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A-Level

Psychology

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Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain and behaviour, allowing us to analyse and explain the link between them in understanding human behaviour. It’s about recognising what makes people tick and how these factors can help us address many of the problems and issues in society today. For example, are criminals born or made? And what impact would this have on rehabilitation?

Exam Board

Edexcel

Entry Requirements

GCSE grade 4 in Maths, grade 5-5 in Combined Science or a grade 5 in Biology and a GCSE grade 5 in English Language or English Literature.

Any student entering the course who has achieved a grade 4 or 5 in Maths will be required to study the Core Maths programme in Year 12. If you achieve a grade 6 or above, you will not be required to study Core Maths.

Assessment

  • 100% Exams
About this course FAQs An introduction to Psychology Pathways Information Alumni

What is Psychology?

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain and behaviour, allowing us to analyse and explain the link between them in understanding human behaviour. It is a combination of biological science, cognitive science and social science. Psychologists research brain structure and function, mental processes, such as memory, thinking and reasoning, and also social factors such as how other people influence us. We aim to answer questions such as, Is aggression a product or biology or environment? What causes a phobia to develop?, Why do we follow a crowd, when we know we shouldn’t?

 

What will I study?

The course will introduce you to the theories and methods in psychology and offer you the opportunity to look at some of the explanations psychologists use to understand human behaviour and experiences and how theory and research has helped shape todays society.

In the first year you will study the foundations of psychology. These are disciplines in which psychologists approach the investigation of human behaviour These include social psychology, cognitive psychology and biological psychology. You will also conduct your own psychological investigations, where you will have a chance design and implement research to verify theories you have studied.

In the second year, we move onto the applied psychology unit and look at criminal and clinical psychology and how theoretical knowledge has benefited society. In the criminal topic you will look at the practical tools’ psychologists have developed to help police obtain suspects in criminal investigations as well as causes of crime and rehabilitations. Within the clinical topic you will explore diagnosis and treatment of specific disorders, such a schizophrenia, exploring possible causes and effective treatments.

The final area considers how psychology conducts research on humans and animals and the wider impact psychology has in society, such as the ethical issues faced by psychologists when studying sensitive human behaviour or how manipulating human behaviour can be used for negative social control.

 

Assessment

Psychology is 100% exam based. The exams are at the end of the two year course, these are In the form of 3 two hour exams.

 

Trips, visits and enrichments:

Trips vary each year but examples of previous trips include:

  • The Natural History Museum, the Freud Museum and visiting Auschwitz
  • Visits to universities to experience hands on Psychology, taking part in research
  • Conferences such as the ‘Behind Bars’ company and Brain days!
  • Disneyland

As well as trips, Psychology offers enrichments such as:

  • Exploring Psychology beyond the specification
  • Psychology in action
  • Where can Psychology take me, exploring careers
  • A deeper insight into clinical Psychology

 

What can it lead to?

Psychology A Level is a very useful basis for a Psychology degree, which could lead to further study in clinical, forensic, educational and occupational psychology. Many, universities will accept A-level Psychology as a second science subject in order to study Medicine at degree level.

The knowledge and understanding gained from taking psychology as an A-level is highly sought after by employers across a wide range of industries, as are the transferable skills such as critical thinking, analysis and decision making. Often Psychology will help provide wider skills needed for careers within in business, management, teaching, research, social work, medical and healthcare and media and advertising.

FAQs

What support will I get on the course?
In Psychology, we use comprehensive handouts and resources, and these are accessible to students via the college platform Moodle. Typically, students will use their own teachers’ resources, but also have access to tother teacher resources too. Also, there are arrange of frequent and regular workshops to help support students develop skills as Psychology is a new subject! Some of these workshops include, drop-in feedback sessions, where student can sit with a teacher as their work is marked to get 1 to 1 support.

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Apply for a place

If you wish to apply for a place at King Ed’s for September 2025, use this link to access our application portal. We look forward to hearing from you.

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