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General Studies

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Entry Requirements

All advanced students will follow a General Studies short course. Entrance to the AS exam will be as a result of being successful in the trial examination. Entrance to A2 will for students with an E or better in the AS exam 

About the Subject

Both AS and A2 General Studies encourage students to develop a greater awareness of human knowledge, understanding and behaviour and are studied alongside citizenship themes.

The course integrates knowledge from a range of disciplines in order to develop a synoptic view of how they relate to one another and how each may contribute to the understanding of issues being studied.

Contemporary issues are explored from political, ethical and moral perspectives. Students develop an appreciation that there are various ways of interpreting different types of information. Assessment of the relative merits of evidence takes place in order to understand such concepts as objectivity, neutrality and bias.

Students are encouraged to think critically, logically and constructively about significant problems and develop a critical awareness and understanding of contemporary issues. An awareness of their historical context also takes place in order to enhance the skills of evaluation. 

General Information

Suitable Subject Combinations:

General Studies is offered through the enrichment programme and combines successfully with a wide variety of advanced level courses from a range of disciplines.

Course Content:

There are a number of issues which are explored at both As and A2 level. These include:

  • Culture and Society – beliefs, values and moral reasoning; media communication; creativity and innovation
  • Science and Society – scientific objectivity and the nature of progress; social and economic trends and constraints

Assessment

AS Unit 1: Culture and Society (90 minute examination)

  • Comprehension – 30 multiple choice questions based on an article linked to culture and society
  • Three ‘read and respond’ questions based on a collection of short extracts

AS Unit 2: Science and Society (90 minute examination)

  • Comprehension - 30 multiple choice questions based on an article linked to science and society
  • An essay linked to scientific and social issues

A2 Unit 3: Culture and Society (120 minute examination)

  • Two compulsory structured writing questions
  • A culture essay
  • A society essay

AS Unit 4: Science and Society (120 minute examination)

  • Case study ( using pre release material)
  • An science and society essay 

What Next?

AS and A2 General Studies raise students’ knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues and enhance and develop additional skills. University entrance can be supported by a General Studies AS or A2 qualification and employers also welcome the knowledge and skills it engenders