King Edward VI College

Introduction

At AS, students take two units: ‘Introduction to Financial Accounting’ and ‘Financial and Management Accounting’. In unit one the study topics include: key accounting records such as ledgers, balance sheets and income statements. Unit two study topics include: accounting for sole traders and limited companies, accounting concepts, budgetary control and the impact of technology on accounting. Year two (A2), builds on AS learning with a more in-depth study of financial and management accounting. In both years this course will help students to develop a number of skills: organisation and assessment of data, investigation and analysis, effective communication, team working, working on own initiative, methodical and critical thinking.

Further Details

The accounting course equips you with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to assess the performance of all types of business organisations. It will enable you to analyse and evaluate financial data effectively so that you are able to make informed judgements, decisions and recommendations abouhow businesses manage their financial affairs. Students who take Accounting often take Business, Economics and Mathematics. The subject also supports other studies, particularly Arts and Sciences.

Progression Options

Students who are successful at AS level may wish to complete an additional year to achieve the Alevel qualification. Accounting A level is a gateway to a range of rewarding careers. Students who take this course can go on to university to study Business or Finance or Accounting and then train to become qualified accountants, working for accountancy practices or within private or public sector organisations. Students may also progress into an Accounting career via a modern apprenticeship. Accounting is useful to a very wide range of careers which require control, monitoring and production of figures as part of a management function. With your financial acumen and accounting skills you could end up working in just about any area that interests you.

Introduction

The course will help students develop imagination, creativity, observation and understanding of the visual world, as well as organisational, analytical and motivational skills. Through a variety of different projects and artistic media students can explore their own work and style.

The course is taught through a series of workshops as well as gallery visits and trips including the major London galleries and Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Further Details

Observational Drawing is a fundamental part of all work. At AS, students are encouraged to work in a range of mixed media. At A2, more specialist areas such as Textiles, 3D Craft, Graphics etc. can be developed. The written content of the course includes annotated sketchbooks and critical analysis of artists’ work.

Progression Options

A one year Art Foundation course (pre-degree) is always recommended for students progressing to an Art or Design based degree course (further information available on page 112). Architecture degree courses expect a portfolio and an AS in Art and Design as a minimum.

Introduction

Chemistry is an enjoyable and demanding subject which requires good numerical skills and a commitment to study. The course contains a large practical element to aid understanding of the theoretical side. The course content follows from ideas studied at GCSE such as bonding, equations, rates, energy and reactions of acids and bases. There is also a large element of organic Chemistry.

Further Details

Subjects that link particularly well with this courseare Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Environmental Studies.

Progression Options

Many A level Chemistry students continue their studies to degree level in this or a related subject. Chemistry will support a career in a wide range of areas, including the sciences (biological, chemical, physical, geological, forensic, material, and medical) as well as engineering and environmental studies. The skills learnt whilst studying Chemistry are as important as the knowledge and are recognised by employers. It can lead to non-science related careers such as accountancy and management consultancy. It is essential for Medicine and Dentistry.

Introduction

This AS course introduces students to the field of linguistics and is quite different to GCSE English, although it does build on some familiar concepts. Alongside analytical work on written, spoken and electronic language use, we also study how children learn to use language and how language is used in society to create and maintain attitudes and stereotypes. We do all this by closely examining the grammatical structures and the way they produce meaning in language.

At A2 level, students also engage with how language changes over time, studying texts from the 1600s to today. We also explore how language varies, considering accent, dialect and the effect gender, age and other social aspects have on the language an individual uses.

At both AS and A2 level, the coursework components allow students to investigate areas of language that interest them, and to write about these issues for a range of audiences. Successful English Language students have strong writing skills, enjoy discussion and are interested in how language is used. They read and appreciate a range of texts and are curious about human nature.

Further Details

We particularly recommend that students wishing to take English Language also consider English Literature, especially if a degree in English or Creative Writing is a possibility. Other subjects that link particularly well with this course include Modern Languages, Psychology and Sociology. Studying English Language alongside Biology is the recommended programme for anyone considering Speech Therapy as a career.

Progression Options

English Language is considered a strong basis for progressing into many careers or university courses. Students with this qualification are valued for their analytical and communication skills. The study of children’s literacy at AS is directly relevant to those interested in Primary teaching.

Introduction

This challenging and rigorous course is suitable for students who are studying Mathematics at AS or A2 level. The course will be of interest to those who enjoy Mathematics and wish to take the subject even further than A-level Mathematics allows. It introduces different and more advanced areas of Mathematics than those covered in the A-level course and looks at interesting applications in Decision Mathematics, Statistics and Mechanics as well as Pure Mathematics.

Further Details

This is a stimulating and interesting course form students who enjoy Mathematics and wish to make it a major part of their studies.

Progression Options

This is increasingly specified in addition to A level Mathematics for progression onto Mathematics degree courses. For the top Universities it is a requirement. Students intending following Physics and Engineering degrees will find the extra Mathematics experience valuable.

Introduction

The course will enable students to develop an understanding of many aspects related to employment in the health and social care sector. At AS students will study Communications in Care Settings, Health Promotion and Promoting Quality Care. At A2 students will study Anatomy and Physiology, Care Practice and Provision, and Child Development. Students also undertake a weekly placement in their AS year linked to their studies and to gain relevant vocational experience.

