Geography

Our Geography course runs a modern syllabus that gives you an environmental and global awareness, which is increasingly relevant to many different industries. Geography students are numerate, literate, good team workers, can think analytically and critically and are highly computer literate.

Some of the topics covered in the Geography A Level are:

• Contemporary Themes in Geography
• Changing Landscapes - Coasts
  
• Changing Places
• Global systems - Water and Carbon cycle Global Governance - Of Oceans and Migration
• Independent investigation - Geographical Non Examined Assessment (NEA).

Fieldwork:

It is a compulsory element of the new geography A Level that 4 days of fieldwork are to be conducted. Students will be carrying out 2 days in year 12, in order to meet the fieldwork exam requirements as part of their Component 1 and 2 exams. In Year 13 students will complete the other two days of fieldwork. Also in year 13, your fieldwork experience can be used to write a 3000-4000 word independent investigation which is submitted to the exam board (worth 20% of your A Level qualification).

Students will be carrying out their fieldwork enquiry in a physical and a human environment.

Attributes:

A keen interest in the human and physical environment and an interest in enquiry. You will be required to complete independent work and meet deadlines on a weekly basis. As a geography student you will be involved in discussions and small group work to help you reach conclusions as well as writing essays, producing case studies and reading around the subject. There are a lot of skills work involved at A Level geography including: drawing maps, field sketches, graphs, diagrams and using statistics and to interpret numerical field data that you will be collecting.

Year 12

Component:

Overall Entry Requirements:

6 GCSE's at grade 4 or above including an English and Maths.

Course Specific Entry Requirements:

GCSE grade 5 in a Humanities subject or an English and grade 5 in Maths.

Most students use A Level Geography as one of three or four A Levels required for University entry. The most recent HESA survey (published in the HECSU report What do graduates do?) of university graduates showed the unemployment rates for Geographers to be among the lowest recorded, second only to sports science.

Others use the broad qualification in order to seek employment, for example with The Environment Agency, jobs relating to resource management and accountancy. Many students choose Geography or related degrees e.g. Planning and Environmental Management.

Geography graduates were the most likely to gain employment or enter further study after graduation in 2011. Many Geography graduates follow careers in Law, Accountancy, Administration, Business, Planning, Leisure/tourism industry, Conservation, the armed forces or Teaching (Geography is a National Curriculum Subject).