Welcome to the Critical Thinking Department

Critical Thinking is aimed at the top 10% or so of Hayfield students by invitation only and is based on such factors as GCSE average points score and aptitude for the course.

Critical Thinking was introduced a few years ago by the Oxford and Cambridge exam board following widespread concerns that even the brightest A level students were unable to "think outside the box", transfer skills between their academic subjects and "read between the lines".

Critical Thinking is becoming a very popular subject, starting with fewer than 1,000 candidates nationally in 1999, over 30,000 sat the exam in 2007! It is worth the same UCAS points as any other AS level subject and the vast majority of schools offering it are in the independent sector.

Critical Thinking staff:

Mr G. Hand (Head of Department)
AS Level (only) Critical Thinking:

Skills covered by the syllabus include, but are not restricted to:

  • Analysing the structure of Arguments
  • Understanding Explanations
  • Drawing Inferences and Conclusions
  • Developing Reasoning
  • Identifying Assumptions
  • Evaluating Reasoning
  • Raising/Evaluating Hypotheses
  • Assessing the Credibility of Sources
  • Defining Terms and Concepts
  • Evaluating Definitions
  • Identifying and Explaining Flaws in Arguments
  • Evaluating Evidence
  • Examining Meaning in Context
  • Identifying, Assessing and Applying Moral Principles
  • Evaluating Analogies
  • Providing Counter-arguments
  • Distinguishing between Fact and Judgement