Sociology

Who makes the news ?

What is education for?

Why do people break the law?

Do men dominate society?

Why do some children fail at school?

How does the media influence us?

What?

Sociology gives you a unique opportunity to explore a subject you have not studied in the lower school.

In Year 12 you will study two main topics.
Mass Media - Here you will investigate who makes the news, and what purpose they have. Are we simply fed what the rich and powerful want us to see and hear? Also, you will study if and how the media stereotypes women and ethnic minorities.

Education - Who decides what you are going to learn and why do they decide it ? You will study how school prepares people for adult life, why some pupils do better than others, and why teachers say the things they do.

How?

The Sociology Department is committed to exciting and challenging teaching and learning styles, which prepare students for both higher education and employment.

Why?

This is NOT a soft option. Sociology is a growing and well respected subject which offers the opportunity to develop the prized skills of evaluation and analysis. Many of our students go on to study the subject further at University.

During your studies in the Sociology Department you will have the opportunity to attend conferences and lecture days at various different locations. Visits offered include conferences in London with speakers of national repute, and study days at University campuses run by the exam board. In the past twelve months students have heard lectures and debates featuring speakers such as Tariq Ali, Martin Sixsmith, Polly Toynbee and Imran Khan, the solicitor for the family of Stephen Lawrence.

The department has excellent external links with Teesside University offering the opportunity for study days and the chance to review recent sociological works.

Furthermore, one of the AQA principal AS sociology examiners is a personal friend of the department.

Entry Policy

AS Level

Mass Media unit (17.5% of ‘A’ level)
Education unit (17.5% of ‘A’ level)

These units will be taken in the summer of year 12

Theory & Methods unit (15% of ‘A’ level)

This unit may be taken either in the summer of year 12 or in the January of year 13 - this decision is for the student to make, after consultation with their teacher.

A2 Level

Coursework unit (15% of ‘A’ level)
World Sociology unit (15% of ‘A’ level)
Crime & Deviance Unit (20% of ‘A’ level)

All of these units must be taken in the summer of year 13.

Entry for AS/A2 modules will be dependent upon regular attendance, a commitment to the subject, and successful performance in school based assessments. The student must demonstrate that s/he is capable of fulfilling their realistic potential in that module. If this is not the case, the Head of Department may not enter the student for that module in that examination sitting. Students will be offered the opportunity to take that module at a later date. Should the student insist on taking the module in that sitting, against the advice offered, then it will be as a private candidate.