AS Mini Companion

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was beginning to feel anxious about how I can get my Psych students to start to study for their AS exams in June. There's so much to study and so many notes to read through! This book is concise, accurate and contains most of the information needed to pass the exam. It's also a small book so doesn't look so threatening and can easily fit into a small bag - you can take it out with you and revise anywhere (OK, I'm being hopeful now!)"

- Amazon Review, March 2010

'This book is the latest edition to the popular series and designed to be used alongside The Complete Companion. Each section of the Complete Companion textbook is reduced to a single page of essential knowledge. This will save you hours of work preparing revision guides for your students. It also includes useful advice on exam technique, a mock exam paper and mark scheme. As one would expect from Cardwell & Flanagan it is well written and very closely linked to the AQA A AS specification. The layout is very clear and student friendly. I particularly liked the glossary at the back of the book which could be used to devise simple peer assessed or self-marked knowledge tests.

As Freud famously said: - ‘Time spent in the company of cats is never wasted’, so I love this book simply for the cat pictures which are very cute! I would recommend it as a student revision text. Although, it does need to be used alongside a more comprehensive textbook as it only contains the bare minimum of information needed to pass the exam.'

- Deb Gaijic, ATP Magazine, October 2010

AS Student Book (2nd Edition) AQA 'A'

"I love the way researchers are personalised in the 'meet the researchers' sections, with little photos so that students can associate names to faces [and] the diagrammatic chapter summaries are always useful as some of my students like to do a mindmap of units for revision purposes."

- J Ribeiro, St Gabriel's school, September 2008

"Complete Companion provided great example answers and comments! Very easy to read - great for students and teachers. Brilliant!"

- ATP 2008 Delegate

"Not surprisingly, the book is very impressive. It is called the Complete Companion because it provides everything an AS psychology student will need to be successful at AQA 'A' AS Psychology. The book covers all of the topics and skills needed for the new specification and provides exam tips throughout. There are some great activities included and my favourite bits are the brief biographies of some of the researchers covered in the book. I was very impressed with the quality of the layout and design of the book."

- Mark Holah, Psychology News, March 2008

Teacher Testimonials

“Both our AS and A2 classes use the Folens Companion series. By some distance, the layout is the clearest to follow and most up-to-date in terms of material. The format of a double page spread, with AO2 commentary consecutive to AO1 information is received very favourably by the students. I like the way in which the new A2 series guides the students towards AO2/3 commentary, as opposed to explicitly setting out an answer to try to remember for an exam. This knife-and-fork approach, as opposed to a spoonfeeding one, makes for deeper understanding and ultimately, better students.”

- P Johnson, HoD at Wolverhampton Grammar School

“I must admit for a fondness for cats & dogs….. Both the students and I adore Coco & Ellie. I have taught Psychology for a number of years and the texts books have become more & more accessible, but THE COMPLETE COMPANION is the best yet! It can be used as a starting point and then expanded upon, or as a final check. A2 students are now using the latest COMPANION and we all find it even more indispensible!”

– Mrs. M Stewart, HoD at Kenton School

“I carefully compared all the available textbooks and chose the Complete Companion because I felt it addressed the requirements of the new specification the best. Its clear and colourful lay-out, accessible writing and structured summary questions really help students come to grips with the skills and the knowledge they need. And, just as importantly, the students really like it, and therefore actually do their reading!”

- A Peterson, HoD at Wood Green School, November 2009

“Students and staff find the Complete Companion very accessible. The knowledge and skills are clearly identified and this makes it much easier for students to use it for independent research and in particular for writing essays. It is an ideal accompaniment to resources that I produce and enables students to extend their knowledge and skills without wasting unnecessary resources and time by reading irrelevant material.”

– Mrs. J Stanbury, HoD at Kirkham Grammar Senior School

“Our school has chosen to use both the AS and A2 Psychology Complete Companions because they are the perfect student textbooks. Clearly set out, colourful and inviting to read, packed full of stimulating material and with creative ideas for lesson activities. The examination advice is useful for students and the suggestions for essay writing are good too. The A2 textbook has a very useful section on approaches, issues and debates - very student-friendly.”

- L Palmer, HoD at Chew Valley School, November 2009

“My students choose the Complete Companion from a selection of textbooks. They like the magazine format and the bite-sized information boxes. The fact that it is rather visual and all they need to know is organised on a 'spread' appeals to them too. It is coulourful with exam advice on all topic to help. The mindmap summary at the end of the chapter gives a logical structure for each topic. The book is accessible for a range of abilities.”

- E Lowenberg, HoD at The Castle School, November 2009

“The Complete Companion is by far the most 'student-centered' textbook available. It caters to all abilities and provides both breadth and depth. It's a must-have for all A/AS Level Psychology students and teachers.”

- L Browne, HoD at Backwell School, November 2009

“After introducing our Yr 12s to the Psychology AS Companion last year, this year was the turn of the Yr 13s for the A2 Companion. The book is colourful, contemporary and above all user friendly. No longer is setting reading from the textbook treated as a chore by the students, The summaries at the end of each chapter are useful and the questions on every double spread help to maintain focus. I'm glad I moved to this book. It's a great resource.”

– Mr. B Paynton, HoD at Temple Moor High School, November 2009

“We use both the AS and A2 Complete Companion books with our A Level students. The students find them very good to use. The material is clear and concise with helpful exam hints and practice exam questions. The end of topic overviews are very useful for revision. These books are more colourful and contain more pictures than other A Level Psychology textbooks which the students find more engaging. The online blog is also useful.”

- L Barham, HoD at Woldgate College, November 2009

“We use both the AS and A2 series 'Complete Companion' and value them because they are accessible to students across the ability range. Whilst the A3 'single spread' format provides the essential studies and theories related to topics, included on these 'spreads' are inserts which give 'stretch and challenge' opportunities or interesting and useful material for higher level elaboration of discussion points in essays. The research is upto date, the summary pages are invaluable and the range of questions throughout the book ensure that the examination skills are well honed. The presentation of the texts is very attractive and the colour coding of sections make them easy to negotiate. I would have no hesitation in recommending the Folens publications to any Psychology teachers.”

– Mrs. J Hardy, HoD at St. Aidan’s CE High School