Welcome to the Psychology Department
Our aim is to teach students to explain human behaviour.
We encourage students to be independent learners and challenge young enquiring minds to investigate human behaviour by offering them the opportunity to safely conduct research studies.
Departmental Courses
- GCE Psychology
- GCSE Psychology
Who do I contact for more information?
Mrs N Godden (headofpsychology@poolehigh.poole.sch.uk)
The course includes a wide array of interesting and socially relevant subjects. Assessment comprises of three 2hr written assessment papers at the end of the second year.
PAPER 1 (studied in Year 1) |
PAPER 2 (studied in years 1 & 2) |
PAPER 3 (studied in year 2) |
Social influence Memory Attachment Psychopathology |
Bio-Psychology Approaches to Psychology Research Methods |
Issues and Debates in Psychology 3 Optional units chosen from: Cognitive Development* Relationships Schizophrenia* Aggression Forensic Psychology* * this as we will be using this as a chosen unit. |
Students who are well suited to A-Level Psychology are those who have an interest in human behaviour and how the mind works. Students with good literacy and mathematical skills, who are hard working, motivated, organised and have a resilience to succeed, do very well in Psychology.
The GCSE course develops students descriptive, application and evaluative writing skills, across a range of different human behaviours.
Assessment comprises of two 1hr 30 min written assessment papers at the end of the second year. A selection of short and long answer questions are used to test pupils' ability to recall and apply knowledge in both papers.
There are two key studies for each topic where the pupils must have a solid understanding of the research methods and results. These form part of the content for each topic along with other research studies and theories.
Paper 1 (Studied in Year 10) |
Paper 2 (Studied in Year 11) |
Development |
Social influence |
Memory |
Brain and neuropsychology |
Research methods |
Psychological problems |
Perception |
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Language, thought and communication (Paper 2) |
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Psychology provides excellent job prospects to a wide range of careers, either by studying Psychology further, or training in fields such as Law, Criminology, Forensics, Education, Business and many areas of the Medical profession.