Citizenship GCSE

Citizenship, GCSE (Short Course)
About the Course
During the course you will study three themes that will be assessed in the written paper.
1. Human Rights
* Religious, regional and ethnic identities and issues such as discrimination
* Rights and responsibilities as a citizen, employee and consumer
* Criminal and civil laws
2. Power, Politics and the Media
* The importance of democracy and how it works (or doesn†t) looking at elections, Parliament and the Government
* How to bring about change in society
* The role of newspapers, TV and radio, and the importance of a â€-free pressâ€
* The shaping of opinion
3. The Global Village
* How the economy functions - trade, business and finance
* Environmental and green issues such as global warming
* United Nations, Commonwealth and European Union - their importance
You will need to explain and interpret different kinds of information from the mass media (newspapers, TV and radio) and from other sources in order to demonstrate your ability to form and express an opinion in writing and to analyse and present evidence on a variety of issues, problems and events. If you have studied GCSE Religious Studies, Business Studies or Geography, or have taken part in a PSE/SRE/PSHE or a Citizenship programme at key stages 3 or 4, you will be familiar with some of the content of one or more of these themes.
Course Aims
The course aims to develop, demonstrate and apply your knowledge and understanding of current issues and events, and to develop your skills of enquiry, communication, participation and responsible action. It should also enable you to organise and evaluate your participation in a citizenship activity.
What are the entry requirements?
How is the course assessed?
Assessment is by written exam (60%) of mostly short-answer questions and by the coursework activity (40%). Coursework involves your taking part in a community-based or college-based activity. The important feature of the coursework is that it is a group activity. You must work with at least one other student in the class. You need to plan the activity, keep a log of all that you do and be able to demonstrate your skills of communication and of evaluation.
Fees
No Course Fees for Under 19's. Over 19's must pay, or claim Level 2 or Level 3 Entitlement for FREE courses .
What next?
When combined with other GCSE qualifications, Citizenship will prepare you for many careers such as social services, nursing, teaching, and the police force, plus of course progression to AS level or equivalent course.