Psychology is offered for study at Advanced Level only. This means potential students need to have achieved at least a grade ‘6’ in GCSE Mathematics and English. A similar grade in GCSE Science subjects will support achieving a good final grade. Psychology is a science. Students need - at the very least - a foundation of good numeracy and literacy. This because they will be developing a range of deep skills over the two year course - from understanding and thinking critically about scientific theories, to reading and collating written sources, through to analysing and interpreting statistical data. Students learn how to assemble all this into a coherent written argument - in exam conditions. The first year of the course covers the main schools of thought in the subject collectively called Approaches. They range from the focus on observable phenomena of Behaviourism to the creator of Psychoanalysis, Freud. Students apply this understanding to specific areas including Social Influence, Memory, and Attachment (how babies form relationships with their caregivers). In the second year, students study three areas in-depth: Relationships, Stress and Aggression. They do this by reading, examining, and evaluating the current research. There is also a strong biological element in the course with the fundamentals of Biopsychology added to the approaches in this year. Advanced Level Psychology also develops a good understanding of research methods including experimental design and writing a research study. Students have a practical week where they design, complete and write up an experiment. From this, pupils develop their ability with statistical and scientific interpretation. Overall, Advanced Level Psychology not only provides a good basis for further study in the subject, but also effective analytical and evaluative skills valued in a range of careers from Sports Psychology to Market Research or Business Analysis.