Geography (A Level)

Course summary

There are many challenges facing the world today – global warming, development, increasing exposure to hazards, managing environmental processes, environmental destruction and energy security to name but a few. Geographers are uniquely placed to be able to make sense of these challenges and draw conclusions about how best they should be resolved. They not only understand these challenges but their training in a wide variety of skills makes them so desirable in the world of work. It is this that makes Geography so relevant to our lives today. Study in the subject is based on two main principles; the interaction between people and the environment and an enquiry based approach to learning. The Geography Department is well resourced with the required text books and ICT, the latter being necessary for students to be able to use Geographical Information Systems. (GIS). During the course, students are encouraged strongly to subscribe to the specialist magazine Geography Review and attend various conferences. They are expected to keep an up-to-date scrapbook of geography related news as this is vital for personal research. In addition, students take part in a residential field-course in Slapton, South Devon. This is held during the spring term of Year 12 and it is required for them to be able to complete the Individual Investigation which is an integral part of the A Level assessment, accounting for 20% of the final mark. A minimum of four days of fieldwork is a basic requirement of the course.