Humanities

The options for the Humanities all build upon the skills that have been delivered across the Year 7 to 9 Humanities courses. Students will continue to demonstrate knowing and understanding, communicating, investigating, and critical thinking skills. At Uplands you are able to select from the following options:

• Economics

• Geography

• History

• Psychology

Please find information below that has been prepared by the teachers about the courses they teach.  This should help you make an informed decision about your choices for next year. We also encourage you to speak to the teachers and to the students who currently take these courses to gain more specific information about the experience offered by each subject.

Should you have any questions about these options, please contact Mr. Kurt Kerschl, Head of Humanities

Geography

Through the Cambridge IGCSE Geography syllabus, learners will develop a ‘sense of place’ by looking at the world around them on a local, regional and global scale. Learners will examine a range of natural and man-made environments, and study some of the processes which affected their development. They will also look at the ways in which people interact with their environment, and the opportunities and challenges an environment can present, thereby gaining a deeper insight into the different communities and cultures that exist around the world. 

The subject content is arranged into three themes:

• Population and settlement

• The natural environment

• Economic development.

Please take a look at the embedded video if you wish to gain more information about IGCSE Geography.

History

Cambridge IGCSE History offers students the opportunity to study world history in the twentieth century. It encourages learners to raise questions and to develop and deploy historical skills, knowledge, and understanding, in order to provide historical explanations. Learners explore history from a diversity of perspectives, including social, economic, cultural, and political.

The content focuses on the following key questions:

• Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?

• To what extent was the League of Nations a success?

• How far was Hitler’s foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939?

• Who was to blame for the Cold War?

• How effectively did the United States contain the spread of communism?

• How secure was the USSR’s control over Eastern Europe, 1948–c.1989?

In addition, all candidates must also study at least one of the following depth studies:

A The First World War, 1914–18

B Germany, 1918–45

C Russia, 1905–41

D The United States, 1919–41

E The Second World War in Europe and Asia–Pacific, 1939–c.1945

GCSE Psychology (Edexcel 1-9)

Psychology provides the opportunity to study the underlying causes of human behaviour. The core divisions of Psychological exploration covered during this course include: 

Core topics:

• Topic 1: Development – How did you develop?

• Topic 2: Memory – How does your memory work?

• Topic 3: Psychological problems – How would psychological problems affect you?

• Topic 4: The brain and neuropsychology – How does your brain affect you?

• Topic 5: Social influence – How do others affect you?

• Topic 11: Research Methods - How do you carry out psychological research?

Optional Topics:

• Topic 6: Criminal psychology – Why do people become criminals?

• Topic 9: Sleep and dreaming – Why do you need to sleep and dream?

Students will also gain knowledge and understanding of:

● debates in psychology, including ‘reductionism/holism’ and ‘nature/nurture’

● how psychological knowledge and ideas change over time and how they inform our understanding of behaviour

● the contribution of psychology to an understanding of individual, social and cultural diversity

● the interrelationships of the core areas of psychology