Overview
What is a sustainable future? Is there such a thing as life after death? Are criminals born or raised? To what extent were the actions of the Suffragettes acceptable? The Faculty of World Affairs represents one of the most diverse subject areas of The Dean Academy and at the heart of everything we do is the Socratic teaching “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
The Faculty is comprised of seven teachers, each with their own dedicated classroom to provide a purposeful and engaging learning environment. Our programmes of study aim to link the local and personal with the national and international. They are designed to develop a picture of a world open to interpretation and, as such, students are encouraged to adopt an enquiring, critical and reflective approach to the world around them. As a result, the study of subjects within the Faculty of World Affairs enhances a student’s spiritual, personal, social and moral development. At all times students are encouraged to be open-minded, tolerant and respectful of opinions different from their own.
COURSE STRUCTURE
At Key Stage 3, students can expect to investigate topics such as why William became King in 1066, the significance of the Tudors and how people react, rebel and revolt in History; in Geography they will not only look at how our world is shaped through physical processes, such as weathering or by natural hazards, but also the growing impact of human action by investigating how we live off Earth’s resources and how we can live sustainably.
Alongside History and Geography, the Faculty also supports the personal development of each student at The Dean Academy through its Values and Society programme. Throughout Years 7 to 9, students engage in philosophical and ethical debates, develop understanding of British Values such as democracy and are provided with a safe environment to discuss the nature of human relationships including abuse, consent and sexual health.
At Key Stage 4 the Faculty offers GCSEs in History (Edexcel), Geography (OCR), Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (AQA) and Enterprise and Marketing (Cambridge National).

