General Studies
As a student on an Advanced Level programme at the Sixth Form College you will also be entered for the General Studies examinations. This is a subject which is skills centred and draws from the experience and knowledge that you are acquiring from all aspects of your life both inside and outside College.
WHY DO WE DO IT?
In school you will be studying eight or more subjects and have probably noticed that some topics feature in more than one of these. As you move to Advanced Level you will study fewer subjects. However it is important to maintain an interest and links beyond your specialist subjects.
Employers and university admissions officers are keen to recruit intelligent people who are able to discuss and analyse ideas, which they may not have learned in the classroom, from a variety of viewpoints. General Studies helps you develop these skills and demonstrate that you have a wider breadth and depth of knowledge than your chosen subjects alone.
A level General Studies is seen as an indicator of young people developing some essential life skills e.g. being able to understand material given to them, draw conclusions from it and write up a well reasoned report based on their findings.
HOW WILL IT HELP ME?
Employers often accept it as part of their required entry qualifications. Many universities include it as part of the offer they make – last year seven of the top ten most popular universities that our students went to included General Studies in some or all of their offers. It also helps in preparing for admissions tests which students for competitive courses often have to sit. Students use General Studies to support their application for additional financial support (e.g. bursaries) through university.
HOW IS THE COURSE ASSESSED?
General Studies will ask you questions looking at the impact on today’s society of a range of subjects from the arts, science and technology.
There are two AS units which are taken by all students in the first year:
· Culture and Society - multiple choice and source analysis questions
· Science and Society - multiple choice and source analysis questions
A further two A2 units are sat in the second year:
· Culture and Society - two essays and source analysis questions
· Science and Society - questions on pre-release case study and one essay
The exams will focus on testing your comprehension and interpretation of data skills and your ability to respond in essay form.
WILL IT APPEAR ON MY TIMETABLE?
Not like your other subjects. Students build up the knowledge and understanding they need through their whole academic programme, by listening to and questioning visiting speakers, by joining societies, reading a newspaper and watching the news. Your Personal Tutor will also focus on General Studies in some tutorials.
View the General Studies page on the AQA Website.