Further Details

Subjects that link particularly well with this course are Biology and Psychology. Prior study in this area is helpful, but not essential. To be successful in this course, students should feel relatively confident in their ability to work with people in the broadest context and have a genuine desire to enter employment in a related field.

Progression Options

Students who are successful at AS Level may wish to complete an additional year to achieve the A Level qualification, from which higher study perhaps at degree Level in this or a related area is a possibility. As part of a wider programme the course provides an excellent basis for progression to any career or University course. Health and Social Care will support a career in a wide range of areas, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy including sports physiotherapy, nursing, midwifery, social work, welfare and advice work, social work, teaching, especially primary teaching, early years etc.

Introduction

The Ancient History course (which leads to an A Level in Classical Civilisation) offers students the opportunity to study the cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome.

The first year involves a detailed look at Athens of the 5th century BC. In unit 1 you will study the political development of Athens in the 6th – 5th centuries BC, the way it worked and study the leading figures of the time. You will read contemporary views of Athens including Aristophanes’ satirical comedy, The Wasps.

For nearly three-quarters of a century Athens had by far the strongest fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. In unit 2 you will see how Athens built up her formidable power - and lost it. Through the account of the historian Thucydides, who claims to have been an eyewitness to many of the events and who brings the period to life with a series of dramatic debates, you will be able to judge for yourself the Athenians’ motives and ambitions as well as the reasons for their eventual humiliation and defeat.

In the second year the focus of the course changes to Rome. In unit 3 you will study Augustus. Was he a cunning, ruthless and brutal warlord who would stop at nothing to ensure his faction was supreme? Or a responsible statesman and benefactor devoted to restoring the peace, prosperity and traditional values which the ambitions of others had destroyed? Augustus would of course want you to believe the latter, as you will see when you read his own spin on his achievements, but a biography of Augustus by Suetonius will give you a more objective view of the man, his motives and methods.

In unit 4 you will meet two more Roman emperors. Tiberius was alleged to have been smothered to death by the commander of his bodyguard; Claudius was believed to have been served a dish of poisoned mushrooms by his fourth wife. What were the reasons for these apparent murders? From reading the accounts of the reigns of these two emperors by the historian Tacitus and the biographer Suetonius you will see that many hostile and damning stories circulated. But are they true? Were Tiberius and Claudius really so corrupt and weak? Look behind the scurrilous stories and spin to see how far we can discover the truth about their achievements.

Further Details

Subjects that link particularly well with this course are History, Archaeology, Government and Politics, Critical Thinking, English, Philosophy…in fact it can complement a wide range of other courses. To be successful in this course students should feel relatively confident in their ability to read, assimilate new information, and complete extended pieces of writing.

Progression Options

An A Level in Classical Civilisation will enhance your chances of being accepted into university. There you can choose to specialise in the classics, or to use your classical grounding as the foundation for subjects like history, archaeology and anthropology. It really depends on your own dream. Whether you see yourself diving for artefacts in the sunny Aegean Sea or addressing the speaker as a Member of Parliament, the classics are a wonderful foundation.

Introduction

Biology is the study of living organisms and how they interact with each other. We study the fundamental principles of Biology including biochemistry, cell structure, physiology and ecology.

The course is suitable for students who enjoyed Biology at school and who wish to extend their knowledge to a higher level. Students are trained and encouraged to develop their practical skills to a level which will enable progression to work in a professional laboratory, should they wish to do so.

Further Details

Biology, like all Sciences, is a very demanding subject. It is advisable that students choose another Science or Mathematics to study alongside Biology as this will enhance their overall understanding.

Extra study and background reading, both at home and in college, are essential requirements for students who wish to obtain a high final grade.

Progression Options

Students who are successful at AS level may wish to complete an additional year to achieve the A level qualification from which higher study, perhaps at degree level, in this or a related area is a possibility. As part of a wider programme this course provides an excellent basis for progression to many careers or university courses. Former students of this college have gone on to study Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Zoology, Marine Biology and other Biology degrees at various universities including Oxford and Cambridge.

People with well developed scientific skills are always in demand by a wide range of local, national and international employers.

Introduction

Archaeology is the study of past human societies through the investigation of material remains – from the tiniest fragment of a pot found in a ploughed-up field, to a fresco painted on a wall of a villa in Pompeii, to the mightiest of monuments such as Stonehenge or the Colosseum in Rome.

For the AS, students will study two units. Unit 1 is ‘The Archaeology of Religion and Ritual’, a unit which introduces students to the subject through the study of one of its most important and interesting themes. Students study a number of specified objects and sites from across Prehistoric Europe.

In the second AS unit, students are introduced to the basic skills andmethods of the practising archaeologist. They are taken through the various stages of site investigation, from the formation of sites, through discovery, recording, excavation and dating, to interpretation. They are also introduced to the language of practical archaeology and to site reports.
In the second year students produce a personal study on a site or museum collection of interest to them which is worth 40% of the mark. Students will also study World Archaeology which not only covers themes in archaeology across various time periods, but also current issues in archaeology such as repatriation of artifacts and community archaeology. This is examined in the June of the second year and is worth 60% of the grade.

Further Details

Subjects that link particularly well with this course are classical civilization (ancient history), history, politics, science, art, technology, geography, sociology and religious studies. To be successful in this course students should feel relatively confident in their
ability to read, assimilate new information, and complete extended pieces of writing.

Progression Options

As part of a wider programme the course provides an excellent basis for progression to a wide range of careers and/or university courses.