The Humanities department at Woodbrook Vale offers Geography, History and RE during Key Stage 3.  At Key Stage 4 GCSE is offered in History, Geography, Sociology and Psychology.  All students will continue to study RE as part of personal development.

Geography

At Key Stage 3 Geography combines a balance of physical and human topics with an emphasis on interdependence, environmental interaction and sustainable development.  Units of work include What is Geography, Weather and Climate, The Environment and Natural Disasters.  Formal assessment takes place throughout the course using open ended tasks designed to test knowledge and skills.  

At Key Stage 4 the GCSE course encourages students to investigate for themselves and is balanced between human and physical geography.  The exam board will be Edexcel.

History

At Key Stage 3 History is taught around themes which include daily life through the centuries and the changing face of monarchy.  Skills, such as the use of historical sources, are an important aspect of the course and students are encouraged to develop their own ideas and write good extended answers.

At Key Stage 4 the GCSE course looks at three themes which include the History of Medicine, Nazi Germany and the Civil Rights in the USA.  The exam board will be Edexcel.

Religious Education

At Key Stage 3 Religious Education involves students learning about and from Religion.  They develop knowledge and understanding of the world’s six major religious beliefs and study many human issues concerning right and wrong.  Students are encouraged to express their views openly in discussion and to respect the different views of others.

At Key Stage 4 all students will learn about different beliefs and their relevance to the modern world. They will apply the moral values of Religious teaching to issues of right and wrong.

Sociology and Psychology

During Key Stage 4 Sociology and Psychology will be offered as subjects at GCSE. Sociology will focus on topics such as Crime and Deviance, Research Methods and Education. Sociology follows the OCR examination board.

The study of Psychology focuses on topics such as, Sex and Gender, Cognitive Development, Attachment and perception. Psychology follows the OCR Examination Board.