Psychology A Level | UK Homeschooling Courses

Course Information

Focusing on a wide range of psychological theories, research methods and mental health issues, our Psychology A level course will give you a range of skills and plenty of understanding of the subject. Psychology remains one of the most popular and successful courses offered by Oxford Home Schooling, with many students going on to read the same subject at university.

After an introduction to the topic, the AS level portion of the course will see you learning about social influence, memory, attachment and psychopathology. You will explore theoretical approaches to Psychology that will remain useful throughout the second year of the course and into further study.

The second year (A level) section continues with a survey of research methods and approaches, before exploring topics including gender, aggression and schizophrenia, giving you a wide understanding of some of the key subjects in the field.

The course consists of 38 lessons, 12 tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and 5 practice examination papers. We would expect the average student to need around 700 hours of study to complete the A level.

Module One: Introductory Topics

Research Methods and Ethical Considerations
Introduction to Approaches in Psychology
Describing and Interpreting Data

Module Two: Social Influence

Social Influence
Obedience
Minority Influence and Social Change

Module Three: Memory

Models of Memory
Forgetting
Eyewitness Testimony

Module Four: Attachment

Attachment: Animals vs Humans
Attachment: The Early Years
Deprivation and Separation

Module Five: Theoretical Approaches in Psychology

The Biological and the BioPsychological Approach
The Behavioural Approach (Learning Theory)
The Cognitive Approach and Neuroscience
The Psychodynamic and Humanistic Approaches – Inferential Statistics

Module Six: Psychopathology

Definitions of Abnormality
Depression
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Phobias

Module Seven: Research Methods and Approaches

Psychological Approaches
More on Approaches
Issues and Debates in Psychology

Module Eight: Gender

Studying Gender
The Biological Approach
Gender Differences and Cultural Variations
Applying Psychological Approaches to Gender

Module Nine: Schizophrenia

Classification of Schizophrenia
Biological and Psychological Explanations
Drug Therapy, CBT and Family Therapy
Interactionist Approaches

Module Ten: Aggression

Biology and Genetics
Ethological, Evolutionary and Social Explanations
Institutional Aggression
Media Influences on Aggression

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Exam boards and assessment

The syllabus has been written for the AQA exam board’s qualification and will prepare you for examinations with a range of activities and self-assessment tasks. The specification numbers are:

AS Psychology (Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Psychology): course code 7181
A-level Psychology (Advanced GCE in Psychology): course code 7182

For the AS course, there are two 90-minute papers, while for A level, there are three two-hour exams. There are no coursework requirements for AS or A level psychology.

What can I go on to do with Psychology A level?

There are all sorts of uses for an A level in Psychology. If you think you might like a career in the field as a psychologist or researcher, the course will prepare you for further study at university. If you’re unsure of your future career though, the subject can be used in lots of other lines of work.

For instance, it can be used in clinical and counselling contexts, in order to help people with mental health issues, or in the sports world, assisting athletes break down mental barriers and improve their performance. There are also forensic applications in the police force, scientific and medical applications in the field of neuropsychology, and careers in the educational world, for instance, helping children having problems learning at school.

There are further career opportunities too; in business, marketing, or in the care sector, for example.

The skills you’ll learn and rely upon most during the course include:

Research skills
Crafting fluent arguments and points of view
Essay writing
Analytical skills
Understanding from various perspectives
Critical reasoning
Conducting scientific investigations

Online Course? Paper-based? Somewhere in between? It’s your choice!

All of our Psychology A level students receive:

Traditional printed learning materials
Access to our online resources with on-the-go access to all your regular lessons
Unmatched support by a fully-qualified teacher online and by phone

Learn more about our Online Learning

How much does it cost?

Our Psychology A Level course fee is £475 with a £95 deposit and then eight monthly instalments of £47.50.

