Geography

Overview

Understanding key human and physical processes, and having a diverse range of transferable skills, is a distinct advantage in an ever-changing and increasingly competitive world. Studying Geography A Level will give you this understanding, and will help develop enviable skills, complement your other subjects and help you at university and in future employment. It offers a selection of interesting topics not covered at GCSE and allows you to go into greater depth in some key elements previously studied. Key topics at A Level include the globalisation, the concept of ‘place’, water and carbon systems, cold environments, natural hazards and population and environment. Away from the classroom, you will complete both Human and Physical fieldworks. Students also attend regular lectures at the Royal Geographical Society and the local Geographical Association branch.

For further information or to discuss in more detail, please contact:

Mrs L Macfarlane Head of Geography

lmacfarlane@kgs.org.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @KGS_Geography

How is the course assessed?

There will be two separate Human and Physical Geography papers, each marked out of 120, and each lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes. Both papers will be split into three sections, and the questions will be a combination of short answer answers and evaluative essays. These papers are each worth 40% of the A Level. Fieldwork will be an essential part of your A Level course – you will be required to complete an independent non-examined assessment (NEA) which is worth 20% and will be written up as a project of between 3,000 and 4,000 words which will be marked by your teachers (and externally moderated). Your investigation is based on fieldwork completed towards the end of the Lower Sixth. Currently, we visit the Blencathra Centre in the North East Lake District during the Summer term. In the past we have visited Isle of Arran, Scotland and we are exploring new locations such as North Wales.

Examination board

AQA

Useful attributes

You should have a keen interest in the world around you, especially contemporary global issues. You will be encouraged to participate actively in lessons and to approach your studies with curiosity and a critical edge. You need to be open to having your opinions and perceptions of the world around you challenged. There are several books that we recommend reading to complement the course including Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall, The Almighty Dollar by Darhsini David, Adventures in the Anthropocene by Gaia Vince and When Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce.

Personal development

You will develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of geographical processes and patterns and their inter-relationships which will help you understand and explain what you see happening in the world around you. Unsurprisingly, Geography was also found to be the most relevant A Level subject in teaching students about climate change. Throughout the course you will develop your communication and teamwork skills, as well as those of research and critical analysis. These are all crucial transferable skills for university and the world of work.

Future directions

Geography can add a great deal to your portfolio of skills and life experiences and provides an ideal framework for connecting and bringing together other fields of knowledge. It bridges the gap between the Sciences and the Arts making it a great A Level course for a large number of university degrees. At university you can study either Physical or Human Geography, Combined Geography, or other related degree courses such as Land Economy or Environmental Science. Geographers are highly employable and enter a wide range of careers including finance, research, law, consulting, humanitarian work and engineering. Geography opens so many doors and graduates with a Geography-related degree are more likely to be in full-time employment after graduation than the national average.