Critical thinking is taught in schools and universities in Europe and the U.S.A. It has been an AS subject from the start of the new AS curriculum in 2000: it is now available at A2 as well. It is widely recognised as an excellent means to enable students of all subjects to think more clearly for themselves, as well as to assess the thinking of others, and for this reason we ensure that all Year 12 pupils take the AS course (unless it cannot be fitted into their timetable).

Critical Thinking is taught through practical examples drawn from a very wide and varied pool of resources, designed to develop thinking skills: By the end of the course, pupils will be able;

• to identify the main structures of an argument and assess these according to established criteria; create structured and valid arguments;
• to grasp the central points of any argument, and to respond to it in a valid way
• to develop an appreciation of precision in the use of words.

A2 develops these skills further, adding a moral dimension to the issues under consideration.

All of these skills are reinforced by repeated practice on a wide variety of subjects, and can be transferred to other areas of our pupils’ academic and working lives.