GCSE Sociology

Course summary

GCSE Sociology presents students with the opportunity to choose a new and exciting subject. Sociology is directly relevant to students' own lives, allowing them to better understand human behaviour, political and social issues, and encourages them to ask challenging questions about the world in which they live. The GCSE Sociology course is entirely exam based, with students sitting exams at the end of year 11. Topics studied over the duration of the course are: the sociological approach; social structures, processes and issues; families; education; crime and deviance; social stratification; and sociological research methods. The final assessment takes the form of two 1 hour 45-minute examinations and these include a mixture of short answer and essay-based questions. Students who study GCSE Sociology can go on to study the subject at A-Level. The subject is also closely linked to other social science and humanities subjects such as psychology, history, geography, government and politics and religious studies, as well as developing the communication skills required for subjects such as English. Students of sociology have been known to pursue a wide range of careers, but common paths include law, politics, teaching, journalism, media, business, social work and academia.