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Welcome to �St. Bede’s Catholic College

POST 16 VIRTUAL OPEN EVENT for Yr 11.

Psychology A Level

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Welcome to Psychology A Level!

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Psychology is...

The scientific study of people, behaviour and the mind
Scientific and rigorous
A broad subject with many different areas
Always changing
Fascinating and worthwhile!

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Course content & exam structure�3 exam papers�2hrs each�NO coursework�The following topics are taught in year 12:�

Paper 1

Attachments
Memory
Social Influence
Psychopathology- phobias, OCD and Depression

Exam : June 026
33.3%

Paper 2

Approaches
Bio-Psychology
Research Methods & Ethics

Exam : June 026
33.3%

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Year 1:Attachments

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Brain Psychology

Neuroscience : Some recent and interesting developments

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Plastic brain:

Brains never stop changing

Scientific wisdom once held that once you hit adulthood, your brain lost all ability to form new neural connections. This ability, called plasticity, was thought to be confined to infancy and childhood.
Wrong.
Research in dementia patients shows that brain training and dancing, can help open up neural pathways in the brain. Research on meditation showed that intense mental training can change both the structure and function of the brain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_MGSlfyISc

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Brain Scans Can Reveal Your Decisions 7 Seconds Before You “Decide”�

In a kind of spooky experiment, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences reveal that our decisions are made seconds before we become aware of them.
In the study, participants could freely decide if they wanted to press a button with their right or left hand, but had to say the exact time in seconds when they made the decision

The Results

By monitoring the micro patterns of activity in the frontal cortex, the researchers could predict which hand the participant would choose 7 SECONDS before the participant was aware of the decision.
“Your decisions are strongly prepared by brain activity. By the time consciousness kicks in, most of the work has already been done,” said study co-author John-Dylan Haynes, a Max Planck Institute neuroscientist

Brain biology or Free will???

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Paper 3: Year 13 A Level Topics

Issues and Debates
Relationships
Aggression
Schizophrenia
Methods & Inferential Statistics

Exam : June 2026
33.3%

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What Skills / Strengths should I have?�

Good Communication Skills – to enjoy expressing yourself verbally and in writing. There are essays on all papers

Maths component – to carry on to A Level the Maths component makes up 10% of the exam so you need to consider this.

Science grades – to continue to A Level you need to be competent at science and preferably have a 6 in Biology or one 6 in your Double Science

Interest!

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Personal qualities�Is Psychology for me?

I must enjoy learning about Human Behaviour – “What makes us tick”?
Because of the sensitive nature of some of the material students are expected to have a mature and considerate approach to the issues under study.
To act without prejudice and be prepared to keep an open, yet critical mind
Hard working and good attitude

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Entry requirements:

5s + in both English GCSEs
4+ in Maths GCSE
5s + in All sciences or
5/6 in additional
6 in Biology

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Who teaches the course?

Ms Davies is subject leader for A Level Psychology .
Ms Tufton teaches A Level and GCSE
Both teachers are very experienced and examiners

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Wide ranging career options for A Level psychologists:�

University: Most degree courses as an A Level
Specifically useful for careers in : Clinical & child Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Business psychology, Marketing/advertising, Educational psychology, Therapy, Law & Criminology , Nursing, various Medical therapies & medicine , Education, policing, Social work, Probation work, working with victims of crime or abuse etc