Exam Board – Edexcel

Qualification – A Level

Entry requirements – Grade 5 in English, grade 5 in maths or science

Course specification

Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and experience. The A Level course covers a wide range of approaches to human behaviour in psychology, and investigates behaviours such as addiction, learning, memory, attention, mental health disorders and attachment.

Students are encouraged, through a range of teaching techniques, to develop responsibility for their own learning.

In lessons, you will encounter discussions, debates, presentations, videos, lectures, research and experiments to create a varied and interesting learning environment.

“You want to do extended reading after a lesson because you’re so fascinated.”

– Student

There will be three two-hour exams at the end of the two year course that are all equally weighted:

  • introductory topics in psychology (attachment, memory, social influence and psychopathology)
  • psychology in context (approaches, biopsychology and research methods)
  • issues and options in psychology (issues and debates, relationships, schizophrenia and addiction)

What doors will this open up for me?

An A Level in psychology is taken as seriously as an A Level in other subjects when applying to universities. It is also considered a science subject by a number of top universities. This is a popular course which students enjoy but it is also a serious subject.

Employers like students with a qualification in psychology because it demonstrates a high level of analytical thinking along with a good knowledge of people skills.

Psychology graduates are valued for their strong communication skills. It is a subject which is useful in just about all fields of work so by choosing to study psychology you do not limit your future options, but can actually broaden them. Potential careers and areas of employment include teaching; police; therapy; HR; social services; marketing and support work, to name a few.

Learning journey

Our learning journeys can be used to understand each subject in more detail.

Psychology