Geography

Course summary

Geography A Level will develop students’ knowledge of locations, places, processes and environments, at all geographical scales from local to global across the specification as a whole. Students will improve their understanding of the ways in which values, attitudes and circumstances have an impact on the relationships between people, place and environment, and develop the knowledge and ability to engage, as citizens, with the questions and issues arising. Students will develop as critical and reflective learners, able to articulate opinions, suggest relevant new ideas and provide supported arguments in a range of situations. Physical geography; A. Water and carbon cycles: students will contemplate the magnitude and significance of the cycles at a variety of scales, their relevance to wider geography and their central importance for human populations B. Coastal systems and landscapes:students will explore the origin and development of coastal landforms and landscapes as well as sustainable approaches to coastal flood risk and coastal erosion management.. C. Hazards: students will look into the origin and nature of natural hazards and the various ways in which people respond to them, engaging with the many dimensions of the relationships between people and the environments they occupy. Human geography; A. Global systems and global governance: students will engage with important dimensions of global phenomena with particular emphasis on international trade and access to markets and the governance of the global commons. B. Changing places: students will focus on people's engagement with places, their experience of them and the qualities they ascribe to them. Students will gain understanding of the way in which their own lives and those of others are affected by continuity and change in the nature of places which are of fundamental importance in their lives. C. Contemporary urban environments: students will focus on urban growth and change and explore human diversity and develop awareness and insight into profound questions of opportunity, equity and sustainability. Geography fieldwork investigation; All students are required to undertake fieldwork in relation to processes in both physical and human geography. Students must undertake four days of fieldwork during their A-level course. In the Summer of Y12, we plan to spend a week in Wales (4 nights). We will stay in the Margam Field Studies Centre in Margam Country Park. We will also spend time in the town of Porthcawl and the local beaches, which has the second largest set of sand dunes in Europe.