Sociology
Course Overview
Sociology
A Level Sociology provides an exciting opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the world around you and reflect on social issues that are often relevant to your own experiences. It opens up opportunities for frequent and fascinating discussions, considering questions like: What impact do digital forms of communication have on social relationships? How do sociologists investigate inequality in society? What are the patterns and trends of crime in relation to social class?
Course highlights:
You will acquire detailed theoretical knowledge and a critical understanding of social processes and changes. You will be able to develop a broad set of essential academic skills that are valued by universities and employers, including the ability to analyse and formulate clear logical arguments and evaluate using a range of theoretical perspectives.
In the first year of study, you will explore the topic of Education. You will be required to examine how the education system has changed over the years, in terms of social policy. You will also investigate how different social groups have varied experiences within the UK education system. Finally, you will look at the effect globalisation and marketisation has had on the education system.
The next topic in year one will be research methods where we will look at the different ways Sociologists examine and analyse data. At the end of this topic, we will look at research methods through an educational context. Finally, for year one, we will look at the topics ‘Culture and identity’ and ‘The media’. Both of these topics take a deeper exploration of the self and explore how factors including gender, age and sexuality help to shape the person you are today.
In the second year of study, the topic of study will be ‘Crime and deviance’. Quite a large topic, we will look at the difference between crime and deviance, why do people commit crimes and even if crime could be a useful thing for our society. Finally, our last topic will be ‘Is Sociology a science?’ Here we will recap research methods and explore deeper research theory.
Located at: Barnsley Sixth Form College
Course Start: September 2025
Course length: 2 Years
Study Mode: Full-time
Course Code: QSFCALSOY1
Course Fees and Funding
How much does the course cost?
Full-time Barnsley College students aged 16-18 years old do not have to pay tuition fees.
Other funding information
This course is not eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan.
Course Content
GCSE Grade 5 or above in English, History or another Humanities subject.
Other Resources
For further details, please contact our Information Unit by calling 01226 216 123 or emailing: info@barnsley.ac.uk
Our Additional Learning Support team can provide you with the support you need. Call 01226 216 769 for further information.
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The course information on this page was last updated 08 May 2025.
