Humanities

GCSE Humanities

Current year 11 2010

During Years 10 and 11 all students follow a course called Humanities. This course is distinct from Geography and History which bear little or no resemblance to Humanities GCSE. The course leads to a full GCSE qualification at the end of Year 11. It is a valuable subject in itself especially in relation to citizenship studies as well as offering a broad liberal curriculum. Additionally it is a good introduction to a range of AS Level subjects such as Sociology and Government and Politics. The course involves the study of a wide variety of units including; Culture and Belief, Conflict and Co - operation all of which are studied in Year 10. Year 10 also sees the completion of the coursework (worth 25% of overall marks). During Year 11 the units studied are; Power and Democracy and, Global Inequality.

GCSE 2010 onward

Humanities GCSE is an option for study at GCSE. Students follow the AQA syllabus which is the successor to the course that all students previously studied at GCSE. The course is divided into three sections.

The subject is assessed in a modular fashion which means that some of the exam is taken at the end of year 10. The remainder of the examination is taken at the end of year 11. The examination taken at the end of year 10 can be retaken during year 11 if the grade awarded needs to be improved. The last part of the examination is the Controlled Assessment which replaces the coursework. This is done partly at home but the final write up is done in school under examination conditions.

During year 10 students study the following units of work:

*Culture and Belief

*Environmental Issues

These units are assessed through an examination sat at the end of year 10.

During year 11 students study the following units of study:

*Power and Democracy / Conflict and Co - operation

*Global Inequality