Specification: WJEC / Eduqas
Subject entry requirements: English Language Grade 4 and above

Criminology is a newly launched subject, which has been added to the choice of subjects available to students within the Social Sciences Faculty.

Criminology is a wide ranging subject, fully exploring the causes of crime and society’s responses to it. Studying the subject would be ideal for those students who see themselves as wanting to pursue a career in related professions, or those students who want to understand better the social challenges that society faces, and how they are being tackled. The Level 3 Btec Criminology syllabus involves the study of the following topics:

Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime
This unit explores many different types of crime, how the public perceive levels of crime, the reporting of crime, and why many crimes are not reported. For example… what role does the Media play, in making the public more fearful of certain crimes?

Unit 2: Criminological Theories
This unit explores the various theories as to why people commit crime, drawing on research from Sociology and Psychology. For example… are there clear links between crime and poverty – or between crime and genetics?

Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom
This unit explores the process of how our criminal justice system deals with crime; from first identification of an offence, through to the involvement of our courts. For example… who is involved in criminal trials, and how can we be sure they are fair?

Unit 4: Crime and Punishment
This unit explores the overall effectiveness of our legal and criminal justice processes; whether various punishments have the desired effect. For example… what mechanisms do we have in place, to try and prevent criminality from happening in the first place? Btecs now have a blend of assessments, and students will need to take external examinations. Units 1 and 3 are assessed in class through a variety of tasks; Units 2 and 4 have external exams. This means that students will have assessed work, which counts for their final grade, throughout Year 12 and Year 13. Students do have some flexibility around this (eg the type of projects and research they will do) and are allowed resits for their exams, which are done online. This style of learning will suit those students who can be motivated and organised to produce high quality work throughout the course, and enjoy the element of choice in the learning that they need to evidence.

It is the school’s intention to offer this as a Btec Diploma (the equivalent of two A Levels) – however, if this cannot be timetabled, then it will be offered as a Btec Extended Certificate (equivalent to one A Level), and students would be made aware of this in due course.

For further information contact d.ratcliffe@finhampark.co.uk