Geography

Course summary

Year 12 > Physical geography and people and the environment: Hazards focuses on the lithosphere and the atmosphere, which intermittently but regularly present natural hazards to human populations, often in dramatic and sometimes catastrophic fashion. > Coastal systems and landscapes focuses on coastal zones, which are dynamic environments in which landscapes develop by the interaction of winds, waves, currents and terrestrial and marine sediments. > Human geography and fieldwork skills: Changing places focuses on people’s engagement with places, their experience of them and the qualities they ascribe to them, all of which are of fundamental importance in their lives. Competence in geographical skills will be developed during study of the course content, in an integrated way and not as a separate theme or topic, and through up to four days of field work in both human and physical geography. Year 13 > Physical and Human geography: Water and Carbon cycles focuses on the major stores of water and carbon at or near the Earth’s surface and the dynamic cyclical relationships associated with them. These are major elements in the natural environment and understanding them is fundamental to many aspects of physical geography. Global systems and governance focuses on globalisation – the economic, political and social changes associated with technological and other driving forces which have been a key feature of global economy and society in recent decades. A topic from the choice of Contemporary urban environments or Population and the environment or Resource security will also be studied. > Geographical fieldwork investigation: Individual investigation which must include data collected in the field. Must be based on a question/issue defined and developed by the student relating to any part of the specification content. How it’s assessed - 3,000–4,000 words, 60 marks, 20% of A-level, marked by teachers, moderated by AQA.