The purpose of the Social Studies three-year program is to help students develop the key values and attitudes, the knowledge and understanding, and the skills and processes necessary for them to become active and responsible citizens. It concentrates on enabling students to develop an understanding of who they are, what they want to become, and the society they want to live in. Furthermore, Social Studies is an issues-focused and inquiry-based subject that draws upon history, politics, economics and current events to foster understandings of practical and ethical issues that face communities and humankind.

In the above diagram, the solid arrows denote the typical pathways and preferred transfer points a student follows to progress from course level to course level, and the dashed arrows denote potential points from course level to course level.

Social Studies students at Bellerose are actively engaged on the local and world stage. They are aware of their capacity to affect change! Participation in school-based activities, local initiatives, visits to exhibitions and attendance at documentary premieres allows them to apply their problem-solving and decision-making skills to current and controversial issues. The Social Studies program is offered through two streams: the -1 stream and the -2 stream. Both levels study Globalization at Grade 10, Nationalism at Grade 11, and Ideologies at Grade 12; both require that students write a provincial diploma examination upon completion of the 30 level course, and both meet graduation requirements.

In choosing Social Studies courses, students are strongly encouraged to take teacher recommendations seriously, and to check post-secondary requirements frequently. The more academically-focused -1 stream allows students to enter post-secondary institutions but is not always necessary for Engineering, Math or Science Faculties (for complete information in these areas, please contact the post-secondary institute of choice).