Key Contacts
Mrs T Wolyn – [email protected]– Head of Social Science and Associate Assistant Principal
Mrs J Ahmed – Teacher of Sociology, Psychology and PSHE
Curriculum Information
Sociology is one of the KS4 options available to Hanham Woods Academy students within the Social Sciences department.
We are extremely privileged to be one of the only schools in Bristol offering this subject as a GCSE option. The majority of students do not get to experience Sociology until Post 16.
Put simply, Sociology is the study of society however the experience of being a Sociology student is so much more than that. Students show themselves to have a much greater understanding of the world around them, improved communication skills, both orally and in their written work, as well as being able to make links between all of their studies. They may not continue with Sociology as a subject past GCSE but what they learn will stay with them no matter the career they go on to achieve.
Although Sociology can lead into any career, those that are most popular include the following sectors:
- Education
- Police
- Social work
- Sales and marketing
- Advertising
- Social care
- Medicine
- Health care
- Public services
- Armed forces
- Research
Key Stage 4 (Year 9-11)
Sociology is a subject students have the opportunity to choose during Year 8 and will commence study in Year 9.
We currently work with the AQA exam board, therefore we use the curriculum time in Year 9 for students to develop a foundation understanding of the subject before moving on in year 10 and 11 to dig deep into the specification and preparation for the exams.
The course is 100% exam based across two exam papers.
| Year Group | Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 | Term 5 | Term 6 |
| 9 | Introduction to sociology | Introduction to sociology | Research methods | Research methods | The Sociology of Youth | The sociological approach |
| 10 | Social structures, social process and social issues | Family | Family | Education | Education | Crime and deviance |
| 11 | Crime and deviance | Social Stratification | Research methods recap | Revision | Revision and exams | N/A |
Extra Curricular
As of this year we have begun an annual trip to Bristol Crown Court in which students take part in mock trials and get to watch live trials from the public gallery.
We also hold a lunch time Social Sciences catch up each week to discuss misconceptions and current events that feed into the current learning in lessons.
In the future, we plan to create a social sciences film club in which students can access the media’s representations of societal issues and discuss the impact the media can have on society.
