AQA As Sociology Paper 1 2025 Question Paper

Access the official AQA AS Sociology Paper 1 question paper for the May 2025 exam series (7191/1), sat on Tuesday 13 May 2025 (morning session). This is the full 1 hour 30 minute exam paper covering Education with Methods in Context.

The paper begins with short-answer knowledge questions on key sociological concepts including globalisation (page 2), pupil subcultures, and the functionalist theory of education (page 3). Students are required to demonstrate understanding of core sociological perspectives, educational processes, and specialist terminology.

Question 4 (pages 4–5) explores material deprivation and its impact on social class differences in educational achievement. Students must outline and explain two ways economic disadvantage affects attainment, drawing on sociological research into factors such as housing, nutrition, educational resources, and cultural participation.

The 20-mark education essay (pages 6–10) evaluates whether government educational policies have successfully improved educational achievement. Item A discusses policies such as Pupil Premium, widening participation initiatives, and programmes encouraging girls into male-dominated subjects. Students are expected to evaluate policy effectiveness using sociological perspectives on inequality, class, gender, and ethnicity.

The Methods in Context section (pages 11–15) focuses on using documents to investigate teacher–pupil relationships in schools. Item B explores both official documents (school reports, letters home) and informal pupil-created content such as social media posts, text messages, and exercise books. Students must evaluate the strengths and limitations of documents as a research method, considering issues such as validity, representativeness, access, ethics, and practical application within educational settings.

This paper is ideal for practising exam technique, essay writing, Methods in Context evaluation, and sociological analysis ahead of the 2026 AQA AS Sociology exams.

This document is designed for AS Sociology students preparing for the 2026 exam series, particularly Year 12 students studying Education with Methods in Context.

It is also highly useful for teachers, tutors, and revision providers who need authentic AQA exam questions for classroom practice, mock exams, and essay-writing preparation.