Key Stage 5 General Studies

AS and A2

We follow the OCR specifications. AS is usually taken at the end of Year 12 and A2 at the end of Year 13. some students, however, are entered for the January examinations.

Although certain universities and certain courses do not accept General Studies as a qualification for entry, many others do. The top universities see General Studies as an indicator of a student’s interest in the world beyond the classroom. In addition, we feel it is a valid way of broadening our students’ curriculum and giving them a taste of topics and subjects, which they might otherwise not approach. General Studies also allows students to use other curriculum areas in the exams.

Students should try to read a quality newspaper each day, copies of which can be found in the library, and to watch daily news broadcasts.

AS Unit 1: The Cultural Domain

  • Beliefs, Values and Moral Reasoning
  • Aspects of Culture
  • Media and Communication

Assessment: 75 minutes. Written exam.
30% of AS, 15% of A

AS Unit 2: The Scientific Domain

  • Characteristics of the Sciences (physical, life and earth)
  • Understanding of scientific methods, principles, criteria and their applications
  • Mathematical reasoning and its applications

Assessment: 75 minutes. Written exam.
30% of AS, 15% of A2

AS Unit 3: The Social Domain

  • Political systems, processes and goals
  • The nature of objectivity in Social Sciences
  • Ideologies and Values

Assessment: 75 minutes. Written exam.
340% of AS, 20% of A2

A2 Unit 4a: The Scientific and Cultural Domains Section 1

  • The nature of scientific objectivity and the question of progress
  • Moral responsibility: the social, ethical and environmental implications of scientific discoveries and of technological development
  • The relationship between technology, science, ideology and culture (past and/or present)

Assessment: 45 minutes. Written exam.
7.5% of A2

A2 Unit 4b: The Scientific and Cultural Domains Section 2

  • Religious experience and its alternatives
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Aesthetic evaluation

Assessment: 5 minutes. Written exam.
7.5% of A2

A2 Unit 5: The Social Domain

  • Ideologies and values
  • Explanation and evaluation of human behaviour
  • The relationship between law, culture and ethics

Assessment: 90 minutes. Written exam.
15% of A2

A2 Unit 6: Culture, Science and Society

There is no new content in this unit. It is assessed by a synoptic paper, which draws together the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired in the rest of the course.

Assessment: 90 minutes. Written exam.
20% of A2