Secondary · Social Studies
Source questions have a method. Most students are never shown it.
O-Level Social Studies rewards a small set of repeatable moves on source-based questions. Learning them is worth more than knowing more content.
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Format
Live online via Zoom
Lessons
Weekly 1-hour lessons
Class size
Maximum 6 students
Taught in
English
Fees for this class are set out on our schedule and fees page, and it forms part of our O-Level preparation. Every class is capped at six students.
Does this sound familiar?
Signs your child may need this class
- Writes plenty and still scores in the middle band
- Describes what a source says instead of inferring from it
- Cannot tell what a question is asking for beyond the topic
- Finds reliability and usefulness questions unreliable to answer
Why the marks sit in technique
Social Studies questions are unusually consistent. The same handful of source-based demands recur paper after paper, each with a way of being answered that the mark scheme recognises. A student who has not been shown those moves is writing well about the right topic and scoring in the middle band.
How we teach it
Each question type is taught as a framework, then practised against real sources. Answers are marked against the mark scheme with comments, so a student can see which move was missing rather than only that the mark was lower than hoped.
What the class covers
- Source-based questions — inference, comparison, reliability, usefulness
- Using provenance rather than only content
- Structured-response questions — explain and evaluate
- Exploring citizenship and governance
- Living in a diverse society
- Being part of a globalised world
What's included
- Weekly live lesson with guided practice
- Marked answers with comments against the mark scheme
- Question-type frameworks to keep
- Make-up options if a lesson is missed
Questions parents ask
My child writes a lot and still scores poorly. Why?
Length is not what the mark scheme rewards. A source question asks for a specific move — infer, compare, judge — and an answer that describes the source instead will score low however long it is.
Is Social Studies mostly memorising?
Less than students expect. The content matters, but most of the marks sit in whether a student can do the thing the question asks. That is technique, and it is learnable in a way that content recall is not.
Is there enough time in S4?
Often yes, because technique moves faster than content. Tell us when your child is sitting the paper and where the marks are going, and we will give you a straight answer.
More general questions are answered on our FAQ page, and our reasoning for capping every class at six is set out in about us.
Ask about S4 Social Studies
We will confirm current availability and let you know whether this class is the right fit for your child.
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