Geography at GCSE
Examination Board: AQA Geography A Higher Tier 3031 H
Geography is the study of the world around us; geographers look at everything from why waterfalls occur to the causes of air pollution, from inner city deprivation to the problems and benefits brought by tourism, and from the globalised nature of manufacturing industry to why it rains. GCSE Geography provides opportunities for pupils to study real-world issues relating to our environment (e.g. depletion of the ozone layer, desertification and the greenhouse effect) as well as spatial issues (e.g. the siting of a new factory or hypermarket). Real world issues relating to the human environment, such as inner cities, the north-south divide and rich-world, poor-world relationships are introduced to encourage pupils to develop their own attitudes and view points.
Study takes place at scales ranging from the local to the global, and referring to areas both known and unknown to pupils: as a geographer you'll look at places as diverse as London Docklands and Antarctica. Geography offers opportunities for the development of a range of intellectual skills. Describing and classifying have always been essential activities in Geography, while hypothesis testing, decision making and problem solving are increasingly significant.
The Geographical Enquiry requires pupils to investigate within a small area an argument or a problem which is tested by means of fieldwork. Geographers thus need to be able to measure and collect data from the real world, and be able to use equipment "the field", such as flow meters, clinometers, soil testing kits and meteorological instruments.
The Year 10 four day residential field trip to Northern England at the end of the Summer Term facilitates these enquiry skills, as well as developing social skills, such as working with others, and being able to contribute to, and to understand group situations.
The formal specification comprises:
1. Paper One: People and the Natural Environment. (40%) 1¾ hours
Section A: Geographical Skills (map reading, satellite photograph interpretation and statistical representation of data)
Section B: Candidates answer three questions from the following Physical Geography topics:
- Tectonic Activity
- Rocks and Landscapes
- River Landscapes
- Glacial Landscapes
- Coastal Landscapes
- Weather and Climate
- Ecosystems
2. Paper Two: Three structured questions to be answered: (35%) 1½ hours
- One from Population or Settlement
- One from Agriculture or Industry
- One from Managing Resources or Development
3. Coursework (Geographical Enquiry) (25%) - An individual fieldwork investigation of approximately 2,500 words.
