world faiths and their part in pluralist societies. P&C also gives students the opportunity to develop their philosophical thinking skills and put scholarly arguments to the test.
Our key focus of the curriculum is to be able to answer the question 'What is the nature and value of human life'? We build on prior knowledge at KS 1 & 2 so that students are able to explain their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals, communities and society in order to explore this question explicitly at the end of KS3. The curriculum allows affords students the opportunity to explore their own beliefs and the beliefs of people around them through Socratic questioning and interwoven themes by building on previous units. For example, in Year 8, the theme of suffering is explored through Dharmic thought in Terms 1 & 2 and in Abrahamic teachings in Terms 3 & 4 allowing the students to explore their own opinions on the cause and explanations of evil and suffering.
The curriculum is ordered in a progressively challenging thematic approach. This ensures increasing difficulty of skill and knowledge through each term and each year. To ensure academic rigour within the subject, we have designed the KS3 RE curriculum to have more opportunities to practise analytical and critical thinking skills. Students will learn, apply and analyse religious and philosophical ideas and work collaboratively to develop their understanding of Students are taught how to structure analytical and evaluative responses to the key ideas via Blooms Taxonomy. The KS3 RE curriculum follows assessment objectives in line with most RE Exam boards to ensure the students are being appropriately challenged and, therefore, prepared to succeed at KS4
KS3 Religion & Beliefs
Psychology
Psychology
Introduction from Alice Gould – Lead Teacher of Psychology
Email: agould@corsham.wilts.sch.uk
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour. A level Psychology is an introduction to many aspects of this and gives an insight into this fascinating and exciting subject. It gives students a vital foundation for understanding themselves and others around them, crucial in future careers involving working with others. Psychology is a subject discipline which is highly valued by universities and employers.
During their two years of study, students cover a number of research methods topic areas, providing them with an excellent overview of conducting research in the field of psychology. This includes experimental, observational and self-report techniques, data collection, statistical analysis, ethics, ethical implications and socially sensitive research.
Alongside this, students study the six major approaches within Psychology (Biological, Cognitive, Social, Behaviourist, Psychodynamic and Humanistic) considering how these have contributed to Psychology over time and its emergence as a scientific discipline. These go on to form a foundation from which we consider wide-ranging applications such as the cause and treatment of mental health disorders including depression, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. We also consider how the approaches can be used to explain gender development and offending behaviour. Students also study additional fascinating core topic areas including attachment, social influence, memory and the major issues and debates within psychology.
The Psychology department is also committed to supporting our students in the development of skills valued by Higher Education. These include accurate, clear and coherent communication of ideas, application of knowledge to real world scenarios as well as developing the critical skills of evaluation, independent thinking and research. Throughout the course we place an emphasis on careers within psychology and opportunities for finding out more about these are provided regularly.
A Level Specification: AQA
Team members:
Alice Gould – Lead Teacher of Psychology
Sue Geoghegan
Interesting links: