Our GCSE Psychology curriculum has been designed to offer pupils the chance to demonstrate relevant, comprehensive knowledge and understanding of psychological ideas, processes and procedures, and apply these correctly to both familiar and unfamiliar contexts. Emphasis is placed on using accurate psychological terminology by the referencing and exploration of key vocabulary.
The curriculum is structured to ensure a strong foundation of knowledge is built prior to teaching and embedding the skills required for the 13-mark questions where units from across the course must be compared.
Pupils are encouraged to use a range of mathematical skills relevant to research methods in psychology and critically analyse psychological information, constructing a sustained line of reasoning that leads to substantiated judgements. Opportunities are provided within the curriculum to undertake and evaluate psychological ideas and research methodology, developing well-evidenced conclusions from competing viewpoints and ensuring hands on research.
The course materials provide content that is modern, interesting and accessible, providing excellent progression to further studies in Psychology. The OCR 9-1 specification is closely followed and includes the following topics:
- Criminal Psychology
- Development
- Psychological problems
- Social influence
- Memory
- Sleep and dreaming
Each topic will consist of:
- key concepts
- two theories / explanations
- two research studies
- applications
The following are synoptic topics (this means they are taught throughout the other topics:
- the brain and neuropsychology
- research methods
