In Year 9 Citizenship is taught though the Personal Development Curriculum. Other departments are also building citizenship knowledge through their curriculums.

Topic	Key Content
Fairness and Justice: the nature of rules and laws and the justice system, including the role of the police.	What is the law? How does the CJS work? What can be done to prevent youth crime?

The aim is for students to gain deeper conceptual knowledge of citizenship around:

Democracy and Government

• To have an in-depth understanding of how democracy has shaped and evolved over time, in. the UK and across the world.

Rights and Responsibilities

• To have awareness and understanding of rights and the role Citizenship plays in creating responsible citizens.

Fairness and Justice

• To understand the purpose of the justice system and be able to consider appropriate a range of appropriate punishment whilst understanding how laws are shaped and enforced.

Active Citizenship

• To provide pupils with knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to play a full and active part in society whilst equipping pupils with the skills and knowledge to explore political and social issues critically, to weigh evidence, debate and make reasoned arguments.

Year 9 End Points

• To describe the difference between criminal and civil law
• To explain the role and who is in the criminal justice system
• To understand more about the role of the police and what youth offending is some and how youth crime can be prevented
• Be able to explore the origins of a range of opinions including their own, on topical and controversial issues
• Be able to question assumptions and their own views as a result of informed debate and examination of relevant evidence
• Be able to argue persuasively and represent the views of others including those they do not agree with
• Be able to know that there are rules and laws that can be used when things are unfair or where rights conflict; and can give examples of how justice is applied
• Be able to describe how democracy and the justice system operate to help people live together in the UK and how individuals and groups can bring about or resist change
• Be able to explore the origins of a range of opinions including their own, on topical and controversial issues
• Be able to communicate a balanced argument that takes account of different viewpoints, challenging assumptions and ideas as they emerge

GCSE Assessment Information

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/citizenship-studies-2016.html

The course will be assessed through two exams which are sat at the end of Year 11 covering the topics shown below:

Paper 1 — 50% of GCSE grade: Themes A–C

Paper 2 — 50% of GCSE grade: Themes D–E with one question that comes from either Theme A, B or C

Career Opportunities

Skills learned in Citizenship are highly transferrable, students that have taken Citizenship have gone on to read Law and Politics at University, some have trained to become police officers and paramedics. This course is an excellent foundation for anyone wishing to pursue a career in law, journalism, the media, international relations, politics or the civil service.

Required resources/equipment for the course

There are no requirements for this course, an interest in law and current affairs is useful as is an interest in active campaigning.