Geography: GCSE, A Level & IB

At Malvern we study the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE. Here, geographers learn a wide-ranging combination of skills drawing in ideas from many sources, including practical fieldwork. There will be two papers in the examination, one covering Human topics (for example urban geography and economic activity) and one covering Physical topics (for example natural hazards and rivers); both papers also include a series of fieldwork questions.

This foundation course prepares students for progression into A Level Geography in an independent school environment, while also supporting interdisciplinary learning.

The IGCSE course requires all pupils to carry out fieldwork on at least two occasions. These field trips are an integral and essential part of the course and will incur a charge to parents.

Assessment Details

Paper 1 – Physical Geography (70 minutes)

• Hazardous Environments
• River Environments
• River Fieldwork Questions

Paper 2 – Human Geography (105 mins)

• Economic Activity and Energy
• Urban Environments
• Urban Fieldwork
• Fragile Environments

Specification details Geography – Pearson Edexcel International GCSE (4GE1)

Standard/Higher Level

Aims

Geography is at the interface of the Humanities and the Sciences; it is a Social Science that examines the manner in which people live, are distributed and interact with their environment. Studying the essential systematic and technical aspects of the subject creates a platform for considering the major environmental, political, cultural and socio-economic issues facing the developed and developing worlds.

The aims of the geography course at Standard Level and Higher Level are to enable students to:

• Develop an understanding of the dynamic interrelationships between people, places, spaces and the environment at different scales.
• Develop a critical awareness and consider complexity thinking in the context of the nexus of geographic issues, including:
  • Acquiring an in-depth understanding of how geographic issues, or wicked problems, have been shaped by powerful human and physical processes.
  • Synthesising diverse geographic knowledge to form viewpoints about how these issues could be resolved
• Understand and evaluate the need for planning and sustainable development through the management of resources at varying scales.

This is aligned with the ethos of a geography department in a leading independent school in the UK, where pupils are encouraged to think beyond the classroom and engage with global challenges.

Course Content

Students at both Standard Level and Higher Level are presented with a common core and optional geographic themes.  Although the skills and activity of studying geography are common to all students, Higher Level students are required to acquire a further body of knowledge, to demonstrate critical evaluation and to further synthesize the concepts in the Higher Level extension.

Part 1: Optional Themes

For Higher Level, the study of three optional themes is required. For Standard Level, the study of any two optional themes is required. We currently teach:

• Geophysical hazards
• The geography of food and health
• Extreme Environments

Part 2: Geographic perspectives

The content here is the same for Standard Level and Higher-Level pupils.  It looks specifically at:

• Population distribution– changing population
• Global climate– vulnerability and resilience
• Global resource consumption and security

Part 3: Geographic perspectives–global interactions (Higher Level only)

The Higher Level extension theme focuses on the global interactions, flows and exchanges arising from the disparities that exist between places. It focuses on these three themes:

• Power, places and networks
• Human development and diversity
• Global risks and resilience

Assessment Details

There are two examination papers for Standard Level pupils (Paper 1 & 2) and three for Higher Level pupils (Paper 1, 2 & 3)

Paper 1 – Optional Themes

This exam is based on the optional themes (Part 1 above). The first section of each optional question is worth 10 marks and contains a series of structured questions based around a graphic / map to test knowledge & understanding.

The second section has two 10 mark essay questions. You choose to answer one only.

Standard Level answer two questions. Higher Level answer three questions .

Total time Standard Level 1 hour 30 mins, Higher Level 2 hours 15 mins

Paper 2 – Geographic Perspectives

This exam is split into three sections, A, B & C and will cover all the content in Part 2 above.

Section A contains question 1, 2 & 3. These are the short response questions from the Core (Population, Climate & Resources). There are 30 marks available here.

Section B contains question 4 and is a . There are 10 marks available for this question and the activities will test your ability to read and critique a graphic that will be present in your exam insert booklet.

Section C contains question 5 and 6. Both these questions are 10-mark essay questions and you will be required to answer ONE QUESTION only. The questions will likely link together two or more parts of the core (e.g. climate change and population movement).

Total 50 marks & 1 hour 15 mins

Paper 3 – Global Interactions

This paper is completed by Higher Level pupils only and covers the content from Part 3 above.

The paper contains 3 combination questions. Each combination has a< 12 and 16 mark essay to complete. The 12 mark question is often focused on a specific area of the Interactions unit whereas the 16 mark question will allow you to link in many different parts of the International Baccalaureate course to effectively answer the question. You answer one combination only.

Total 28 marks & 1 hour

Aims

Geography is at the interface of the Humanities and the Sciences; it is a Social Science that examines the manner in which people live, are distributed and interact with their environment. Geographers can understand and analyse contemporary events, examining the social, economic and environmental processes behind the news headlines. This approach is typical of A level geography at our independent school, where students are encouraged to connect classroom theory with global current affairs.

Course Content

The department will be teaching the AQA A level specification. This explores the nature and impact of cultural, social, economic, political and physical processes from the global to the local scale. The course looks at the natural environment and the management challenges it poses, and at how human society – individuals, institutions and governments – makes and shapes places.

Throughout the courses, there is a focus on developing a wide range of research methods and techniques, drawing on a variety of data sources and enabling students to develop a broad range of transferable skills.

As part of the A level course, all pupils will be expected to undertake a three day residential field course in the Gower in South Wales, as well as other trips in both the Lower and Upper Sixth. For pupils choosing Geography, field trips are an integral and essential part of the course, which will incur a charge to parents.

These field experiences are characteristic of boarding school geography fieldwork, where learning extends beyond the classroom and into the landscape itself.

The Syllabus

The details of the whole specification can be found here: AQA Geography A Level. Below there is a breakdown of the units that we have chosen to teach.

Paper 1- Physical Geography

• Water and carbon cycles- including the study of the Amazon Rainforest and the River Severn Drainage Basins.
• Coastal systems and landscapes – including a detailed look at the Gower Coastline in South Wales and the Odisha Coastline in Eastern India.
• Hazards – with a focus on volcanoes, earthquakes, tropical storms and wild fires.

Paper 2- Human Geography

• Global systems and global governance- here we spend time looking at the global common of Antarctica and the global banana trade.
• Changing places – with a focus on the development of Great Malvern and Birmingham.
• Contemporary urban environments- looking at contemporary urban processes and how they have impacted on cities such as Detroit, London and Buenos Aires.

Assessment Details

The A level course will be examined by two exams, both worth 40% of the final grades and 2½ hours long. There will also be one piece of individual coursework, which will be worth 20% of the final exam mark.

Further Information

An integral part of the AQA Geography A Level is the Non-Examined Assessment. We encourage all pupils to collect their data for this project independently over the Easter holidays and then begin writing the project over the course of the summer term. This emphasis on academic independence and extended research is a key feature of geography in UK private schools.