Life Sciences
The Life Sciences Department offers Child Development, Health & Social Care and Sociology courses.
The teaching team is enthusiastic and committed to ensuring that each student achieves their best. This is done by providing a rich teaching environment and locating the teaching in vocational terms, using real life scenarios and practising staff from the profession. Students are given the opportunity to have visits and work placements which puts the learning into context and makes it real.
We offer the following qualifications:
- Entry Level Child Development - this is a foundation course lasting two months before students embark on the GCSE Health & Social Care course. This looks at pregnancy and childbirth and the growth and development of the child up to five.
- GCSE Health & Social Care - a two and a half year vocational course covering the health and social care and early year's sectors. Students learn about the way the sectors operate, how they are organised, current legislation and how practitioners work.
- GCE 'A' Level Health & Social Care. A two year course offered as a double and single award. This builds on the GCSE course by providing a more comprehensive study into the care sector, including Public Health, Disease, Research and Psychology units. It is arranged into twelve units for the double award and six for the single. Students have exams and coursework modules as assessments criteria. The course is delivered as a taught course with expectation of student research.
- GCE 'A' Level Sociology. This is a single award exploring the way society runs, this entails the study of theories about the structure and function of society and the different groups who make up society.
Double awards are delivered in eight lessons a week and the single award in four lessons. Students are expected to undertake private study and attend tutorials when necessary, as well as set homework. They are also encouraged to present their work to their peers and work together in groups of various sizes in order to achieve this.
