Hello, my name is Andrea.  I am a year 10 student, and I decided to take psychology as one of my options for GCSE because I thought that it would be really interesting to learn about the human mind. I have not regretted my decision in the slightest, and the subject is easily one of my favourites!

Over the course of the week, I have three psychology lessons – in two of them we are currently learning about Memory, and in the other we are studying Research Methods. In class, despite taking a lot of notes, I really enjoy my lessons. The subject matter is always very interesting, and it’s great that we do a lot of fun activities that really encourage us to use and apply our knowledge. (Such as making posters, revision clocks, drawing diagrams, and doing/making word searches and crosswords.)

Our homework is also very varied – we do a mixture of: exam questions (which I find really helpful as it means I am able to see exactly how to structure my answers); making posters and revisions sheets; and doing research in order to prepare for the next lesson or in order to strengthen our existing knowledge. While homework isn’t the most exciting element of psychology, it certainly isn’t mundane and I find that the variation makes me more motivated to build on what I know, and challenge myself to go further when doing my homework.

Furthermore, outside of lessons I am really encouraged by my teachers to read psychological studies that interest me, as well to build a strong foundation of knowledge through the creation of revision cards. Before tests, my teacher allows us a lesson or two to make revision cards and mind-maps, which we can also use later on when revising for our PPEs and actual GCSE exams. This is really helpful for me, as it can sometimes be difficult to find time to revise, and starting in lesson really pushes me to complete more extensive revision outside of class.

As well as this, I really value presentation in my book, and I love the freedom I am given with the way I format my notes. Being a creative person, it really encourages me to take some of my spare time, and use it to improve and go back on my notes, in order to highlight key terms or add in diagrams to deepen my understanding.

Overall, I have discovered that despite the vast amount of knowledge that we need to know, I don’t find myself ever being bored. The variety in our lessons, and the encouragement we receive pushes us to strengthen our comprehension of the subject.

By Andrea Tamang (Year 10)