What Will I Learn?
Unit 1: Living in the Physical Environment
The Earth is restless and constantly changing. In this unit we explore the world in which we live, considering the processes and issues that might transform or indeed modify our natural environments. There are many ways the world we live in is changing and we as geographers explore why. Topics include: The Living World, Natural Hazards, Rivers and Coasts.
Unit 2: Challenges in the Human Environment
Humans play a massive part in the changing nature of the world. Often their behaviours and choices are studied in relation to nature and throw up many interesting questions. We need to study how people have impacted on the globe to allow them to predict how environments might change in the future. Topics include: Urban Issues and Challenges, The Economic World, Resource Management
Unit 3: Fieldwork and Geographical Skills
You will also be taught a variety of geographical techniques such as cartography, Geographical Information Systems (digital mapping), interpreting statistics, field sketches, photographic interpretation and a range of graphical skills.
Before sitting your final exams you will need to carry out two contrasting geographical enquiries to test and apply the theory you have learnt in the classroom out in the field. To undertake this the geography department will take you on two field trips. The first field trip is to the Peak District to investigate rivers and the second to Birmingham to investigate urban change and regeneration.
All topics are issue based, which offers the chance to learn traditional geographical theories through contemporary, real life examples. The course is academic in nature and requires a high degree of literacy and numeracy. If you wish to study A Level Geography in the future it is essential that you have previously studied the GCSE.
How Am I Assessed?
By 3 terminal exams:
Unit 1: Living with the physical environment 1 hour 30m
Unit 2: Challenges in the human environment 1 hour 30m
Unit 3: Geographical applications and skills 1 hour 15m
What Career Options Do I Have?
Geography fosters many transferable skills that can be applied across a variety of jobs and there are careers that are more geography specific such as:
Lawyer, geologist, hydrologist, flood defences engineer, conservation worker, pollution analyst, environmental consultant, surveyor, estate agent, transport officer, emergency services manager, cartographer, remote sensing analyst, weather forecaster, risk assessor, volcanologist, seismologist, location analyst, aid worker, armed forces, teacher, diplomat, civil servant, town planner, professor, GIS specialist, coastal engineer, travel agent, explorer, TV researcher and many more…