Academic/Subject Departments

General Studies

All Year 10 students take General Studies for half a year as part of their wider educational development. They are involved in a range of group work, research, presentational situations and debate issues relating to

• How Parliamentary Democracy works within the UK
• How laws are made
• Who has the right to vote
• Globalisation

Year 11 students continue with General studies to help support and broaden their education, especially examining current news items which may occur which could have an impact upon their lives now and in the future. Their curriculum includes

• Exploring and deepening their understanding about situations related to the United Nations
• Reviewing the daily newspapers
• Debating the issue of Third World Debt
• Researching topics with an African theme
• Understanding the impacts that Globalisation may have on their lives

Year 12 students, as part of their enrichment course, can choose to study a leadership module in “Political and Global Issues” where they

• Review leadership from a range of World Political leaders
• Study the political leadership in the UK
• Gain an understanding of the USA leadership and influence
• Investigate issues of a current challenging situation for leaders

Year 13 may take an AS-level in General Studies which offers students the chance to gain a broader picture of the world and to connect ideas and information from different disciplines. It is based on investigation into the three key areas of the contemporary world: culture, science and society. The themes are presented as questions and issues which encourage students to debate, enquire and test assumptions.