This is a degree with people as its focus – how they think and act and what affects the decisions they make. It is a fascinating subject with endless variety and offering richly rewarding study that will have much practical value throughout your life.

Designed to lead toward careers in education, human resources, social work, health, and crime prevention, it is a degree that appeals to people driven by a social purpose. Course modules align closely with those occupations, increasing knowledge of the client groups that you are likely to be working with in your career such as, young people, adults suffering from mental and physical health issues and the world of policing and crime.

This degree will give you the theoretical knowledge and skills to succeed in a range of professions or lead to related postgraduate study. You will also acquire skills that are key to successful team working, leadership roles, motivating others and conflict resolution.

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Over two years, the course looks at four main areas. The first two deal with the nature of UK governance, the construction of the state, and the interaction between these institutions and the political traditions of Britain. As you progress through the course you can look forward to relating this knowledge to other political systems around the world including the United States. Finally, you will be given the opportunity to study the ‘isms of the world including liberalism, socialism, conservatism and Nationalism.

This course is aimed at anyone who is looking to work in and/or study governance, political systems and the ideas that drive our world.

Politics links incredibly well with subjects such as history, law, sociology and economics because the learning in one supports achievement in the other. For example, history and geography all require an understanding of political ideas, and likewise, it is easier to grasp economic concepts when you understand the political ideas/actions that impact them.

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You will need to have a keen interest in the business world, both in its theories and its practices.

Specific modules include:
– What is business?
– Decision-making to improve financial performance
– Choosing strategic direction
– Managing strategic change

You will use non-quantitative and quantitative data including the interpretation of index numbers and calculations such as ratios and percentages.

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During the course, you will study the following topics:
– Media language, media representations and media audiences.
– The film industry
– Advertising and marketing
– Music videos – production, marketing and audience
– Newspaper and radio – production, marketing and audience

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The nature of studying ourselves and other people is incredibly interesting. What makes us think, feel and behave? How can we scientifically study disorders and brain-damaged individuals to help us understand all of our behaviours? Can we use psychology to catch criminals? Or to prevent them from offending? This Psychology A Level examines many theories that try to explain human behaviour. Psychologists conduct experiments to create theories about why these and every other aspect of human behaviour happens.

During the course, we study introductory topics in psychology including social influence (why you might do things because your friends do or because someone in authority tells you to), memory (how different types of memories are formed and how the police can question witnesses better), and attachment (how you’re raised and working out that you might be able to blame your parents for any faults you may have today!).

During the course, you will study the following topics:
– Cognitive psychology, including memory and eyewitness testimony.
– Developmental psychology, including early social development, attachment in animals and the influence of our early attachments on later relationships.
– Psychopathology, including understanding and treating disorders like depression, phobias and OCD.
– Social psychology, including conformity, obedience and independent behaviour.
– Sex and Gender – What causes gendered behaviours and how do atypical gender identities emerge?
– Schizophrenia – A detailed look at this fascinating disorder. What causes the hallucinations? What are the most effective treatments?
– Forensic psychology – How can psychological profiling help catch criminals? What are the best ways to treat offenders so they don’t offend again? What are the psychological consequences of prison?

Throughout the course, you will be involved in discussions, debates, presentations, problem-solving and group work.

By the end of the course you will have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the subject and be brilliantly equipped to move onto the next stage of your education or career!

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During the course, you’ll build up your knowledge and understanding of sociological thought and methods as well as develop your skills of analysis and evaluation – a great foundation for almost all courses in Higher Education.

Through this two-year course, you will complete modules based on the topics of:
– Families and households: The structure of the family, how it has changed over time and the reasons why
– Education: How do schools influence our lives? Is education fair? How and why is education organised.
– Crime and deviance: Looking at underlying causes and trends in deviance.
– Beliefs in Society: Exploring a range of beliefs and practices, how these have changed over time, and the impact they have on shaping the world around us.

Alongside these topics, we will look at the theoretical perspectives and the methods used by sociologists to investigate society.

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In this Classical Civilisation A Level course, we start by looking at the world of the Ancient Greeks, and in particular the great poet, Homer. Our focus is ‘The Odyssey’, Homer’s timeless great work. This story of a journey and the longing for home of his hero, Odysseus, has inspired and moved people for over two millennia. The culture and religion of the Greeks is interwoven with the characters and monsters he meets on the way, all the while yearning to return to his island home and his family.

As well as Greece, a large part of the course focuses on Ancient Rome, specifically the politics of the Roman Republic and the political ideas of that time. We get to know leaders such as Julius Caesar, Marcus Cicero and Marcus Cato and the tumultuous events that lead to the collapse of the Roman political system in the last century BC. This sets us up to look at the first ‘Emperor’, Augustus, in the second year.

