The study of the texts produced in a language is central to an active engagement with language and culture and, by extension, to how we see and understand the world in which we live. A key aim of the language A: language and literature course is to encourage students to question the meaning generated by language and texts, which, it can be argued, is rarely straightforward and unambiguous. Helping students to focus closely on the language of the texts they study and to become aware of the role of each text’s wider context in shaping its meaning is central to the course.

Group 1 courses are designed to support future academic study by developing a high social, aesthetic and cultural literacy, as well as effective communication skills. In the language A: literature course, focus is directed towards developing an understanding of the techniques involved in literary criticism and promoting the ability to form independent literary judgments. Literature and performance allows students to combine literary analysis with the investigation of the role of performance in our understanding of dramatic literature.

The Language acquisition courses are designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to enable them to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken. This process encourages the learner to go beyond the confines of the classroom, expanding an awareness of the world and fostering respect for cultural diversity.

The Group 2 courses use a balance between approaches to learning that are teacher-centred (teacher-led activities and assessment in the classroom) and those that are learner-centred (activities designed to allow the students to take the initiative, which can also involve student participation in the evaluation of their learning). The teacher is best placed to evaluate the needs of the students and is expected to encourage both independent and collaborative learning. The two modern language courses—language ab initio and language B—develop students’ linguistic abilities through the development of receptive, productive and interactive skills (as defined in “Syllabus content”). The classical languages course focuses on the study of the language, literature and culture of the classical world.

The aims of all subjects in the Individuals & Societies are to:

• encourage the systematic and critical study of human experience and behavior, physical, economic and social environments, the history and development of social and cultural institutions
• develop in the student the capacity to identify, analyse critically and evaluate theories, concepts and arguments about the nature and activities of the individual and society
• enable the student to collect, describe and analyse data used in studies of society, and to test hypotheses and interpret complex data and source material
• promote the appreciation of the way in which learning is relevant to both the culture in which the student lives and the cultures of other societies
• develop an awareness in the student that human attitudes and opinions are widely diverse and that a study of society requires an appreciation of such diversity and
• enable the student to recognize that the content and methodologies of the individuals and societies subjects are contestable and that their study requires the tolerance of uncertainty.

The nature of science is an overarching theme in all Group 4 courses, which provides a comprehensive account of the nature of science in the 21st century. They answer the five fundamental questions that relate the words science and technology interchangeably today:

• What is science and what is the scientific endeavor?
• What is the understanding of science?
• What is the objectivity of science?
• What is the human face of science? And finally:
• What is scientific literacy and the public understanding of science?

The nature of mathematics can be summarized in a number of ways: for example, it can be seen as a well defined body of knowledge, as an abstract system of ideas, or as a useful tool.

For many people it is probably a combination of these, but there is no doubt that mathematical knowledge provides an important key to understanding the world in which we live. Mathematics can enter our lives in a number of ways: we buy produce in the market, consult a timetable, read a newspaper, time a process or estimate a length.

Mathematics, for most of us, also extends into our chosen profession: visual artists need to learn about perspective; musicians need to appreciate the mathematical relationships within and between different rhythms; economists need to recognize trends in financial dealings; and engineers need to take account of stress patterns in physical materials. Scientists view mathematics as a language that is central to our understanding of events that occur in the natural world. Some people enjoy the challenges offered by the logical methods of mathematics and the adventure in reason that mathematical proof has to offer. Others appreciate mathematics as an aesthetic experience or even as a cornerstone of philosophy. This prevalence of mathematics in our lives, with all its interdisciplinary connections, provides a clear and sufficient rationale for making the study of this subject compulsory for students studying the full diploma.

Through studying any of the Group 6 subjects, the arts, students become aware of how artists work and communicate. The aims of all subjects in Group 6 are to enable students to:

• enjoy lifelong engagement with the arts
• become informed, reflective and critical practitioners in the arts
• understand the dynamic and changing nature of the arts
• explore and value the diversity of the arts across time, place and cultures
• express ideas with confidence and competence and finally,
• develop perceptual and analytical skills.