Study at PSC

In the first year there are two main areas of study:

• The Living Environment: wildlife conservation including the importance of biodiversity, habitat management and captive breeding and release programmes.
• The Physical Environment: the impact of human activities on physical processes and how these can be managed, including climate change, exploitation of water and mineral resources.

Environmental issues such as melting ice sheets, coral reef decline, and the discovery of new water sources are explored, with the emphasis on how to find solutions to these environmental problems through improved management and use of new technology. The issues are discussed to enable you to form well-balanced opinions which you can support with logical arguments and objective scientific evidence.

In the second year there are four main areas of study:

• Energy resources
• Pollution
• Biological resources
• Sustainability

The applied nature of the subject means that there are many opportunities to relate topics to everyday issues and current affairs.

The Environmental Science course involves a range of teaching and learning methods. These include laboratory investigations, problem-solving, critical evaluation of data sources and synthesising information from a variety of sources. Workshop support is available during selected lunchtimes.

The department runs several field trips, from half-day to a week-long residential abroad. These may change according to availability, but are likely to include previous successful trips,  for example, the Millenium Seed Bank, Winnall Moors Nature Reserve, the Waitrose Farm at Leckford, Sparsholts aquaculture facilities, and conservation opportunities abroad. 

The A Level is assessed in June of the second year in two written exams. There is no coursework component.

Environmental Science is a broad subject, accepted by universities as a relevant science A Level. Environmental Science related degrees include those focusing on oceanography, geology, marine biology and zoology, though many fields benefit from the problem-solving and sustainability skills built throughout the course. 

Environmental awareness and sustainability is one of the fastest growing fields in employment. Past students have gone into careers within the petrochemical industry, biodiversity and conservation research (in the UK and abroad), environmental monitoring and management in the nuclear industry, veterinary science and agrochemicals.

The course textbook will be approximately £26. Day-trips are, with one exception, optional and should cost no more than £20 per trip (prices will vary according to the type of trip). There is one fieldtrip in the spring which all students are expected to attend, but there is no charge for this. The price for residential trips includes all transport, accommodation, visits, meals and insurance. Exact prices will be available once trip details are finalised. The College has a Student Support Fund for those students who have difficulty meeting these costs.