A Level: Geography

General Course Information

Geography is all about developing an understanding and awareness of the human and physical world which you will study issues at a local, regional, national and global scale.

The emphasis is on processes that cause change and these are extended through the study of case examples in countries at varying levels of development. You will be identifying patterns and suggesting why these might occur and change over time. This will help you to understand some of the pressing environmental, economic and social problems facing the world today.

AS: Landscape and place: 60%

Section A - Landscape systems (a choice between coasts, cold or dry regions)

Section B - Managing spaces

Students are required to answer short, medium and extended response questions

Geographical debates: 40%

There will be a choice between 5 topics (climate change, disease dilemmas, exploring oceans, future of food and hazardous earth).

Students have to answer short, medium and extended response questions based on a resource booklet.

A2: Physical systems (24%)

Section A – Landscape systems

Students have to answer short, medium and extended response questions based on a resource booklet. There will be a choice of questions.

Section B – Earth’s life support systems

Human interactions (24%)

Section A – Changing spaces; making places.

Section B – Global connections

Students have to answer short, medium and extended response questions based on a resource booklet. There will be a choice of questions.

Geographical debates (32%)

There will be a choice between 5 topics (climate change, disease dilemmas, exploring oceans, future of food and hazardous earth).

Students have to answer short, medium and extended response questions based on a resource booklet.

Investigative Geography (20%)

This is a non-examined assessment, an independent geographical investigation conducted by each student based on primary and secondary data.

For all Level 3 pathways five passes (9-4) or more at GCSE are required, including at least Grade 4 in Maths and/ or English Language. Grade 6 in Geography if taken.

Geography A Level is universally recognised as both an Arts and Science when considering further or higher education choices.

Degree courses can be followed in a wide range of disciplines from Transport to Town Planning, Archaeology to Meteorology, together with Geography, Geomorphology and Cartography. It is highly valued in professions where trend prediction and analysis of spatial distributions are necessary skills, such as, insurance, communications and service provision.