You will receive support from a fully-qualified tutor holding either a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or a degree in education. This support includes:

Marking all assignments for the course
Written answers to specific study problems
Tutor contact by telephone and email

When you begin this course, you will agree on an examination date or dates with your Student Adviser. Your support period lasts up to this examination date.

Meet Our Tutors

My role as an examiner for a major exam board gives me a broad understanding of exam criteria and emphasises the importance of utilising the specification in order to succeed. As your tutor, I am here to help you so please contact me if you have any questions about your course.

Well done on choosing to study a fascinating subject, and I look forward to helping you progress and fulfil your potential.

Mandy Lloyd

Prerequisites

We expect students to have a minimum of four good GCSEs in order to study Psychology A level, ideally including a grade C or above in Maths and English.

If you feel you have other qualifications or experience that might make you suitable for the course, call one of our student advisers on 0800 0111 024 to talk about your suitability.

Sample Lessons

Psychology A level course introduction

Psychology A level Sample Lesson

Books

FAQs

Why should I choose Oxford Home Schooling?

Oxford Home Schooling is a long-established educational trust that prides itself on
- treating every student as an individual
- customer service
- course quality.
We’re rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot by students who have studied with us.
We provide online and printed resources so you can study your way – other providers do not give you that choice.
We make it easy for you to home-educate your children with our flexible schedule, tutor support, and interest-free payment plan.
Every year we help hundreds of children who have left mainstream education obtain the qualifications they need to progress and achieve their goals.
Oxford Home Schooling is part of a not-for-profit trust so you can be sure that your course fees are spent on either your child’s tuition or on improving our courses.

When can I enrol?

You can enrol any time you like, the earlier the better. The important thing to think about is when you wish to sit your exam and to give yourself plenty of time to work through your materials and revise successfully. Our cut-off dates for enrolment can be found here.

Once you have enrolled, you will get access to your course online immediately and your printed course materials will arrive a few days later.

Can I complete the Psychology A level exam in one year?

Our cut-off for enrolling on an A level Psychology course for the following summer examination series is mid-October each year. So, yes, you can. However, remember that you will still need to fit around 700 hours of study time into your schedule before the examination. The earlier you enrol, the less study you must do each week!

Can I just enrol on the AS level Psychology course?

Yes, you can. The fee to enrol on the Psychology AS course is just £300. If you decide to upgrade to a full A Level later on, you may do so for an additional fee of £250.

The results from your AS Level exam cannot be carried forward to your A level and you will need to take the set of A level exams which test the full spectrum of topics from the AS and A level specification.

When will I sit my exam?

The Psychology A level papers may be sat in the Summer examination series. The Summer series typically runs from mid-May to late June.

There is no autumn examination sitting.

How and when do I book an exam?

The final date for booking summer exams with the exam board without incurring late entry fees is the 21st of February. You should book your place at an exam centre well in advance of this date. Start looking once the autumn term begins.

All the information you need to book an exam centre can be found in our Exams Hub. Here you will find

detailed instructions
entry codes needed to book exams
our map of examination centres where our students have sat in recent years.

Tutors & Exams offers discounts to Oxford Home Schooling students and has nine current exam venues across the UK: Belfast, Birmingham, Bolton, Coventry, Doncaster, High Wycombe, Romford, St Neots, Taunton and Wimbledon.

Pearson Edexcel also publishes a list of exam centres that accept private candidates. This won’t list every available centre, so if there’s nothing shown in your area, we recommend contacting local schools and colleges directly.

Does it make sense to study both Psychology and Sociology A-levels?

Yes, there is a lot to be said for combining these two A level subjects which offer complementary accounts of human experience. A large number of university joint honours courses combine the two subjects and, depending on your career choice, it may be valuable to have studied both these subjects to this level.

Is it necessary to have studied Psychology at GCSE level before tackling the A level?

No. This course assumes no prior knowledge of the subject and tackles all topics from first principles. But nearly all the topics covered in a Psychology GCSE course are relevant to the A level and it would give you a big head-start if you have already gained a good grade in the GCSE.