When looking at Augustus, we study the way in which this remarkable leader created an image that ensured his uninterrupted rule of Rome and its Empire for over 40 years. We look at art, architecture, coins and poetry to see how he was able to communicate specific messages of power and authority to those he ruled over.

Finally, we return to epic poetry once again with a study of the great work of Virgil, The Aeneid. Virgil took on many of the narrative ideas from Homer but put his own Roman twist to them. His hero, Aeneas is a man with a mission, a destiny given him by fate, to found the Roman race. Written in the time of Augustus, it highlights many of the issues of that period and it can still be debated today, how far is it a propaganda piece for the Augustan regime?

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Economics is about choice and the impact of our choices on each other. It relates to every aspect of our lives, from the decisions we make as individuals to the structures created by governments and firms. An economic way of thinking can help you make better choices!

During the first year of the Economics A Level course, you will be introduced to the nature of economics, how markets work and why they fail, consumer choices and enterprise in the economy. You will also consider the role of banks, and life in a global economy.

During the second year, you will explore the impact of globalisation on consumers, firms and the labour market. You will also investigate the role of the government and have an opportunity to consider the role and impact of the financial sector.

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During the course, you will study the following topics:
– Globalisation: As globalisation and global interdependence continue to accelerate, it causes opportunities for businesses and people, but also results in inequalities. By recognising these tensions you will be able to evaluate solutions.
– Coastal landscapes and change: Understand this key physical landscape which is threatened by physical processes and human activity. Understand the need for management of these areas, both inside and outside the UK. This will involve completing a one-day fieldwork enquiry into a coastal issue in the local area.
– Diverse places: Putting North Devon into a global context and studying how it is influenced by people, capital, information and resources. This will involve completing a one-day fieldwork enquiry into the diversity of Bristol.
– The water cycle and water insecurity: Water is fundamental to supporting life and operates on a variety of scales. You will study the physical processes that control the circulation of water and gain knowledge of the global issue of water insecurity and approaches to managing water supply.
– The carbon cycle and energy security: You will see how physical processes move carbon from stores on the land, ocean and atmosphere and how the reliance on fossil fuels has created significant changes to these stores. You will be able to evaluate a variety of adaptation and mitigation strategies on a local and global scale.
– Superpowers: The world’s superpowers have a very significant impact on the global economy, politics and the environment. These powers are frequently contested and have global impacts.
– Tectonic processes and hazards: Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis represent a significant risk in some parts of the world, especially where there are high population density and low levels of development.
– Health, Human Rights and Intervention: Human rights are fundamental to our world but are being contested globally which impacts development, health and inequality. Therefore it sometimes requires intervention through the military or aid programs which have varying success rates. You will determine the social, economic and environmental impacts of these interventions and if they can bring greater peace, development, health and human rights to the world.

Coursework will be developed throughout the end of the first year with a main focus on the second year.

Your competence in using geographical skills will be developed throughout your studies. These will be introduced to a roughly equal balance of quantitative and qualitative across all topics, e.g. being able to interpret graphs and maps and identify key trends and patterns.

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During this History AS/A Level programme, you will study three core areas: one in breadth, one in depth, and one in breadth with aspects in depth:
In the first year, students will look at the history of Germany between 1918 and 1991. From WWI, to Weimar through Hitler and the Cold War to the fall of the wall. This breadth study goes far beyond the traditional scope of obsessing Nazi Germany that dominates many other history curricula. The depth study instead concerns the rise of fascism in Italy between 1911 and 1946. This enable you the develop a wider perspective around how the failure to create a stable, democratic Italian state led to the rise of a new political ideology and a personal dictatorship in figure of Mussolini.

In the second year, students will focus on the War of The Roses and Henry VII (1399 – 1509). This option comprises two parts: the aspects in breadth focus on long-term changes and contextualise the aspects in depth, which focus in detail on key episodes. Together, the breadth and depth topics explore the dramatic developments in late medieval England that centred around the personalities and political skills of Henry VI, Maragret of Anjou, Edward IV, and Richard III. This is an exciting period of history as proven by its inspiration of Game of Thrones as well as prominent authors such as Phillipa Gregory and Conn Iggulden.

In addition, the programme includes a historical investigation of 3,500 words. The student can choose between the history of modern Russia (1850s-1950s) or the history of medieval Crusades in Palestine (1090s-1190s). The politics of the Soviet Union, Modern Germany and Italy dovetail very well to explain much of the world in which we live today. Whilst the motivation behind the Crusades can provide a wider understanding of European society during the Middle Ages.

We also run a History Club from January to June, meeting for one hour each week, open to students who wish to extend their knowledge beyond the syllabus. The club is designed to develop advanced analytical skills and foster deeper historical understanding in preparation for further study.

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