Why Choose Psychology?

What will you learn?
Psychology aims to explain peoples’ behaviour. The syllabus covers an unusually wide variety of subject areas, from biochemistry of the brain, Social influences, Forensics to some long established philosophical ideas such as free will. Consequently, students will be encouraged to develop a range of approaches to learning. Sometimes a scientific approach might be best, but psychological questions are complex and require students to consider explanations stemming from a Biological, humanistic, cognitive, behavioural and/or psychodynamic approach.

Why study Psychology at Ashmole Sixth Form?
Psychology lessons are extremely active often-allowing students to work in groups and participate in debates. Students enrolled on the course have full access to online resources including kerboodle. The school library provided a catalogue of free Psychology articles covering course content, current affairs and exam techniques. This allows students to enhance their learning through wider reading.

Psychology seminar sessions allow students to explore the role of Psychology in criminal cases. Students can take a lead role in investigating how eyewitness testimony, profiling and social influences impact a guilty verdict.

Which subjects go well with Psychology?
Most subjects go well with Psychology however the following subjects are particularly useful; Biology, Sociology, English Literature and Maths.

Where it will lead you?
Psychology is useful for any job that requires lots of interaction or an understanding of human behaviour and development.

People with skills in psychology are sought after in business, management, teaching, research, social work and especially in health care.

There are a vast number of employment opportunities in Psychology. Areas in which Psychology can be useful are; Sports, Education, clinical and counselling, forensics and neuropsychology.
 

For more information on subject content structure please click here for the Sixth Form Information Booklet.

For admissions criteria for each subject please click here for the Sixth Form Prospectus

 

Subject Ambassadors

 

"The focus of Psychology is to understand human behaviour. There are so many reasons to pick Psychology. The reason why I chose Psychology as an A level is it answers many questions I had in regards to the human mind and why humans behave the way they do.  I would like to pursue a career in this field so Psychology was an obvious choice for me.

We have already learnt about memory, social influences and psychopathology. The course has taught me a wide range of skill sets that are applicable to other subjects, for example, analysing data is important in both Biology and Psychology. Methods taught to develop this skill can be transferred between subjects.

I look forward to learning new content in Year 13 to further my knowledge and to prepare me for my degree in Psychology."

"My passion for Psychology stems from the fact that I can usually relate concepts of Psychology to myself. I aspire to study medicine at university. I am studying Biology and Chemistry with Psychology. Some Psychology topics have furthered my knowledge and helped with my understanding in Biology.

There is a lot of emphasis on taking responsibility for enhancing our subject knowledge outside of the classroom. Online resources allow us to complete flipped learning tasks well. Seminar sessions allow use to learn about psychology beyond the specification.

As an ambassador, I help out with events afterschool such as sixth form evening or secondary transfer. I also have the ability to pitch ideas to the department to make the subject better."

To hear from our former students click here