A Level Geography

Geography allows students to acquire and apply knowledge of physical and human processes and outcomes over space and time, through the study of places and environments. Candidates can acquire and apply skills necessary for the pursuit of the discipline, and develop an understanding of the inter-relationships between people and their environments, and of the opportunities, challenges and constraints that face people in different places and environments.

Candidates learn to understand how decisions are made about the use and management of resources and environments and the significance and effects of people’s values and attitudes in geographical issues.

Fieldwork is an important part of the course and students have had the opportunity to visit Bristol, spend a day in a planning office in Weston Super Mare and visit Dorset. Previously we have also visited the Lake District and Seven Sisters Country Park. Foreign fieldwork has been considered. Students also attend revision days and evening lectures out of school.

We currently have a 100% A-E pass rate and in recent years we have had students that achieved maximum scores in exam modules. In the 2002/04 group, all five students achieved above C at A2 level. Four of these students went on to successfully read Geography at University

Assessment AS Geography

Unit 1: Global Challenges

Assessed by 1.5 hour exam, 30%
Two elements

• World at Risk (Hazards and Global Warming)
• Going Global (Population and Migration)

Unit 2: Geographical Investigations

Assessed by 1 hour exam, 20%
Four elements; select one physical and one human

• Physical (Extreme Weather or Crowded Coasts)
• Human (Unequal Spaces and Re-branding Places)

Assessment A2 Geography

Unit 3: Contested Planet

Assessed by 2.5 hour exam, 30%
Focus on use and management of resources, and issues arising:

• Energy Security
• Water Conflicts
• Biodiversity under threat
• Superpower geographies
• Bridging the development gap
• The technological fix?

Unit 4: Geographical Research

Assessed by 1.5 hour exam, 20%
An innovative new element where a specialism is selected in one area of:

• Tectonic activity and hazards
• Cold Environments landscapes and change
• Life on the margins: the food supply problem
• The world of cultural diversity
• Pollution and human health at risk
• Consuming the rural landscape – leisure and tourism.

The Future

A huge range of career options for this subject

• Management
• Surveying
• Teaching
• Tourism Management
• Town/Transport Planning
• Logistics

It is well-received by employers due to it’s consideration of management and geographical skills.

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