Citizenship

The Citizenship Curriculum

Citizenship education is a statutory requirement in all schools. Citizenship education develops knowledge, skills and understanding that young people need to play a full part in society as active and responsible citizens. Our students encounter various Citizenship topics throughout the PSHE curriculum that includes human rights, the media, the law, democracy, finance and prejudice. We also offer the OCR GCSE Citizenship course.

GCSE Citizenship course content: The course covers all aspects of life and society as a Citizen of the United Kingdom and the world. The course is split into four sections:

Rights, the law and legal system in England and Wales. This topic examines the rights and responsibilities that a citizen has in terms of the law and the powers of authority in society (the police, magistrates and crown court, the CPS and judiciary). It looks into civil and criminal law and the sanctions which criminals may face. A knowledge of how a court works and how laws are made is also taught.

Democracy and government in the UK and Europe. This part of the course focuses on the role of local, devolved and national government and the work of Parliament. It examines the role of an MP and democratic voting process as a whole as well as The British Constitution at large.

The UK and the wider world. This part of the course examines the relationship the UK has with Europe and the world at large.

Citizenship in action. This part of the course allows students to focus and campaign on a variety of local, national and international issues

Students will face three external exams at the end of year eleven. These three papers will test a student’s level of knowledge and understanding on the three core principles of the course: Citizenship in perspective, citizenship in action and our rights and responsibilities in society. Students will be teacher assessed during an active campaign in terms of their planning, organisation, teamwork and involvement

Career links: The course has a variety of career links, specifically those that involve an interest in society and the people within it. It has specific links with careers that involve working in the Civil Service, legal professions and Social Work.

For further information regarding Citizenship education, please contact Mr M Perraton (mperraton@jog.equamead.org)