Photography

PSYCHOLOGY

The lessons learnt as part of this course give students tools they can use outside the classroom

School closure, months of zoom lessons, uncertainty about A levels, confusion about revised exam content - this year’s graduates have seen it all. We are so proud of how they coped with the stress and pressures of post-covid examination. The last two years of studying Psychology no doubt helped them with managing some of those demands.

Psychology Y12 class hard at work

STUDENT VIEW:

“Doing Psychology, I learned a lot about myself, which I really didn’t think I needed or could know. I believe that Psychology should be a mandatory subject for everyone at school.”

“The best part of Psychology A-level is the in-depth discussion! When learning the specification, I would always look forward to talking about the nuances of our topics so I could get a proper understanding of content and how to apply it to myself and real life. It is a fascinating course.”

“I always thought I was bad at maths, but I have learned how to manage research methods and statistics, which made me feel more confident about myself as a learner.”

“I really enjoyed learning how the process of memory works in terms of what it takes for us to remember things in the long term through rehearsal and memory associations. Also, why we act in certain ways and how our minds work.”

“I have learned how relationships are formed between people, what makes people attracted to each other and why some relationships break up. This is going to be quite useful to me in the future!”

“I mostly loved the discussions and hearing different views. Not only was that interesting, but it helped me to understand the topics more deeply.”

“Learning about how peoples’ adulthoods and adult relationships can be based on childhood experiences is really good to know for the future.”

PHILOSOPHY

The great questions are unchanging but how we answer them is a lesson for us all

What is reality? What is truth? What is knowledge? Do we have any knowledge? If we do, where does it come from? Does the world exist outside of our minds? Outside of your mind? What is the mind – is it just the brain? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? What is consciousness? What is a person? Do we have free will? Does God exist? Can God’s existence be proved? Can God’s non-existence be proved? What is the correct method for making moral choices? What sorts of lives should we live? Is there any such thing as moral truth? Is morality objective or subjective? Why does anything exist at all?

Traditionally, philosophers have asked these questions and many more, all of them very big and very deep. And traditionally, philosophers have tried to answer them too.

Not just any old answers will do, of course. The answers philosophers give are the conclusions of rational arguments – arguments, that is, which are based on reason and logic.

And these arguments may be challenged by other rational arguments. Which means that philosophy is an ongoing process of rational argument, intended to explore some of the biggest, most profound questions human beings can ask.

It is, in this way, a deep conversation between great thinkers of the past, present and future, where the thoughts of past philosophers are as ‘alive’ and relevant as the thoughts of current philosophers. And to study philosophy as a subject is not only to listen in on that conversation, but also to participate in it. That’s what we do in Philosophy class.

STUDENT VIEW:

“The first thing I learnt in philosophy was that ‘the only thing I know, is that I know nothing’ (Socrates). Thanks Paul!

I came into the course thinking I might get answers to some of life’s grand questions - I didn’t. I just left each lesson with more.

If you feel queasy at the possibility that nothing really exists or matters, then maybe it’s not the subject for you. However, if you are okay with sceptical, existential meaninglessness weighing on your mind (a side-effect of the course), then Philosophy can teach you how to readily debate, think and refute. Not to mention, gaining the ability to endlessly annoy everyone in your life with philosophical ramblings. But it’s alright, chances are they don’t exist anyway!” Raffi Y12

PHOTOGRAPHY

Picturing the world, creating emotion in images or bringing ideas to vivid life – it’s all possible through the right lens

As the school year ends, the pressure builds in the Photography Department but it’s the most rewarding time as they pull together the A level exhibition and all of its production aspects, mark GCSE and A level work, and finish off various print and media projects.

VIRTUALLY REAL

Covid got the Photography Department thinking about how to showcase student images in a world of lockdowns and social distancing, and so they turned their minds to creating a virtual space to show work and play with ideas. An Old Alfredian, Leo, has been busying away, putting the aaah! in VR and building a virtual photography gallery which you will see soon.

GCSE