A-level Geography

Geography

At Bosworth, A-level Geography looks at a wide range of physical and human aspects of the subject. A good grounding in Geography is essential with preferably a grade 5/6 or above at GCSE. It will help if you are competent in Mathematics and English as well since Geography involves the analysis of data and writing reports and arguments. Most importantly though, you should be interested in the world around you and the changing nature of its Geography.

The specification we follow is the AQA Syllabus which is very contemporary and links in with a huge range of issues that we can see happening in the world around us.

This course is only available for the September start 2 year A-level.

At A2 we take the following examinations:

• A 150-minute Paper on Physical Geography
• A 150-minute paper on Human Geography
• A non-examined assessment (NEA) where you have the opportunity to choose the area of the syllabus that you would like to investigate further.

The physical geography part of the course explores the management and impact of a range of hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes and wildfires. We then move on to look at coastal geography and the way the sea shapes landscapes and the way in which these changes are managed. The course is completed by a unit on water and carbon cycles.

In the human geography part of the course you look at how people look at and use places and what makes places different from each other in terms of their cultures, populations and environments. You also study how we collect, analyse and present data. We will also be studying contemporary urban environments and finally the controversial topic of global governance and global systems. This geopolitical element of the course give students an enhanced understanding of the world around them.

The course includes fieldwork in London and on the Norfolk Coastline, where you get a chance to test theories and see if they work in the ‘real’ world.

The course is demanding but very fulfilling if you follow what is asked of you. Homework consists of a mixture of written assignments and investigations including analysis and case studies. As with any subject, you will need to be prepared to learn new terms and study hard.

Where Does it Lead?

Geography is a well-regarded subject by universities and employers. It can be studied as science or humanity and goes well with a variety of other A-level subjects including Economics, English, Biology and History and Politics. Careers in Geography are very varied including, environmental management, logistics, tourism, marketing, criminology and town planning.