GCSE – GEOGRAPHY

 Geography

Introduction

Switch on your television, listen to the radio or pick up a newspaper and the environment seems to be top of everyone’s agenda. We are bombarded with facts and figures relating to the need for energy conservation and climate change.

Sustainability is the buzz word of the 21st century. The study of geography helps students have a clearer understanding of this important world issue. Geography is the study of the earth’s landscapes, peoples, places and environments – both its physical features and its political and cultural characteristics. Geographers work to examine and solve issues like those above by looking at:

  • patterns on the earth and the processes that created them;
  • how places differ from one another;
  • the impact of people on the environment;
  • the sources and impact of pollution; and
  • strategies for environmental protection and restoration.

Geography involves a synthesis of facts, figures, ideas and perspectives to help us understand and protect the world we live in. By studying geography, students learn about important contemporary issues like global warming, desertification, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, groundwater pollution and flooding.

Course Content: Unit 1: Year 11

Understanding Our Natural World

Theme A: River Environments (25%) Theme B: Coastal Environments (25%) Theme C: Our Changing Weather and Climate (25%) Theme D: The Restless Earth (25%)
· The drainage basin: a component of the water cycle · Coastal processes and landforms · Measuring the elements of the weather · Plate tectonics theory
· River processes and landforms · Sustainable management of coasts · Factors affecting climate · Basic rock types
· Sustainable management of rivers · Weather systems affecting the British Isles · Managing earthquakes
· The impacts of extreme weather · Volcanoes: characteristics and consequences

Assessment – External written examination – 1 hour 30 mins.

The examination includes four multi-part questions, one on each theme. Students answer all four questions. This unit is 40% of the final mark.

Year 11 students will sit Unit 1 in May 2024

Unit 2: Year 12: Living in Our World

Theme A: Population and Migration (25%) Theme B: Changing Urban Areas (25%) Theme C: Contrasts in World Development (25%) Theme D: Managing Our Environment (25%)
· Population growth, change and structure · Urban land use · The development gap · Human impact on the environment
· Causes and impacts of migration · Issues facing inner city areas in MEDCs · Sustainable solutions to the problem of unequal development · Strategies to manage our resources
· Urbanisation in MEDCs and LEDCs · Globalisation · Sustainable tourism to preserve the environment

Assessment – External written examination 1 hour 30 mins.

The examination includes four multi-part questions, one on each theme. Students answer all four questions. This unit is 40% of the final mark.

Year 11 & Year 12 — Unit 3: Fieldwork

External written examination – 1 hour.

Students base their answers on their knowledge and experience of fieldwork.  This unit is 20% of the final mark.  Year 11 & Year 12 — Unit 3: Fieldwork
External written examination – 1 hour.
Students base their answers on their knowledge and experience of fieldwork. This unit is 20% of the final mark. Pupils will present, analyse and interpret fieldwork results. They will draw valid conclusions and evaluate both the reliability of the methodology used and the conclusions reached. Pupils will fully prepare all fieldwork questions in class prior to this examination paper.

 

 

 

Method of Assessment

Tiers Foundation Higher
Target Grades C – G A* – E
Assessment Unit 1

Time &

Percentage assessment weighting

Four compulsory structured questions

1 hour 30 minutes – 40%

Four compulsory structured questions

1 hour 30 minutes- 40%

Assessment Unit 2

Time &

Percentage assessment weighting

Four compulsory structured questions

1 hour 30 minutes- 40%

Four compulsory structured questions

1 hour 30 minutes- 40%

Assessment Unit 3

Time &

Percentage assessment weighting

Compulsory structured questions

1 hour – 20%

Compulsory structured questions

1 hour – 20%

ICT / Data Processing Skills

Students will be able to use a variety of methods, including ICT-based resources such as the internet and GIS, to do the following:

  • identify and collect evidence from primary and secondary sources;
  • prepare and present findings, incorporating text, tables, bar graphs, pictographs, line graphs, frequency diagrams, pie charts, scatter graphs, maps, annotated field sketches and/or sketch maps; and
  • investigate patterns in and relationships between variables, for example using spreadsheets and using GIS packages to link digital data to map patterns

Career Possibilities

Career Possibilities include: air traffic controller, archaeologist, architect, cartographer, civil engineer, conservationist, estate agent, environmentalist, financial adviser, foreign correspondent, geographical information systems officer, geologist, geophysicist, graphic designer, hotel manager, hydrologist, human resources manager, international aid worker, journalist, landscaper, lawyer, logistics and distribution manager, meteorologist, peacekeeper, pharmacist, physiotherapy, planner, social worker, speech therapy, sustainability consultant, surveyor, teacher, transport manager, translator, travel agent.  And many, many more…

“Geography graduates are highly employable” – Times Educational Supplement Reporter