Geography AS A2

Exam Board EDEXCEL

Course content

Geography enables students to develop an understanding of the inter-relationships between people and their environments, and of the opportunities, challenges and constraints that face people worldwide.

Students 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 the opportunity to visit Bristol and spend a day in a planning office in Weston Super Mare. We have run field courses both in the UK and abroad in recent years. Students also attend revision days and evening lectures out of school.

Assessment

AS Unit 1
30%
Global Challenges (assessed by 1.5 hour exam)
Two elements

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

AS Unit 2
20%
Geographical Investigations (assessed by 1 hour exam)
Four elements; select one physical and one human

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

A2 Unit 3
30%
Contested Planet (assessed by 2.5 hour exam)
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?

A2 Unit 4
20%
Geographical Research (assessed by 1.5 hour exam)
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.

Possible Careers

In recent years we have had students that achieved maximum scores in exam modules. Many ex-students went on to successfully read Geography at University and have entered careers as diverse as transport planning, teaching and scientific research.

A huge range of careers are linked to geography

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