Geography

Geography is a very popular subject. We follow the Edexcel B Geography syllabus because the students enjoy its contemporary, enquiry-based approach. This fits in with our aim of creating skilled and successful Geographers with a fascination about how the world works, the challenges it faces and their place within it.

There is a greater focus on the Geography of the UK, the use of Geographical skills, and more emphasis on fieldwork, with students undertaking fieldwork in two contrasting locations over two days. The course content is academically rigorous and requires the robust application of Geographical knowledge. Higher-level command terms such as assess, discuss and evaluate will stretch and challenge the students, especially in Paper 3 where students will make an informed Geographical judgement in a real-life context.

Geography develops a wide range of transferable skills and competencies, one reason why the Russell Group of universities recognise Geography as a facilitating subject. Geographers are also prized by employers, with Geography graduates experiencing some of the lowest unemployment rates. The number of students studying Geography at GCSE, A level and university is rising. In a world that increasingly values people with the skills to work across the physical and social sciences, Geography is the subject of modern times.

Course Content

1. Hazardous Earth:

• The global atmospheric circulation system
• Extreme weather hazards (tropical cyclones)
• Tectonic hazards (volcanoes and earthquakes)

2. Development Dynamics:

• The scale of global inequality
• Study of development in an emerging country (India)

3. The Challenges of an Urbanising World:

• The causes and challenges of urbanisation
• Study of a megacity in a developing/emerging country (Mumbai)

4. The UK’s evolving physical landscape:

• Coastal change and conflict/river processes and pressures

5. The UK’s evolving human landscape:

• Dynamic urban areas / changing rural areas

6. Geographical Investigations:

• Two pieces of fieldwork undertaken, one from topic four (physical) and one from topic five (human)

7. People and the biosphere

8. Forests under threat

9. Consuming energy resources