Humanities Pathway

Do you dream of studying Humanities at university?

Our unique Humanities Pathway is specially designed to help you achieve that goal and secure your place on a Humanities-related degree such as Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities, Education with Humanities, Social Sciences & Humanities, History, Environmental Humanities and many more.

Each pathway provides bespoke, tailored guidance, high-quality teaching and a structured framework for progression towards higher education destinations and higher apprenticeships. Our goal is to ensure students are prepared to an exceptional standard for their next steps into university, higher apprenticeships and their future careers. 

Each ED6 pathway is supported by an array of academic, extracurricular and work experience opportunities to develop both subject-specific expertise and valuable transferable skills.

It all starts with building your Pathway - use the guide on this page to start building yours!

Build Your Unique Pathway

If you’re thinking about studying Humanities at university, you’ll start your pathway by taking the following mandatory A Levels.

Humanities Pathway

Mandatory A Levels

English Language

History

Choose one A Level from:

English Literature

Psychology

Politics

Sociology

Optional Extra with the Humanities Pathway

You MAY also select one or both of these additional qualifications to broaden your knowledge even further:

Level 3 Core Maths - In Year 1 Only

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) - In Year 2 Only

Subject Specialists

Students have access to expert teaching from subject specialists in a broad range of career-centric subjects, ensuring they meet the rigorous standards required for competitive university admissions. 

Our A Level provision emphasises the development of crucial skills such as critical thinking, independence, and interdisciplinary learning, empowering students to excel under the pressure of formal examinations and in the wider world beyond college.

Weekly Academic Support Tutorials

The Humanities Pathway includes sessions each week with your pathway progression coach to support your academic progress and pastoral care during your time with ED6.

Career Options

The Humanities Pathway is specifically tailored for students aspiring to careers in areas such as:

  • Author
  • Civil service
  • Clinical psychologist
  • Editor 
  • Forensic psychologist
  • Health psychologist 
  • Historian 
  • Human resources
  • Journalist 
  • Lawyer
  • Museum Curator
  • Policy maker
  • Politics
  • Psychologist
  • Public relations 
  • Social worker
  • Sociologist 
  • Speech and language therapist
  • Teaching 
  • Teaching assistant

STRIVE Programme

To support our Pathways model, our elite STRIVE programme provides you with access to industry experts and Higher Education partners. 

Throughout this programme, you can access support in writing your UCAS personal statement, CV, completing application forms and rehearsing job and university interview skills. 

It’s all about developing valuable life skills, including resilience, self-confidence, responsibility and leadership. It’s also a great opportunity to make new friendships with like-minded students

Oxbridge Support 

For those students wishing to apply to Oxford or Cambridge universities, you’ll be given scheduled sessions with our Sixth Form leaders to guide and prepare you through the whole process, including help applying for Oxbridge Summer Schools.

Tailored Work Experience

No matter which Pathway option you choose, our Work Experience Programmes are designed to give you authentic, highly beneficial, tailored work experience, all intended to enhance your UCAS application and practical skills.

Shadowing Opportunities 

Opportunities to shadow teaching in primary schools and in Y13 opportunities to shadow teaching in your Y12 subjects. This will provide the opportunity to get hands-on experience in teaching as you will be involved in the daily activities and routines of a teacher. This gives students the opportunities to understand the challenges and rewards of working in a humanities setting.

Essential Skills 

At ED6 the humanities pathway will provide you with essential skills that are required in the humanities sector at university and in employment:

  • Strong essay writing skills
  • Excellent critical thinking skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Excellent problem-solving skills
  • Excellent creative ways of thinking
  • Excellent interpretation skills

Enrichment

Here at ED6, we believe in nurturing well-rounded individuals, and our ambition is to create extracurricular and super-curricular offers reflecting this commitment.

Extracurricular Activities

Supporting the development of softer transferable skills which make a student a more well-rounded individual:

  • EDC Sports Academies
  • Volunteering Opportunities
  • College Societies

Super-Curricular Activities

Subject and career-focused activities demonstrate dedication, genuine commitment and interest in your future field of study.

  • Guest Lectures
  • John Locke Institute essay competitions
  • Book Club
  • Essay Writing Club
  • Debate Club
  • Open University - Opening Learning Courses

Links with Employers

Our goal is to build strong relationships with local, regional, and national employers to provide students with unparalleled opportunities to gain insights into the professional world.

We are aiming to schedule regular career talks, industry visits, and mentorship schemes which allow students to network with professionals and learn about the demands of their chosen field. We are hoping that these links will yield valuable opportunities for internships and external work placements which will bridge the gap between academic study and practical application.

Links with University

An additional goal of the ED6 Pathway Programme is to generate and maintain robust connections with leading universities across the UK; but primarily in the North-East of England. 

The intent is for students to benefit from tailored guidance on UCAS applications, personal statement workshops and mock interviews with university representatives. Students will also be able to take advantage of subject-specific taster days 

We are also looking for these partnerships to collaborate with us to tailor the development of our existing pathways to make them as robust as possible – including assistance with producing an academic calendar with events and lectures.

These experiences give students a clear understanding of university life and expectations, ensuring they are fully prepared for their transition to higher education.