READING LISTS 2016-17
Access Maths:
Please go to familiarise yourself with the section on number.
Access Study Skills:
You may findThe Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell useful, published by Palgrave. There’s no need to buy new but look out for this in libraries or second hand bookshops.
For those who might take Biology:
CGP Head Start to A-Level Biology is recommended. The College shop has a limited supply at £4.00 each (normal retail price is £4.95).
For those who might take Chemistry:
CGP Head Start to A-Level Chemistry is recommended. The College shop has a limited supply at £4.00 each (normal retail price is £4.95).
For those who might take Higher Maths:
Level 3 Higher Maths (Statistics) is recommended for those who wish to study Psychology, Sociology, Biological Sciences and for some social work courses. In preparation for Higher Maths, a short assessment will take place in early September. This will cover GCSE data handling topics such as charts, graphs and calculating averages. We will talk to you about this at enrolment.
If you would like to look at these topics before enrolment, they will be in GCSE Maths Foundation textbooks. You can usually find these in libraries or second-hand book shops.
For those who might take History:
Background reading on South Africa and apartheid would be useful. Try to watch the film Mandela before the start of the course.
For those who might take Literary Studies:
For introductory background reading, English Literature: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan Bate is a very good primer, priced at £7.99 new, ISBN 978-0-19-956926-7
You will be provided with handbooks for each unit in Literary Studies. The poetry handbook contains all the texts studied.
You will need to buy Life of Pi by Yann Martel, published by Canongate ISBN 184195392X; you are not required but are recommended to read this before the course.
You will also need to buy Cambridge School Shakespeare Hamlet by William Shakespeare ISBN 0521618746; you MUST buy this edition for class work and I would recommend taking a little time to familiarise yourself with the text. You are NOT required to read Hamlet before we start the unit.
Both books can be purchased from Amazon for as little as a penny, although second-hand versions may contain annotations (readers’ notes).
For those who might take Physics:
Please can you familiarise yourself with the following resources. Cheap GCSE Science books and revision aids can be found in shops like The Works.
- Letts Revise GCSE Physics: Complete Study and Revision Guide (2012 Exams only)
- GCSE Success Physics by Idigicon (90p available from Amazon)
- New AQA Science GCSE Physics Revision Guide by Pauline C Anning and Lawrie Ryan (15.6.11)
For those who might take Psychology:
Read the chapter on Stress in a Psychology AS or A Level textbook.
For those who might take Sociology:
Keep up to date with what is going on in the news, particularly in relation to education, poverty, crime and health.Read the chapters on these in a Sociology AS or A Level textbook.
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