Sociology

Faculty: Humanities
Level: A-Level
Examination Board: AQA

Website: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/sociology

Entry requirements:

5 in English Language or Literature and a 5 in a Humanities subject. If Sociology GCSE taken, you must have a minimum Grade 5 which and this requirement surpasses all other Humanities grades.

Students have 4/5 lessons a week

The A-level course involves Education, Family and Households, in addition to this they will be studying what is considered to be criminal in today’s society, what makes someone break the law, discussing whether the criminal justice system is effective, and so on. Students will also study Beliefs in Society, where they will explore different purposes of religion, who is more religious and whether religion is still important in contemporary society. There is a research element to both years of the course.

Paper 1

Paper 2

Paper 3

Education and research methods

Topics in Sociology

Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods

Content

Education
Methods in Context
Theory and Methods

Content

Families and Households
Beliefs in Society

Content

Crime and Deviance
Theory and Methods

Assessment

2 hour written exam
80 marks

33.3% of A-Level

Assessment

2 hour written exam
80 marks

33.3% of A-Level

Assessment

2 hour written exam
80 marks

33.3% of A-Level

Questions

3 compulsory sections

Questions

2 sections each offering a choice of 4 topics. Students answer 1 topic from each section

Questions

2 compulsory sections

Outside the classroom:

Each year students also attend sociology related summer schools in preparation for continuing sociology or related disciplines at university.

Progression Pathways and careers:

Students are able to study GCSE, A-level and then move on to college or university to follow sociology or related courses.

Many sociology graduates work in the public sector in a social or welfare role; others go into the public and private sector. Employers include local and central government, industry, commerce, the NHS, education, charitable, counselling and voluntary organisations. Careers include Law, Journalism, Social Work, Education, Government/Politics, Criminology/Police, Management and Economics